Mary J. Blige
Mary J. Blige has won nine Grammy Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award, and in 2024 she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Admirers call her the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul, and also the Queen of R&B.
Her career raises a few questions. How did a young singer from New York change what pop radio sounded like? Why did some of her most admired records come out of her hardest years?
And how does one person earn two Academy Award nominations in the same year, one for acting and one for songwriting? Her fame also stretched from a Super Bowl halftime stage to a perfume counter, and not every venture went smoothly.
The first answers lie in her childhood, long before any of those honors.
On the 11th of January 1971, Mary Jane Blige was born at Fordham Hospital in the Belmont neighborhood of the Bronx. Her mother, Cora, worked as a nurse, and her father, Thomas, was a jazz musician. She had an older sister, LaTonya Blige-DaCosta.
Blige spent her early childhood in Richmond Hill, Georgia, where she sang in a Pentecostal church. The family later moved back north and settled in the Schlobohm Housing Projects in Yonkers.
Her father left in the mid-1970s. He was a Vietnam War veteran who struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder and alcoholism, so the household lived on her mother's nursing pay.
When Blige was five, a family friend molested her. As a teenager she faced years of sexual harassment from peers. She later said these experiences taught her to protect herself in a music business where harassment is a serious problem for women.
She also tried to numb the pain with alcohol, drugs and casual sex. In her junior year she dropped out of high school.
Music offered another route. She admired Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan and Gladys Knight, and for a short time she sang with a Yonkers band called Pride, alongside its drummer Eddie D'Aprile.
Then, in early 1988, she stepped into a recording booth at the Galleria Mall in White Plains and cut an impromptu cover of Anita Baker's "Caught Up in the Rapture." Her mother's boyfriend at the time carried the cassette to Jeff Redd, a recording artist who also ran as an A&R scout for Uptown Records.
Redd passed it to the label's president and chief executive, Andre Harrell. Harrell met her, and in 1989, at eighteen, she signed as a backup vocalist for acts such as Father MC. She was the company's youngest artist and its first woman.
Soon afterward she began working with a producer named Sean Combs, and he would shape the sound of her debut.
On the 28th of July 1992, Uptown and MCA Records released What's the 411?, Blige's first album. Combs served as executive producer and produced most of it. Blige chose the title to signal that she was the real deal.
The record climbed to number six on the Billboard 200 and topped the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. In the United States it went three times Platinum, and by August 2010 it had sold 3,318,000 copies there.
Critics noticed the persona. Reviewers described a tough, streetwise young woman singing over hip hop beats. Entertainment Weekly's Dave DiMartino praised her "powerful, soulful voice and hip-hop attitude."
In 1993, the album won her two Soul Train Music Awards, for Best New R&B Artist and Best R&B Album, Female. That December came a remix album, What's the 411? Remix, which kept the singles on the radio into 1994. It became the first album by a singer to feature a rapper on every song.
Scholars have looked more closely at who was speaking on the debut. Treva B. Lindsey wrote that its lyrics build a woman-centered discourse, but that men's words of adoration introduce Blige first. In her phrasing, the album is "an African American woman-centered storytelling space created largely by black men."
Still, she was already being named the Queen of Hip Hop Soul. Her next record would leave the male voices behind and turn inward.
In the winter of 1993, Blige went into the studio to record her second album, My Life. She was in a clinical depression and battling drugs and alcohol. She was also in an abusive relationship with the singer K-Ci Hailey of Jodeci.
Uptown and MCA released the album on the 29th of November 1994. It sold 481,000 copies in its first week and stayed at the top of the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart for eight weeks, a run described as unprecedented.
It spent 46 weeks on the Billboard 200 and 84 weeks on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Later rankings were generous. Blender placed it 57th among the 100 greatest American albums in 2002. Rolling Stone ranked it 279th in 2003, and Time included it in 2006.
In a 2020 revision of the Rolling Stone list, My Life rose to 126th, while What's the 411? landed at 271.
Blige kept busy on other people's projects. She covered Aretha Franklin's "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" for the series New York Undercover. She also sang "Everyday It Rains," co-written by Faith Evans, for the documentary The Show.
Then came "Not Gon' Cry," written and produced by Babyface for the film Waiting to Exhale. It reached number two on the Hot 100 and number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in early 1996.
That year she earned her first two Grammy nominations and won Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group with Method Man. Rap's biggest names kept calling. She appeared on Jay-Z's "Can't Knock the Hustle" from Reasonable Doubt, and on Ghostface Killah's "All That I Got Is You" from his debut, Ironman.
