Mario Vasquez

So I have never been a huge American Idol follower, as I have previously stated. Its a fluke that I even watched the first year; I had friends staying with me that watched it religiously and I just happened to catch a little of Kelly Clarkson and I loved her from jump street. There have been many misses since then [Taylor Hicks, David Cook] and some hits of course [Carrie Underwood, Jordin Sparks], and the most notable fact is that some of the ones who enjoy success are not the winners [Daughtry, Clay Aiken]. Another fact that I find interesting is the ones who enjoy minimalistic fame without ever even making the top ranks of Idol; case in point, one Mario Vasquez who so famously dropped out of the 2005 season after MAKING it into the top 12.

There was a lot of speculation, however anyone intelligent enough figured out that Mario thought he was clever enough to use the launching pad of AI at its height without being tied down to the AI brand, as most of the contestants were. One might think that was a pretty brilliant move and it might have been; however it was a little too soon on Mario's part and although he snagged a record deal and launched a solo career, he only had mild success and then altogether disappeared. Mario seemed talented enough, he was a good looking guy and it seemed as if he had locked down the right producers [Ne-Yo, Scott Storch, etc]; however nothing seemed to come to fruition, but I myself enjoyed some of his work so I decided to review his album for you!

1. Gallery; The first single and basically his near-hit wonder. It is....awesome. I loved it and I wanted him to be singing it to me.. It sounded more organic and flawed, which I liked, than anything on the radio at the time. It to me should have been a great vehicle to jump start his career and yet it never seemed to solidify his talent. The entire thing, lyrics, melody and vocals were impressive and I was sad it never did what it should have for him. I say: A-

2. I Bet: This one was a little harder for me to like; I did enjoy it but I rarely like any 'I'd do you better than your man' type of jam. The beat was pretty decent but being as we knew and saw so little of Mario as a person, you couldn't really buy him as much of a Lothario to be honest. If we don't know that you may be as awesome as, say Usher, its hard for you to try and sing game like him, ain't it? I Say: C

3.One Shot: The second single, which was released way to late to be able to save his floundering hopes of stardom. It would not have anyway, if I am going to be blunt. It is a mid-tempo ballad and while he has some pipes, he just didn't pull this one off for me. He did not sound needy enough, as the song called for; he didn't WANT it enough the way a ballad like this needs him to want it. You have to FEEL his desire for whomever he may be singing to and you just don't. Decent song, but not enough passion for me. I Say: C-

4. We Gon' Last: First let me say; I HATE when an artist tries to force something to be hip. We get that you are cool and awesome and don't need to speak in complete sentences; do it for us anyway, would you? [Looking at you Janet Jackson!]. I just loath it and therefore I will generally dislike a song/album on purpose alone. That being said, this song was okay...if it had been released about ten years earlier. It has that mid-late ninties vibe to it. Which doesn't make it bad, it simply makes it not appropriate for us to love right now. It was decent, and he shows off a little of his vocal abilities, but he locked himself into a weird new jack swing thing that wasn't working for him. I Say: D

5. Don't Lie: I love when an artist tries something new. I know so many people expect their favorite artist to always sound the same as their last album, but I prefer when I listen to an album expecting one thing, and I get another. It shows growth and the ability to challenge themselves. This song is a perfect example of that; it has an Island feel to it, and its a standout from the rest of the album musically. Its fun and fresh and although its about a possible broken heart, it never gets him down and I thought that was a great way to approach it. I Say: B+

6. Just A Friend: This is an example of Mario getting locked into a certain music realm and it actually working. He's the bad guy pleading for a second chance and the way he does it, the emotion he puts forth makes you want to let him have it. The beat draws you in and his vocals sound genuine and heartfelt and I loved it. Its probably up there in my favorites on the album. I Say: A

7. Fired Up: This song sounds as if it should have landed on Usher or someone similar's album. Again because we never got to know Mario, its difficult to buy into but its still a fun song and you enjoy it for what its worth. The beat sounds slightly recycled and that made it impossible for me to LOVE, but I do like it. I Say: B-

8. 4 The 1: Again a great show of Mario branching out and trying something that sounds completely different than the rest of album; and it works. Its an up-tempo love song to his soul mate and you believe he's in love and that this person he's talking about is the only person for him. That's what you should believe, that's what a good musician does; he brings you in and tells you his story through a song that makes you feel what he does. Well played, Mario, well played. I Say: B

9. Everytime I...: An ode to a lover left behind. Who hasn't thought at least once about that great love of their life? If you haven't, this song will make you go back and feel what that felt like. Good or bad. The vocals are pretty awesome and the beat up-tempo despite the melancholy subject. Good song, great lyrics, good times had by all who have loved and lost. I Say: B-

10. Like It Or Not: Um...yeah I LOVE this. I was always the girl who liked the bad boy you shouldn't and this song is for all of the girls like me. I love the beat and I love the texture of his vocals and urgency of what he is feeling here. Who doesn't want a hot man to tell the world to get screwed, you're together no matter what? Um, I do, thanks! Hotness in a song. I Say: A!

11. We Supposed To Be: Alright, now previous statements about horrible grammar aside, this to me is by far the second best track on the entire album. Saved the best for last if you ask me. Its got some cheesy lyrics but I enjoy it so much I hardly care; its just a fun nugget of pop about things working out for love, for once, and you just let yourself enjoy it and you sense that he enjoyed the song, enjoyed making it. I hardly care that most of the lines are pure cheese because its what pop music is supposed to be, and for that I appreciate it in all that cheesiness. I Say: A+

So its sad that few people really listened to him. To me this was what most freshmen efforts are; fun and a little cheesy, with a few misguided approaches but at the end of the day a well rounded album. It showed a lot of promise of what Mario could have done if he had made better choices, or had better opportunities offered to him. Unfortunately as with the fickle listening public he has yet to get such opportunities and hasn't made another foray into music.

[Note: some of the releases of this album contained different songs or songs in different orders. My review is based on the album I had so some songs may not be included in this review.]