Mario And Omarion’s Verzuz Was A Night Of Organized Chaos

Source: Noam Galai;Rodin Eckenroth / Getty

For this installment of Verzuz, Mario and Omarion went head to head. Along with two of R&B’s finest, we were delighted to a pre-show for the first-time in Verzuz history. Pleasure P teamed up with Sammie while Ray J and Bobby Valentino joined forces for an R&B duel. Throughout the four-hour event, each vocalist didn’t quite bring music to our ears as expected. In between some less than great singing, there was disruptive trash talking, sound issues and of course annoying delays. Only two of the six understood the assignment. Here’s a recap.

The Pre-Show

Pleasure P, Sammie, Ray J and Bobby Valentino all came to the stage prepared to jumpstart the 2000s nostalgia. After ditching a coin toss, Sammie kicked off the battle with his hook from Soulja Boy’s “Kiss Me Through The Phone.” Out of the four men, he had the shortest catalog but the confidence of a legend. His swagger helped him give high-energy performances of “You Should Be My Girl,” “Come With Me” and “I Like It.” He was the brashest of them all as well. He confidently told Bobby Valentino that “there wouldn’t be a Bobby V without Sammie” and called Ray J “Brandy’s Brother.”

“All y’all just mad y’all don’t own y’all hits” – Ray J to Bobby V, Sammie and Pleasure P #Verzuz pic.twitter.com/q23ko2lUWx

— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) June 24, 2022

Bobby Valentino was the calmest. The Atlanta crooner let his hits like “Slow Down,” “In Those Jeans,” Beep” and “Tell Me” speak for themselves. He also took the opportunity to show off his skills as a pianist, giving “Turn The Page” a short but sweet piano-rendition.

Ray J was the butt of most of the jokes unfortunately. While Ray J has a catalog that dates back to the 1990s, the top song of his career was “One Wish.” Instead of letting him have his moment when the time came, the fellas all taunted him. While trash talking in between songs, Sammie would poke at him by singing “One Wish” and went as far as saying he sang it better than him. At one point, Bobby V and Pleasure P joined Sammie. Clearly, this left Ray J perturbed.

Once Ray J got the chance to sing his number 1 hit, the performance became a highlight for the wrong reasons. His voice shows obvious wear and tear. He tried to take his voice to heights they can’t reach without the help of a skilled engineer. It was painful to watch and hear.

Pleasure P received the best praise from the crowd, virtual or in-person. The crowd pleasers were his Pretty Ricky hits like “Grind With Me,” “Juicy,” “Age Ain’t Nothin’ But A Number,” “Your Body” and “On the Hotline.” His solo catalog was also well received. After singing “Boyfriend #2” he brought out J. Valentine to perform “Up!” Out of the four, Pleasure P was the shiner. His voice showed no signs of corosion. His catalog is aging well and knocks the same way it did almost 20 years ago.

Their urge to continue their braggadocious display of hits caused the headliners to be delayed. This led to threats to cut their show short, which folks on the east coast were open to since it was approaching midnight. While it was surely entertaining, the four men overstayed their welcome.

The Main Event: Omarion V. Mario

Close to midnight, Omarion and Mario finally entered the stage. Unexpectedly, Mario came out swinging. After giving each other their flowers, Mario reminded Omarion that he didn’t invite his B2K brethren, so he did so himself. He proceeded to bring out a fake J-Boog, Raz B and Fizz dressed in all white, mimicking their Millennium Tour attire. Once they broke out into the Omarion challenge, the audience erupted in laughter.

They kicked off the match-up with their early hits, which performers usually save for the end. Omarion began with a performance of “Touch.” Mario answered with his breakout hit “Just A Friend 2002.”

As the night went on, Mario’s vocals were unmatched. There wasn’t one note he couldn’t hit. Even when he sang a song the majority didn’t know, it didn’t matter because we were in a trance. “Braid My Hair,” “C’mon,” “Crying Out For Me,” “Nikes Fresh Out The Box,” “Music For Love,” ” Break Up” and “How Could I Breathe?” were definite standouts. No surprise guests were needed. Mario kept every bit of our attention with his falsettos and flawless voice.

Along with his perfect pitch, Mario brought the jokes too. When Mario wasn’t calling O a little dancing a** n****, he was reminding him how awful he sounded. As they threw friendly jabs, Omarion pointed out that Mario wasn’t invited to the Millennium Tour. Mario shot back stating he didn’t want to be “on that raggedy s*** no way.”

While he may have a stronger catalog, Omarion’s performance didn’t quite give what it was supposed to give. His choreography wasn’t as electrifying as expected. His voice was trembling and off-key. Omarion, who many thought would sweep Mario, didn’t have the strongest night.

Omarion brought his beautifully made brother O’Ryan down from the DJ booth for a joint watermelon munch at one point. This was a cringy and confusing attempt to arouse the ladies. All it did was earn him a new nickname for the night: Omellon.

Omarion really just did this with his brother on stage, poor watermelon #Verzuz pic.twitter.com/TowwCyEgzn

— SOUND (@itsavibe) June 24, 2022

The main highlight of the night was when Omarion brought out Tommy the Clown and the TSquad dancers for a “You Got Served” moment. He also brought out Tank who helped him sing “O.” Mario came through and stole the spotlight once again, which sat Tank down.

TANK probably wondering why he agreed to this #Verzuz pic.twitter.com/lMTbjNE9oq

— Aria (@ariaischic) June 24, 2022

As a surprise, Omarion brought out Jeremih to sing their collab “Show Me” from Omarion’s Sex Playlist album. As Jeremih sang, Mario pleaded with him to stop as he sang off-key. As Mario begged, so did we.

Mario said Omarion and Jeremih better stop they sound crazy 🤣 #Verzuz pic.twitter.com/PUwXZjEki2

— Aria (@ariaischic) June 24, 2022

Once Omarion sang “Speeding,” his voice lost its shakiness and gained its composure. But by the time that happened, Mario had already been deemed victorious.

If you missed it, watch the full show below.