Mary Jane Blige
(surname ) (born January 11, 1971), more commonly known as Mary J. Blige
, is an American recording artist, record producer and actress. She has sold more than forty eight million albums worldwide. [1] She has received over twenty-six Grammy Award nominations for her work, winning ten, and has been awarded the World Music Legends Award for combining hip hop and soul together. Blige's vocal range registers from alto to mezzo-soprano, but mostly performs in the mezzo-soprano range. Blige cites Anita Baker, Aretha Franklin and Chaka Khan as three of the most influential vocalists in her life. [2] [3]
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Biography
1971–1990: Early life and Career Beginnings
Mary Jane Blige was born on January 11, 1971, in
The Bronx,
New York City,
New York.
[4] She is the second of four children born to parents Cora and Thomas Blige.
[5] [6] Blige was taught to sing by her father, who would beat her mother. When Blige was four, her father abandoned the family.
Blige spent her early years in
Savannah, Georgia, where she sang in a
Pentecostal church.
[7] She later moved to Schlobohm Houses in
Yonkers, New York, where she lived with her mother, older sister, five cousins and two aunts.
At the age of five, Blige was
sexually abused by a family friend.
She dropped out of school in
eleventh grade.
When she was 17, Blige recorded an impromptu
cover of
Anita Baker's "Caught Up In the Rapture" at a recording booth in a local mall. Her mother's boyfriend at the time later played the cassette for Jeff Redd, a recording artist and
A&R runner for
Uptown Records.
Redd then sent it to the president and
CEO of the label,
Andre Harrell. Harrell met with Blige and, in 1989, she was signed to the label; becoming the company's youngest and first female artist.
Upon signing to Uptown, Blige's early years there were dormant, as the label continued to focus most of its attention on its more established acts. During this time, Blige occasionally did session work as a background singer for her label mates. In 1990, she was introduced as a background singer for Redd, during a performance at the
Apollo Theatre. The same year she also sang the hook on "I'll Do 4 U" by rapper and label mate
Father MC, appearing in the concert-themed
music video of the same name; In 1991, she was spotted on the
syndicated show,
Showtime at the Apollo, singing back up for
Jeff Redd. In early
Fall of 1992, Blige guest spotted with
Grand Puba with his single,
Check It Out
. Blige's first national debut appearance was in the summer of 1992 when she appeared on
MTV.
1991–1993: What's the 411?
and the Remix
album
Production for Blige's debut album began in 1991, with
Sean "Puffy" Combs (at the time a fledgling A&R executive at Uptown) largely overseeing the project. Also enlisted were some of the top R&B and hip hop producers of the time, among them Tony Dofat, Mark Morales and
Cory Rooney,
Dave "Jam" Hall, and
DeVante Swing.
On July 28, 1992, Uptown Records released
What's the 411?
. "
You Remind Me", the album's lead-off
single, peaked chart and number one on the
R&B singles chart that summer. The second single, "
Real Love", was released in the fall. It too topped the R&B singles chart, and became Blige's first top ten Hot 100 single, peaking at number seven. Both singles were also certified Gold.
More
What's the 411?
singles followed into 1993, including "Sweet Thing", a cover of
Rufus's "Sweet Thing", and "Love No Limit". By the end of the year,
What's the 411?
had sold three million copies. Blige, meanwhile, released a hip hop single "
You Don't Have to Worry". After the success of
What's the 411
, Sean "Puffy" Combs hailed the singer as "the queen of hip-hop soul", a title that she has since retained. She later confessed that, at the time, she believed the title to be nothing more than a marketing tool. The name of her album,
What's the 411?
stems from her previous job as Directory Assistance operator.
[9] The album's success spun off
What's the 411? Remix
, a
remix album released in December that was used to extend the life of the
What's the 411?
singles on the radio into 1994, as Blige recorded her follow up album.
