R&B crooner Mario stopped by Good Morning New York today to perform new single ‘Thinkin’ of You’, as well as his hit ‘Break Up’.

We’re definitely supporters of Mario around these sides, however this live showing was just not cutting it. Lazy, sloppy and distinctly run-of-the-mill, this performance didn’t at all convey the fact (IMO) that Mario is one of the premier male R&B vocalists on the scene at present.

I was going to go off on one about how awful his label’s promotion and all-round handling of his project has been (did you know Mario dropped his album last week? My point exactly) However, on second thought, performances like this (aka ‘so-so’ / ‘doing it for the sake of it’ ones), while seeming quite harmless, are what separates your ‘typical R&B singer’ from the Usher’s and co. Surely, if an artist is undeniably doing the damn thing, the label has no choice but to pay attention. Having to admittedly eat a bit of humble pie on this one (as some of my favourites are guilty of the same thing), being successful in today’s industry really is a two way street: the artists need to do their part x100, and the label will more times than not hold up their end of the deal. Perhaps the days of hollering about ‘such and such got crappy promo’ need to end. That said, some labels are taking the p*ss (see: Amerie / Def Jam).

Wow, really off-topic there. In any case…

Your thoughts?