Mary J. Blige : Breakthrough

About Mary

Over the course of 15 years, with a voice that is rough and ready, sweet and pure, Mary J. Blige is capable of conveying heartache and happiness in a single musical phrase. A confessional singer, her emotional honesty reflects the great traditions of blues and soul with a ripped-from-the-pages-of-your-diary immediacy that has won her countless honors and a devoted, ever-growing audience around the world.

Nobody tells it like Mary. She delivers fan-pleasing, trademark, straight-up messages to players, cheaters and fools with serenity, conviction and compassion. Nobody tells it like Mary. She delivers fan-pleasing, trademark, straight-up messages to players, cheaters and fools with serenity, conviction and compassion.

Wilson Louis from Miami, FL asked: Compared to all your other albums, what's different about Breakthrough? Mary J: "The Breakthrough is different because I am no longer going around the pain of self-healing and slowly healing. I'm quick to looking at what's wrong and i try to fix it."

Hope Woodson from New Haven, CT asked: What was your inspiration for "Be Without You"? Are you going through what you are singing? Mary J: "Yes, I always go through this because our personalities are different and sometimes will clash and misunderstand each other, which causes arguments, but I'd rather be with him as long as he respects me."

Felisa Wallace from Detroit, MI asked: What is your favorite song from your new album? Mary J: "I have 4: "Good Woman Down", "Enough Crying", "Take Me As I Am", and "Baggage".

Matthew Bavotto from St. Paul, MN asked: Who is your favorite artist? Favorite album? Mary J: "Don't have one. Have way too many to name."

Niema Darod from Northolt, England asked: My mum loves you and wants to know how you keep so fit and young?! Mary J: "Praying for the strength to have the willpower to train daily and diet. Resting and lots of water." Levar Lewis from Virginia asked: What is your diet like? Mary J: "Not starving myself. Six small lite meals a day and they all include brown rice or wheat bread."

DeMetria Moaning from Boley, Oklahoma asked: How do you keep it hot after so many years on the scene? How do you keep up the style evolution? Mary J: "Be myself and nobody else. And wear what works for me and not for someone else."

Antonette from Los Angeles asked: Who inspired you to start singing? How did you start your career and what advice do you have for an aspiring singer? Mary J: "People in my neighborhood inspired me to sing. Believe in your ability no matter what, but be realistic with yourself and your ability."

Geneva from Bronx, N.Y. asked: Some women, such as myself, listen to music when they have a bad day. What do you do to relax? Mary J: "I lay down and pray and ask God for forgiveness if I've done anything to anyone, then I forgive everyone else for hurting me."

D. Rose from Dallas, TX asked: Through all your struggles, what or who kept you motivated to face another day? Mary J: "My fans and God!!"

Thabo from East London asked: What motivates your to write and sing such beautiful deep soulful songs? Mary J: "Life and trials."

Rasheeda from Bridgetown, Barbados asked: Do you regret anything you've done in your career? Mary J: "No, I've learned so much from all my mistakes. I just wish I had gotten my education."

Angel Mcclurken from Greensboro, NC asked: What is the one thing that you think about everyday that keeps you going and gives you that extra push? Mary J: "God loves me and sent his son to die for me so I have to live to please him because he saved me when everyone abandoned me."

Overview New Album

At the end of 2005, Mary J. Blige's career was supposed to be anthologized. The singer had her way, however, and one of her best studio albums came out instead. In retrospect, her previous album, 2003's Love & Life, was awkward; the P. Diddy collaborations, likely intended to recapture the magic the duo put together on What's the 411? and My Life, didn't always pay off, and Blige was about to become a wife, so the songs steeped in heartbreak and disappointment weren't delivered with as much power as they had been in the past. The Breakthrough also contains some of the drama that fans expect, despite Blige's continued happiness, but it's clear that she has gained enough distance from the uglier parts of her past that she can inhabit them and, once again, deliver those songs. The past does play a significant role in the album, as in "Baggage," where she apologies to her husband for bringing it into their relationship. "Father in You" sounds like a note-perfect facsimile of a classic soul ballad, rising and falling and twisting with a sensitive string arrangement, but the lyrics are pure Blige, acknowledging the ways in which her husband has made up for the absence of her father. On the nearly anthemic "Good Woman Down," she sees a less matured version of herself in young women and uses her experiences to advise. She jacks the beat from the Game's "Hate It or Love It" for "MJB da MVP," where she reflects on her career, thanks her supporters, and reasserts her rightful position as the soul hip-hop queen. It's one of several tracks to beam with a kind of contentment and confidence that Blige has never before possessed. Take "Can't Hide from Love," where she's such a force that Jay-Z dishes out a quick introduction and knows to stay out of the way for the remainder of the track, or the glorious "I Found My Everything," her "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman." Beat for beat, the album features the best round of productions Blige has been handed since the mid-'90s. Apart from only a couple lukewarm tracks and a poorly recorded version of "One" with U2, it is completely correct. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide

Mary J. Blige - In The Meantime

This is a song of of Mary J. Blige's No More Drama album.