1994–1996: My Life
On November 29, 1994, Uptown Records released Blige's second album,
My Life
. Darker, moodier, and slightly less
uptempo than its predecessor—the set was again overseen by Combs (despite his having recently left the label), who co-produced all but one of the albums tracks, and took over as Blige's manager. Unlike
What's the 411?
, Blige co-wrote a large body of the material, basing it on her personal life.
"
Be Happy", the album's single, peaked at number 29 and number six on the
Hot 100 and R&B singles chart, respectively. In early 1995, it was followed up with a cover of
Rose Royce's 1976 hit "
I'm Goin' Down", which became her first top 20 hit in the UK, peaking at number 12. Other
My Life
singles included: "You Bring Me Joy" and "
I Love You." Album tracks "
Mary Jane (All Night Long)" and "
My Life" also received heavy radio play, despite never being officially released as singles apart from the UK, where "Mary Jane (All Night Long)" became Blige's second top 20 hit from the album there.
My Life
was eventually certified triple platinum. In spite of its success and her growing fame, Blige later admitted that she was simultaneously dealing with long time bouts of
drug addiction,
alcoholism, and
depression, as well as an
abusive relationship with then-boyfriend
K-Ci Hailey of
Jodeci. Also in 1995, Blige involved herself in several outside projects; recording a cover of
Aretha Franklin's "
(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" for the soundtrack to the
FOX series
New York Undercover
, and "Everyday It Rains" (co-written by R&B singer
Faith Evans) for the soundtrack to the hip hop
biopic,
The Show
. That summer she dueted with rapper
Method Man on his song, "
I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By" (which sampled
Marvin Gaye's "
You're All I Need to Get By", and for which she won a Grammy award.) Later in the year, she also recorded the
Babyface-penned and produced "
Not Gon' Cry", for the soundtrack to motion picture
Waiting to Exhale
. The platinum-selling single rose to number two on the
Billboard
Hot 100 and number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs in early 1996, and became her biggest commercial hit at the time. Blige won her first
Grammy Award – '
Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group' for her collaboration with Method Man.
1997–1998: Share My World
and The Tour
On April 22, 1997,
MCA Records (parent company to Uptown Records, which was in the process of being dismantled) released Blige's third album,
Share My World
. By now, she and Combs had dissolved their working relationship. In his place were a group of big name producers, including:
Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis,
Chucky Thompson,
R. Kelly, Babyface, and most significantly
Rodney Jerkins, who helmed a significant portion of the album.
The album was made at a time where Blige was trying to "get her life together", by trying to overcome drugs and alcohol, as well as the ending of her relationship with Hailey. After an encounter with a person who threatened her life the previous year, she tried to quit the unhealthy life style and make more upbeat, happier music. As a result, songs such as "Love Is All We Need" and "Share My World", were made.
Share My World
debuted at number one on the
Billboard
200 and spawned five hit singles: "Love Is All We Need" (featuring
Nas), "I Can Love You" (featuring
Lil' Kim), "Everything", "Missing You" (UK only) and "Seven Days." The album became Blige's most commercially successful; selling three million copies in the U.S.. In early 1998, Blige won an American Music Award for "Favorite Soul/R&B Album." That summer she embarked on the
Share My World Tour
, which resulted in a Gold-certified
live album released later that year, simply titled
The Tour
. The album spawned one single, "Misty Blue."
1999–2000: Mary
On August 17, 1999, Blige's fourth album, titled
Mary
was released. It marked a departure from her more familiar hip hop-oriented sound; this set featured a more earthy, whimsical, and
adult contemporary-tinged collection of songs, reminiscent of 1970s to early 1980s
soul. Also featured on the album were high-profile guests, including: Aretha Franklin (who duetted with her on "Don't Waste Your Time"),
Elton John (who played
keys on "
Deep Inside" (which featured a sample of his '70s-era hit "
Bennie and the Jets"),
Eric Clapton (who played
guitar on "Give Me You"), and
Lauryn Hill (who wrote, produced, and sang background on "All That I Can Say.") Blige also recorded a cover of
Stevie Wonder's 1976 hit "
As" with
George Michael, which is featured on the UK release of
Mary
, and also on the Australian release of his
greatest hits album
Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael
.