By the release of Share My World on the 22nd of April 1997, Blige and Combs had ended their working partnership. The Trackmasters and Steve Stoute took over as executive producers, with help from Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, R. Kelly, Babyface and Rodney Jerkins.
She made it while trying to pull her life together, and her relationship with Hailey had ended. After an encounter with someone who threatened her life the year before, she aimed for happier, more upbeat songs.
The album entered the Billboard 200 at number one and produced five hit singles, including "Love Is All We Need" with Nas and "I Can Love You" with Lil' Kim. In early 1998 it earned her an American Music Award for Favorite Soul/R&B Album.
The Share My World Tour followed, and it yielded a Gold-certified live album, The Tour.
On the 17th of August 1999, she released Mary, a deliberate step away from hip hop. It drew on the soul of the 1970s and early 1980s. Critics praised it, it earned more nominations than any of her releases so far, and it went double platinum.
MCA also pushed the singles into nightclubs with dance remixes. The club remix of "Your Child" reached number one on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play chart in October 2000.
In 1999 she joined George Michael on a cover of Stevie Wonder's "As," which reached number four in the United Kingdom. The label's president had it dropped from the American release after Michael's arrest for a lewd act. In January 2001 she appeared as a guest in the Super Bowl XXXV halftime show.
No More Drama arrived on the 28th of August 2001. Its lead single, "Family Affair," was produced by Dr. Dre and held the top of the Hot 100 for six weeks. It remains her only number one on that chart.
The title track sampled "Nadia's Theme," the piano melody from the daytime drama The Young and the Restless. MCA was unhappy that the album sold only nearly two million copies in the United States, so it reissued the album on the 29th of January 2002 with new songs, including "Rainy Dayz" with Ja Rule.
Blige won a Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "He Think I Don't Know." In April 2002 she performed on VH1 Divas in Las Vegas with Shakira, and then sang with Whitney Houston.
The reunion came next. Love & Life, released on the 26th of August 2003 by Geffen, brought back Combs. Fans expected a return to their early magic.
The album opened at number one, but its singles fizzled and it became her lowest seller to that point. Reviews split, with AllMusic awarding four stars and others finding it inconsistent. Blige and Combs reportedly clashed in the studio and parted again.
About four months later, on the 7th of December 2003, she married her manager, Martin "Kendu" Isaacs.
On the 20th of December 2005, Geffen released The Breakthrough. It sold 727,000 copies in its first week, the biggest opening ever recorded by SoundScan for a solo female R&B artist.
Its lead single, "Be Without You," peaked at number three on the Hot 100. It held the top spot on the R&B chart for a record fifteen consecutive weeks. In 2017, Billboard named it the most successful R&B/hip-hop song of all time, after more than 75 weeks on the chart.
The album also introduced an alter ego, Brook Lynn, who appears on "Enough Cryin'" and on Blige's remix of Busta Rhymes's "Touch It." Her duet with U2 on their song "One" reached number two in the United Kingdom.
The 2007 Grammy Awards gave her eight nominations, the most of any artist that year. She won three: Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, Best R&B Song, and Best R&B Album. She also collected nine Billboard Music Awards in December 2006 and two American Music Awards the month before.
On the 18th of December 2007, she released Growing Pains. It sold 629,000 copies in its first week, the third time since 1991 that two albums sold over 600,000 in a single week. It moved to number one in its second week.
Its lead single, "Just Fine," reached number twenty-two on the Hot 100. The album won Best Contemporary R&B Album at the 51st Grammy Awards on the 8th of February 2009, her 27th nomination in just a decade.
She also wrote "Disrespectful," a duet with Chaka Khan that won a Grammy. In March 2008 she toured with Jay-Z on the Heart of the City Tour.
The pace had a cost. A tour of Australia and New Zealand planned for June 2008 was postponed because of "weariness from an overwhelming tour schedule," then canceled. That August, a federal suit seeking US$2 million claimed that she had used the music for "Work That" without rights.
In January 2009 she was back in front of the nation, singing "Lean on Me" at the Lincoln Memorial for the Obama inaugural celebration.
In 1998, Blige made her acting debut on The Jamie Foxx Show as Ola Mae, a preacher's daughter who preferred singing pop to gospel. Ronald Isley of the Isley Brothers played her father. In 2001 she starred opposite the rapper Q-Tip in the independent film Prison Song.
In 2004, she appeared in the Off-Broadway play The Exonerated, which told the stories of death row inmates. She played Sunny Jacobs, who had spent 20 years in prison for a crime she did not commit.
A Nina Simone biopic did not work out. She was slated to play the singer, with David Oyelowo as her manager Clifton Henderson, but she left over financial issues. Zoe Saldaña took the part in the 2016 film Nina.
