It’s Mario Winans’ turn

The song was I Don’t Wanna Know. It was about a man who refuses to carp on his partner’s infidelity. So he says, "forget it, I don’t wanna know" which is unusual in real life and doubly so in pop songwriting. The name, Mario Winans, sounded familiar, and he must be important because his recording features Enya and P. Diddy. Then there is the top-notch quality of the production, which shows a seasoned producer adept with the hard act of combining lyricism with commerce. Proof is in the charts. Had Usher not been so firmly entrenched at the top with his Yeah!, Winans would have easily sent him plummeting, and he came very close.

What do you do next? Check out Mario Winans on the web. And what do you find? It turns out that this "new" singer, composer, arranger and producer is part of the famous Winans family. That means Bebe and Cece Winans and Vicky Winans who is Mario’s mother. The Winans are America’s leading gospel singers. You should check out their Christmas recordings which are simply beautiful. Mario grew up amidst religious music and was producing albums since he was 14. You hear of piano prodigies like Cecil Licad or singing prodigies like Charlotte Church. Well, Mario was a music- producing prodigy.

Mario’s most notable work though happened not in the field of gospel but in R&B. That means producing artists like Jennifer Lopez, Mary J. Blige and that remarkable debut by R.Kelly. So the reason why his own performing career was on the back burner for a long time was that he was so successful helping these name artists create their hits. Well, he finally turned the attention to himself recently and his album, Hurt No More has turned him into an R&B heartthrob.

Of course, Winans is much more than that. This guy is an R&B genius. Listeners though, focus on the songs and the singing and not on the elements that went into making the tracks. What they will hear in Hurt No More are romantic musings by Mario’s sugar sweet tones set against cool, sexy grooves. Very nice. The first hit single is I Don’t Wanna Know. My favorite is the whimsical 3 Days Ago, the least R&B of the selections but shows Mario’s sense of fun. You Knew, which features Slim, sounds like the next hit single.

Other cuts are Ready for Love, Never Really Was, How I Made It featuring Loon; Already Know, What’s Wrong with Me, Can’t Judge Me, Disbelief, Enough, Pretty Girl Bullsh*t featuring Foxy Brown; This is the Thanks I Get featuring Black Rob; I Got You Babe, So Fine, Should’ve Known and Turn Around. Take note and you will find that the song line-up covers the ups and downs of a love relationship which reveal a lot about Winans’ personal feelings.

Kirsten Dunst on Dreamsounds 2

The first Dreamsounds album was such a huge seller, it was inevitable that Universal would come up with a second volume. So if you enjoyed Dreamsounds or more important, if you were able to find respite from your daily grind thanks to the soothing R&B songs in the album then you can get more of the same with Dreamsounds 2.

Now available in all music stores, Dreamsounds 2 boasts of the added come-on of the voice of the lovely Kirsten Dunst. Yes, Spider-Man’s Mary Jane Watson can sing but she is so busy being a movie star I do not think she will be doing an album soon. Kirsten sings the dreamy Dream of Me, which sets the pace for the compilation. Kirsten is not going to give Beyonce or Christina a big run for the charts but she has a sweet, sexy sound I am sure many will love, more so the romantic Pinoys.

Other songs included in Dreamsounds 2 are Without You by Charlie Wilson; Visions of a Sunset by Shawn Stockman; Don’t Wanna Try by Frankie J.; Cry No More (I’ll be There 4 U) by Kino Watson; Doin’ Just Fine by Boyz II Men; The Colour of Love by Sam Salter; Whenever, Wherever, Whatever by Maxwell; When Will It Be Me by Yasmeen; Miss You by Aaliyah; If I Was the One by Ruff Endz; Lonely by Public Announcement; Be the One by the Tony Rich Project; Stick Around by Azure and Fly Away by Jaze.