On December 14, 1999, the album was re-released as a double-disc set. The second disc was enhanced with the music videos for the singles "All That I Can Say" and "Deep Inside", and also included two bonus tracks: "Sincerity" (featuring Nas and
DMX) and "Confrontation" (a collaboration with hip hop duo
Funkmaster Flex & Big Kap originally from their 1999 album
The Tunnel
). The
Mary
album was critically praised, becoming her most nominated release to date, and was certified double platinum (moving almost two million in sales.) It, however, wasn't as commercially successful as Blige's prior releases, even though all of the singles: "All That I Can Say", "Deep Inside", "Your Child", and "Give Me You" performed considerably on radio. In the meantime, MCA used the album to expand Blige's demographic into nightclub market, as club-friendly
dance remixes of the
Mary
singles were released. The club remix of "Your Child" peaked at number-one hit on the
Billboard's
Hot Dance Club Play chart in October 2000.
In 2001, a Japan-only compilation,
Ballads
, was released. The album featured covers of
Stevie Wonder's "Overjoyed", and previous recordings of
Aretha Franklin's "
(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" and
Dorothy Moore's "
Misty Blue".
2001–2002: No More Drama
On August 28, 2001, MCA released Blige's fifth studio album,
No More Drama
. The album's first single, "
Family Affair" (produced by
Dr. Dre) became her first number-one single on the
Billboard
Hot 100, where it remained for six consecutive weeks. It was followed by two further hit singles, the European only single "
Dance for Me" featuring
Common and the
Jimmy Jam and
Terry Lewis-produced
title track (originally recorded for the
Mary
album), which sampled "
Nadia's Theme", the
piano-driven theme song to the daytime drama
The Young and the Restless
.
Though the album sold nearly two million copies in the U.S., MCA was underwhelmed by its sales, and subsequently repackaged and re-released the album on January 29, 2002. The
No More Drama
re-release featured a new album cover, deleted three of the songs from the original track listing, while adding two brand-new songs—one of which was the fourth single and top twenty Hot 100 hit "
Rainy Dayz", (featuring
Ja Rule), plus two remixes; one of the title track, serviced by Puff Daddy and the single version of "Dance for Me" featuring
Common. The album sold another million-plus units in the U.S. and five million worldwide. Blige won a Grammy for '
Best Female R&B Vocal Performance' for the song "He Think I Don't Know." In April 2002, Mary J. Blige also performed with
Shakira with the song
Love Is A Battlefield on
VH1 Divas Show live in
Las Vegas.
On July 22, 2002, MCA released
Dance for Me
, a collection of club remixes of some of her past top hits including the
Junior Vasquez remix of "Your Child", and the
Thunderpuss mix of "No More Drama." This album was also released in a limited edition double pack 12" vinyl for DJ-friendly play in nightclubs.
2003–2004: Love & Life
On August 26, 2003, Blige's sixth album
Love & Life
was released on
Geffen Records (which had absorbed MCA Records.) Blige heavily collaborated with her one-time producer Sean Combs (now calling himself "Diddy") for this set. Due to the history between them on
What's the 411?
and
My Life
, which is generally regarded as their best work, and Blige having just come off of a successful fifth album, expectations were high for the reunion effort.