Other roles followed. In Rock of Ages in 2012 she played Justice Charlier, a Sunset Strip club owner, alongside Tom Cruise. In the Lifetime movie Betty and Coretta she played Dr. Betty Shabazz, widow of Malcolm X. In December 2015 she became Evillene, the Wicked Witch of the West, in The Wiz Live!
Then came Mudbound in 2017, directed by Dee Rees. Blige played Florence Jackson, the matriarch of the Jackson family. Variety called her performance "transformative."
She was nominated for the Golden Globe, the Critics' Choice Movie Award, the Screen Actors Guild Award and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She was also nominated for Best Original Song, with Taura Stinson and Raphael Saadiq.
That made her the first person nominated for acting and for original song in the same year. Rees became the first Black woman to direct a film with an Oscar-nominated performer.
More screen work followed. She played Cha-Cha in Netflix's The Umbrella Academy in 2019, Monet Stewart Tejada in Power Book II: Ghost, and the singer Dinah Washington in the 2021 film Respect.
Away from the screen, Blige built a business portfolio. In 2004 she launched Matriarch Records through Interscope. In July 2010, her first perfume, My Life, sold 50,000 bottles on the Home Shopping Network during its premiere, setting a sales record there. That October she introduced a line of sunglasses, Melodies by MJB.
One project backfired. In April 2012, an online preview of a Burger King ad showed her singing about a crispy chicken wrap to the tune of her song "Don't Mind." The preview drew heavy criticism, with some commenters saying it traded on racial stereotypes about Black people and fried chicken.
Universal Music Group had the clip removed from YouTube over licensing. Blige said she had not "signed off" on the unfinished spot, and Burger King apologized publicly. In a June 2012 interview with Angie Martinez on Hot 97, she apologized as well and said the criticism had "crushed" her.
Slate's Aisha Harris disagreed that the ad was racist, calling that claim "dubious" and instead faulting its "mediocre" production.
Later ventures were steadier. In 2019 she formed Blue Butterfly Productions, which signed a first-look deal with BET in December 2022 and launched her talk show The Wine Down with Mary J. Blige. In 2023 she began producing Lifetime films inspired by her songs, starting with Real Love, Family Affair and Strength of a Woman.
In November 2011, Blige released My Life II... The Journey Continues (Act 1). It featured production from Kanye West and the Underdogs. "Mr. Wrong," with Drake, was its biggest single. The album debuted at number five and sold 156,000 copies in its first week.
In 2014 she moved to London for a month to work at RAK Studios with young British acts including Disclosure, Naughty Boy, Emeli Sandé and Sam Smith. Ten songs came out on the 24th of November 2014 as The London Sessions. That month she left Geffen and Interscope and signed with Capitol Records.
Her personal life grew turbulent. In July 2016 she filed for divorce from Isaacs, citing irreconcilable differences, and it was finalized on the 21st of June 2018. Strength of a Woman, released on the 28th of April 2017, reached number three on the Billboard 200.
That same autumn of 2016 she launched The 411 on Apple Music and opened with Hillary Clinton as her first guest. The trailer, in which Blige sang Bruce Springsteen's "American Skin" to a bewildered Clinton, drew mixed and negative reactions online.
In 2019 she co-headlined The Royalty Tour with Nas and received the BET Lifetime Achievement Award. Her album Good Morning Gorgeous came out on the 11th of February 2022, and its deluxe edition became her only release nominated for Album of the Year.
Two days later, on the 13th of February 2022, she took the Super Bowl LVI halftime stage with Dr. Dre, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent and Anderson .Paak. The show won her a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Special (Live).
Gratitude followed on the 15th of November 2024. During the 2025 For My Fans Tour, clips of her performances spread online, and some viewers mocked her for seeming disinterested. She answered plainly: "I was exhausted. I was kind of over everything. I was just tired." The tour still ranked as the fifth highest-grossing R&B tour of 2025.
Blige has said she has been sober for several years, as of 2019. In a February 2022 interview with E! News, she explained why she has no biological children: "I like my freedom."
Her influence is widely cited. Ethan Brown of The New Yorker wrote that What's the 411? and My Life invented a sample-heavy sound that became a blueprint for nineties hip-hop and R&B. Scholars also credit her with presenting Black womanhood in a field long dominated by men, building songs from her own family struggles.
In 2020, Kamala Harris walked out to "Work That" at the Democratic National Convention and at her campaign events, and again for her victory speech.
