Mario Mendell Winans ( Brown; born August 29, 1974) is an American R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer from

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. An extended member of the Winans musical family, he is best known for his 2004 single " I Don't Wanna Know" (featuring

Enya Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin (born 17 May 1961; anglicised as Enya Patricia Brennan) known mononymously as Enya, is an Irish singer and composer. With an estimated equivalent of over 80 million albums sold worldwide, Enya is the best-selli ...

and P. Diddy), which peaked at number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Prior, Winans signed with

Dallas Austin Dallas L. Austin (born December 29, 1970) is an American songwriter, record producer, and film producer from Columbus, Georgia. Biography Early life During a 2019 interview with DJ Vlad, Dallas Austin detailed previously unknown or unconfir ...

's Rowdy Records as an in-house producer during the early-1990s, and received his first major credits for his work on R. Kelly's self-titled second album (1995) and Pebbles' '' Straight from My Heart'' (1995). As a recording artist, he signed with

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

and released his debut studio album, '' Story of My Heart'' (1997) to commercial failure. The following year, he contributed to Diddy's 1998 single " Come with Me", and thereafter served as in-house talent for his

Bad Boy Records Bad Boy Entertainment, doing business as Bad Boy Records, is an American independent record label. The label was founded in 1993 by rapper and record producer Sean Combs. During the mid-1990s, the label signed hip-hop and contemporary R&B, R&B a ...

production team, the Hitmen. While receiving further credits on commercially successful releases, he saw mainstream attention for his guest performance on Diddy's 2000 single " Best Friend" as well as his 2002 single " I Need a Girl (Part Two)," both of which entered the ''Billboard'' Hot 100—with the latter peaking at number four—and Winans signed with Bad Boy, an imprint of

Universal Records Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

as a solo act. Moreover, "I Don't Wanna Know" served as the lead single for his debut studio album '' Hurt No More'' (2004), which peaked at number two on the ''Billboard'' 200. In the following year, he co-wrote

CeCe Winans Priscilla Marie Love, known professionally by her stage name as CeCe Winans, (born October 8, 1964) is an American gospel singer who has garnered 17 Grammy Awards, the most for any female gospel singer; 33 GMA Dove Awards, 19 Stellar Awards, ...

's song "Pray", which won Best Gospel/Contemporary Christian Music Performance at the

46th Annual Grammy Awards The 46th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 8, 2004, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California honoring the best in music for the recording of the year beginning from October 1, 2002, through September 30, 2003. It recognized acc ...

. Winans's recording work accompanies a career in production and songwriting, from which he has been credited on releases for artists including

the Weeknd Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (; born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is best known for adding Pop music, pop, electronic music, electronic and hip-hop stylings ...

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, the Notorious B.I.G., Ice Spice,

Lil' Kim Kimberly Denise Jones (born July 11, 1974), Those giving 1974 include: * * * * * better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper. She was born and raised in New York City and lived much of her adolescent life on the streets after ...

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Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), also known by her nickname J.Lo, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and businesswoman. Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential entertainers of her time, credited with breaking ...

Pusha T Terrence LeVarr Thornton (born May 13, 1977), better known by his stage name Pusha T, is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as one half of the Virginia-based hip hop duo Clipse, which he formed with his older brother No Malice, Malice. M ...

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after National Football League, NFL and Canadian Football Lea ...

, and

Trey Songz Tremaine Aldon Neverson (born November 28, 1984), known professionally as Trey Songz, is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B singer and songwriter. After being discovered by record producer Troy Taylor (record producer), Troy Taylor in 2003, Songz ...

, among others.

Career

''Hurt No More'' (2001–2005)

Mario Winans recorded his second album ''Hurt No More'' in 2001, 2002, and 2003 in between working with other artists. The album is based on stories of love and betrayal. The first single " I Don't Wanna Know" was based on a sample of the Fugees' 1996 hit single "Ready or Not", which itself was based on a slowed-down sample of the instrumental track " Boadicea" by

from her 1987 self-titled album. Enya and her representatives said yes to Winans and P. Diddy for her approval of the sample. She even re-recorded Boadicea for the song, although Winans had no idea that the Fugees sample he had used was a sample itself. They even gave Enya herself credit for the single as "Mario Winans featuring P. Diddy and Enya". The song features a rap by P. Diddy. The song was released as a single in early 2004 and became a worldwide hit, reaching number 1 in Germany and the United Kingdom and on the rhythmic top 40 radio chart in the United States; to number 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and the US R&B/Hip-Hop singles chart; and to number 3 on both the Australian and Norwegian singles charts. It also reached the top ten on a composite European singles chart. ''Hurt No More'' was released on April 20, 2004, in the US and by early June 2004 had reached number 1 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, number 2 on the ''Billboard'' 200, and number 3 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

. The album's second single, "Never Really Was", used a sample of the orchestrated beginning of

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

's 1986 hit " Papa Don't Preach" as its background music. However, the song failed to chart in North America. A remix version was released as a single featuring rapper Lil Flip. The song "This Is the Thanks I Get" was stated to be the album's third and final single but no official release was set. The song went on to peak on the ''Billboard'' Bubbling Under R&B chart at number 12.

Discography

Albums

Singles

As featured artist

Production

*2009 **Diddy - Press Play *** " Last Night" (featuring Keyshia Cole), "Through the Pain (She Told Me)", "Thought You Said" (featuring Brandy)

Awards and nominations

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

** 2005, Best Contemporary R&B Album: Hurt No More (Nominated) *

**2016, Best Rap Song: "All Day" (Nominated; as writer/co-producer) *

Image Awards The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. The over 40 ...

** 2005, Outstanding New Artist (Nominated) *

MOBO Awards The MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in " music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and Ba ...

** 2004, Best Song: "I Don't Wanna Know" (Nominated) ** 2004, Best Ringtone: "I Don't Wanna Know" (Winner) * Vibe Awards ** 2004, R&B Song of the Year: "I Don't Wanna Know" (Nominated)

Filmography

* Mike Jones - ''American Dream'' (2007)

References

External links

Official website
* Mario Winansat Billboard.com
AllMusic Mario Winans article

VH1 Mario Winans page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Winans, Mario 1974 births Living people 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers American gospel singers Urban contemporary gospel musicians Singers from Detroit American contemporary R&B singers Bad Boy Records artists African-American male singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters African-American record producers Record producers from South Carolina American hip-hop singers Winans family 21st-century African-American male singers 21st-century American male singers Singer-songwriters from Michigan Singer-songwriters from South Carolina