Despite the album debuting at number one on the
Billboard
200 and becoming Blige's fourth consecutive UK top ten album,
Love & Life
s lead-off single, the Diddy-produced "
Love @ 1st Sight" (which featured a cameo by Method Man), barely cracked the top ten on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, while altogether missing the top twenty on the Hot 100 (although peaking inside the UK top twenty). The following singles, "
Ooh!", "
Not Today" (featuring
Eve), "
Whenever I Say Your Name" (a duet with
Sting on the international re-release, which
Sting and Mary where awarded a
Grammy for) and "
It's a Wrap" fared worse. Although the album was certified platinum, it became Blige's lowest-selling and lowest commercial approval to date. Critics and fans alike largely panned the disc, citing a lack of consistency and noticeable ploys to recapture the early Blige/Combs glory. Blige and Combs reportedly struggled and clashed during the making of this album, and again parted ways upon the completion of it.
2005–2006: The Breakthrough
and Reflections - A Retrospective
Geffen Records released Blige's seventh studio album,
The Breakthrough
on December 20, 2005. For the album, Blige collaborated with J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, Rodney Jerkins,
will.i.am,
Bryan Michael Cox,
9th Wonder, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis,
Raphael Saadiq,
Cool and Dre, and Dre & Vidal. The cover art was photographed by Markus Klinko & Indrani. It debuted at number one on both the
Billboard
200 and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts. Selling 727,000 copies in its first week, it became the biggest first-week sales for an R&B solo female artist in
SoundScan history (a record subsequently broken by 2007
Alicia Keys' album
As I Am
)
[10] [11], the fifth largest first-week sales for a female artist, and the fourth largest debut of 2005. Since its release,
The Breakthrough
has sold over three million copies in the U.S and over seven million copies worldwide, becoming one of the five best-selling albums of 2006.
The lead-off single, "
Be Without You", peaked at number three on the
Billboard
Hot 100, while peaking at number one on the R&B chart for a record-setting fifteen consecutive weeks; it remained on the chart for over sixteen months. "Be Without You" also found success in the UK (although peaking in the lower end of the top forty) it became Blige's longest charting single on the
UK Singles Chart. It is her second longest charting single to date. The album produced three more singles including two more top five R&B hits—"
Enough Cryin'", which features Blige's
alter ego Brook-Lynn (as whom she appeared on the remix to
Busta Rhymes's "
Touch It" in 2006); and "
Take Me as I Am" (which
samples Lonnie Liston Smith's "A Garden of Peace"). Blige's duet with
U2 on the cover of their 1992 hit, "
One" gave Blige her biggest hit to date in the UK, peaking at number two on the
UK Singles Chart eventually being certified one of the forty highest-selling singles of 2006
[12]; it her her longest charting UK single.
The success of
The Breakthrough
won Blige nine
Billboard
Music Awards, two American Music Awards, two BET Awards, two NAACP Image Awards, and a Soul Train Award. She also received eight Grammy Award nominations at the
2007 Grammy Awards, the most of any artist that year. "Be Without You" was nominated for both "
Record of the Year" and "
Song of the Year". Blige won three: "Best Female R&B Vocal Performance", "
Best R&B Song" (both for "Be Without You"), and "
Best R&B Album" for
The Breakthrough
. Blige completed a season sweep of the "big three" major music awards, having won the American Music Awards in November 2006, the Billboard Music Awards in December 2006, and the Grammy Awards in February 2007.
In December 2006, a compilation called
Reflections - A Retrospective
was released. It contained many of Blige's greatest hits and four new songs, including the worldwide lead single "
We Ride (I See the Future)". In the UK, however, "
MJB da MVP" (which appeared in a different, shorter form on
The Breakthrough
) was released as the lead single from the collection. The album peaked at number nine in the U.S, selling over 170,000 copies in its first week, while reaching number forty in the UK. It has sold more than 1.6 million copies. Also in 2006, Blige recorded a duet with rapper Ludacris, "
Runaway Love", which is the third single on his fifth album,
Release Therapy
. It reached the top five on the
Billboard
Hot 100 and the R&B chart. Blige was featured with
Aretha Franklin and The Harlem Boys Choir on the soundtrack to the 2006 motion picture
Bobby
, on the lead track "Never Gonna Break My Faith". The song was nominated for a
Golden Globe and won the Grammy Award for
Best Gospel Performance at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards.
2007–2008: Growing Pains
Blige's eighth studio album,
Growing Pains
, was released on December 18, 2007, debuting at number two on the
Billboard
200 and at number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. It sold 629,000 copies in its first week, marking the third time since Nielsen SoundScan began collecting data in 1991 that two albums sold more than 600,000 copies in a week in the United States. In its second week, the album climbed to number one, making it Blige's fourth number-one album. The lead single, "
Just Fine", peaked at number twenty-two on the
Billboard
Hot 100 and at number three on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. "Just Fine" was nominated for the Grammy Award for "
Best Female R&B Vocal Performance", and Blige won "
Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals" for the
Chaka Khan duet "Disrespectful" (featured on Khan's album
Funk This
) which Mary wrote herself.
Of the song
Chaka Khan said:
"We were going to write together but Mary started writing this song and it was so strong, she finished it herself! It's an absolute powerhouse, crazy, insane track! When you listen to it, it's hard to tell which of us is singing! It's a tour-de-force about one of the few subjects two women can sing about!"
Growing Pains
was not released in the UK until February 2008, where it became Blige's fifth top ten and third-highest charting album.
The Breakthrough
and
Reflections (A Retrospective)
were released in the Christmas rush and therefore settled for lower peaks, although both selling more than her top five album
Mary
. "
Just Fine
" also returned Blige to the UK singles chart top 20 after her previous two singles failed to chart highly. Subsequent singles from
Growing Pains
include "
Work That", which accompanied Blige in an
iTunes commercial, and "
Stay Down".
Blige was featured on
50 Cent's 2007 album,
Curtis
, in the song "All of Me". In March 2008, she toured with
Jay-Z in the
Heart of the City tour. They released a song called "You're Welcome". In the same period, cable network
BET aired a special on Blige entitled
The Evolution of Mary J. Blige
, which showcased her career. Celebrities such as
Method Man and
Ashanti gave their opinions about Blige and her music. Blige is currently featured on singles by
Big Boi, and
Musiq Soulchild.
Growing Pains
was nominated for a
Grammy Award for
Best Contemporary R&B Album, at the
51st Grammy Awards to be held on February 8, 2009, earning Blige her 27th Grammy nomination, in a mere decade.
Blige also went on tour in Europe in support of
Growing Pains
, her first European tour in two years. A tour of Australia and New Zealand was scheduled for June but was postponed due to "weariness from an overwhelming tour schedule"
[13] and then eventually canceled entirely.
[14]
On August 7, 2008, it was revealed Blige faced a US$2 million federal suit claiming Neff-U wrote the music for the song "
Work That", but was owned by Dream Family Entertainment. The filing claimed that Dream Family never gave rights to use the song to Blige, Feemster or Geffen Records. Rights to the lyrics of the song used in an
iPod commercial are not in question.
[15]
2009–present: Stronger
thumb"
Mary J. Blige performed "Lean On Me" at the Presidential Inauguration Committee's, "
We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial". Blige also performed "Just Fine" with a new intro at the Neighborhood Inaugural Ball after
Barack Obama was sworn in as the first black president on January 20, 2009.
Blige was honored at the 2009
BET Honors Ceremony and was paid tributes and honors by
Anita Baker and
Monica.
While Blige toured with
Robin Thicke in 2008, she worked on her upcoming ninth album titled
Stronger
. The first single, "
The One", which features the
Canadian rapper
Drake,
[16] was released for airplay on June 5, 2009, and was officially and digitally released on July 21, 2009. She also recently performed the single at
Hot 97's 2009 Summer Jam Concert. Blige recently appeared in an
AT&T Shedding Styles commercial.
Stronger
is expected to be released on November 24, 2009 along with the premiere of her reality show on
BET. The title track, "Stronger", which is also the lead single from the soundtrack to the basketball documentary "
More Than a Game", was originally supposed to double as the album's official second single, but the next single was recently changed to "Good Love" featuring
T.I..
[17]
Blige will also play the role of Tanya in the upcoming Tyler Perry movie,
I Can Do Bad All By Myself
, where she will perform the song, "I Can Do Bad All By Myself".
Blige has been announced as a guest judge on the 2010 series of American Idol.
Acting career
Category:Articles with sections that need to be turned into prose
In 1998, Blige made her acting debut on the sitcom
The Jamie Foxx Show
playing a character ,the apparently southern Ola Mae; a preacher's daughter who wanted to sing more than
gospel music. Her father was portrayed by Ronald Isley of
The Isley Brothers. In 2001, Blige starred opposite rapper
Q-Tip in the independent film
Prison Song
. That same year, Blige made a cameo on the
Lifetime network series,
Strong Medicine
; playing Simone Fellows, lead singer of a band who was sick, but wouldn't seek treatment. In 2000, Blige had her own superhero web cartoon in junction with
Stan Lee. Blige also used the cartoon to open her 2000 tour. In 2004, Blige starred in an
off-Broadway play,
The Exonerated
. The play chronicled the experiences of real death row inmates. Blige portrayed Sunny Jacobs, a woman who spent 20 years in prison for a crime she did not commit. In late 2005, it was reported that Blige had landed the starring role in the upcoming
MTV Films biopic on
Nina Simone. There is no word yet as to when the film will start shooting.
In February 2007, Blige guest-starred on
Ghost Whisperer
, in the episode "Mean Ghost", as Jackie Boyd; a cheerleading coach grieving for the death of her brother and dealing with a dead cheerleader harming her team. The episode features many of Blige's songs. In August 2007, Blige guest-starred on
Entourage
, playing herself as a client of
Ari Gold's agency. In October 2007, Blige guest-starred on
America's Next Top Model
, as creative director for a photoshoot done by
Matthew Rolston. In May 2009, Mary made a guest appearance on
30 Rock
, as one of the artists recording a benefit song for a kidney. According to IMDB, she will play famous American singer/pianist
Nina Simone. The film will be released in 2009. Mary J Blige is expected to have a leading role In Tyler Perry's Movie
I Can Do Bad All By Myself
scheduled to hit theatres in September of 2009. She will also contribute the title track from her ninth album
Stronger
(due for a November 24, 2009 release) to the soundtrack and for promotion of the
LeBron James documentary,
More Than a Game
.
Business endorsements
She is a spokesperson and investor for
Carol's Daughter beauty products. She also has her own record label called Matriarch Records, which is distributed through Geffen.
Mary J. Blige has had major endorsements with several companies including
Reebok,
Air Jordan,
Pepsi,
Coca-Cola,
Gap,
Target, American Express,
AT&T,
M·A·C,
Apple Inc. and
Chevrolet. Blige was also a
Citibank spokesperson with
Nickelback for their 2008 holiday promotion.
Personal life
Blige had a very public and tumultuous six-year relationship with Jodeci frontman
Cedric "K-Ci" Hailey, which ended in 1997. Following the run of their union, despite having been linked with singer
Case, rappers Ghostface Killah and
Nas and producer/singer Malik Pendleton, she has kept many of her relationships private.
In 2000, Blige began a relationship with record industry executive Martin Kendu Isaacs (known simply as "Kendu"), who is now her manager. Blige has also credited Isaacs for helping her overcome her addictions to drugs and alcohol. The two were married on December 7, 2003 in a small private ceremony at Blige's home attended by 50 guests (none of whom were media
[18]).
In a 2006 appearance on
The Oprah Winfrey Show
, Blige said that she was
molested at the age of five.
[19]
On March 27, 2008 it was reported that Mary J. Blige, along with her husband bought a 12.3 million dollar house, with a movie theater and a basketball court.
In 2008, Mary J. Blige was among the celebrities listed as
People
magazine's 100 Most Beautiful People.
Philanthropy
Blige was a spokesperson for the M·A·C AIDS Fund. She appeared in two ads, one with
Lil' Kim in 2000 and the other with
Elton John and
Shirley Manson in 2002.
She was one of the featured singers on the CNN Heroes Awards Show on December 6, 2007.
Blige lent her voice to the 2008 song, Just Stand Up. The proceeds benefited Stand Up to Cancer. As a result of SU2C fundraising endeavors, the SU2C scientific advisory committee, overseen by the
American Association for Cancer Research was able to award 73.6 million dollars towards novel, groundbreaking cancer research.
[20]
On May 9, 2008, the Mary J. Blige and
Steve Stoute Foundation for the Advancement of Women Now, Inc. was announced at Roosevelt High School in Yonkers. According to the , "FFAWN is an organization founded by Mary J. Blige to inspire women from all walks of life to reach their individual potential. Through scholarships, grants, and programs that foster strong self-esteem, career development, and personal growth, FFAWN is intended to help women gain the confidence and skills they need to achieve success. FFAWN will initially focus its efforts in Yonkers and surrounding communities in Westchester and then expand its scope to include the Greater New York area and, eventually, the entire country."
Discography
- What's the 411?
(1992)
- My Life
(1994)
- Share My World
(1997)
- Mary
(1999)
- No More Drama
(2001)
- Love & Life
(2003)
- The Breakthrough
(2005)
- Growing Pains
(2007)
- Stronger
(2009)
Tours
- Share My World Tour
(1998)
- The Mary Show Tour
(2000)
- No More Drama Tour
(2002)
- Love & Life Tour
(2004)
- Breakthrough Experience Tour
(U.S.) (2006)
- Heart of the City Tour
(with Jay-Z) (U.S.) (2008)
- Growing Pains Tour
(Europe) (2008)
- Love Soul Tour
(U.S.) (2008)
Filmography
- Mary J. Blige videography
;
| Film
|
| Year
| Film & Television
| Role
| Notes
|
| 1998
| The Jamie Foxx Show
| Ola Mae
| "Papa Don't Preach" (episode 14, season 2)
|
| 2001
| Angel: One More Road to Cross
| Guardian Angel
| Direct to DVD
|
| Prison Song
| Mrs. Butler
| Main Role
|
| Strong Medicine
| Simone Fellows
| "History" (episode 4, season 2)
|
| 2007
| Ghost Whisperer
| Jackie Boyd
| "Mean Ghost" (episode 15, season 2)
|
| 2009
| I Can Do Bad All By Myself (film)
| Tanya
| Supporting Role
|
| Untitled Nina Simone Project
| Nina Simone
| Main Role
|
| 30 Rock
| Herself
| Guest
|
See also
- List of awards and nominations received by Mary J. Blige
- List of honorific titles in popular music
References
- Mary J. Blige & Jay-Z Announce Heart of the City Tour
- Mary J Blige and Jay-Z review.
- http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/24161972
- Mary J. Blige Biography
- Goin' Down and Up with Mary J. Blige
- Mary J Blige is back from rock bottom - how she kicked drugs, gin and hangers-on
- Mary J. Blige: Biography
- Mary J. Blige Biography
- http://www.flixster.com/actor/mary-j-blige#, http://www.pbs.org/kcet/tavissmiley/archive/200711/2007
- Mary J. Blige is able to mix integrity, popularity
- Keys Storms Chart With Mega-Selling 'As I Am'
- The Official UK Singles Chart of the year: 2006
- Mary J Blige postpones Aussie tour
- Chugg Entertainment : Mary J Blige
- Mary J. Blige faces 2M lawsuit over stolen song
- The One Songfacts
- http://www.rap-up.com/2009/08/07/mary-j-blige-enlists-ti-for-new-single/
- Mary J. Blige's Wedding Details
- Rise and Shine: Mary's J. Blige's Struggle
- Stand Up to Cancer[1]