A first Las Vegas residency, Mary J. Blige: My Life, My Story, was set to open at Dolby Live on the 1st of May 2026. In April of that year, Forbes also placed her on its Self-Made 250 list of the greatest living self-made Americans, citing her humble beginnings.
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Common questions
Why is Mary J. Blige called the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul?
Her 1992 debut, What's the 411?, paired soulful vocals with hip hop beats. Critics credit it with bringing that blend into mainstream pop and R&B.
What was her biggest chart success?
"Family Affair" from No More Drama (2001) topped the Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks. It remains her only number one on that chart.
What made her Mudbound nominations historic?
She became the first person nominated for an Academy Award for acting and for original song in the same year.
Which of her albums are most often ranked among the greatest ever?
What's the 411? and My Life both appear on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums list, and My Life also appears on Time's list.
What happened with the Burger King commercial?
A 2012 preview of an unfinished ad drew criticism over racial stereotypes. Blige said she had not signed off on it, and Burger King apologized.
All sources
193 references cited across the entry
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- 18NewsMary J. Blige reveals she was sexually abused and molested as a childJoe Gracely — July 25, 2011
- 19Mary J. Blige – Music Biography, Credits and DiscographyStacia Proefrock — January 11, 1971
- 21Mary J. Blige: The Queen of Hip-Hop Soul from Yonkers, New YorkAndrew Isles — 2023-05-22
- 23NewsStardom Shaped By the Street and the Makers of ImageAugust 5, 1995
- 24Mary J. Blige Teams Up with 50 Cent, P. Diddy to Discuss Love and LifeShaheem Reid — March 14, 2003
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- 29MagazineWhat's the 411? (1992)Nielsen Business Media
- 31MagazineClose-up: Mary J. BligeDave DiMartino — Time — November 20, 1992
- 32NewsPazz & JopMarch 2, 1993
- 33Chart Watch Extra: 40 who died before 40Paul Grein — Yahoo! — August 29, 2010
- 34Blige blows Brum's socks offTom Horan — April 23, 2002
- 35Mary J. Blige's My Life LP (1994) revisited with co-producer Chucky Thompson Return To The ClassicsChris Williams — Soul Culture
- 36Mary J. Blige On Her "My Life" Album: "I Was Depressed, Ready To Die"Morgan Murrell — June 24, 2021
- 37Key Tracks: Mary J. Blige's My LifeRed Bull Music Academy
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- 48Dixie Chicks Make Nice With Five GRAMMYsGrammy.org — February 11, 2007
- 492006 American Music Awards WinnersAbclocal.go.com — November 22, 2006
- 51postpones Aussie tournews.com.au — June 6, 2008
- 52Chugg Entertainment : Mary J BligeChuggentertainment.com
- 53Mary J. Blige faces 2M lawsuit over stolen songMelissa Grace — August 7, 2008
- 54Mary J. Blige On Making 'Hood Love' Video With Trey Songz — Music, Celebrity, Artist NewsShaheem Reid — MTV — May 6, 2010
- 55Mary J. Blige: I'm Not Going to College! – Movies, TV & MusicUsMagazine.com — July 8, 2010
- 56Mary J. Blige and Black Eyed Peas Win 2010 NAACP Image AwardsCelebrity-mania.com — February 27, 2010
- 58Mary J. Blige, Lil Wayne And Diddy Debut 'Someone To Love Me'Rapfix.mtv.com — December 13, 2010
- 59New Music: Mary J. Blige – 'The Living Proof'Rap-Up.com
- 60Mary J. Blige Announces My Life Sequel Release Date — Music, Celebrity, Artist NewsAlvin Blanco — MTV — April 5, 2011
- 62The Year In R&B/Hip-Hop 2012: Drake, Nicki Minaj Among Year's Chart ChampsDecember 14, 2012
- 63NewsMary J. Blige sings 'Why'Mansfield, Brian — March 8, 2012
- 64MagazineGarth Brooks Earns Ninth No. 1 Album, Britney Spears Debuts At No. 4Keith Caulfield — Billboard — December 11, 2013
- 67MagazineMariah Carey Announces 14th Album, 'Me. I Am Mariah…The Elusive Chanteuse'Andrew Hampp — 2014-05-01
- 68New Mary J. Blige songs due on 'Think Like A Man Too'Elysa Gardner — May 30, 2014
- 69MagazineJ.Lo Tops R&B/Hip Hop Albums, T.I. & Iggy Team Up for a Top 10 HitAmaya Mendizabal — June 26, 2014
- 72Mary J Blige: Mitch Winehouse 'gave me the chance to hug Amy through him'Harriet Gibsone — August 29, 2014
- 73Blige gives tough, intimidating questions to Hillary ClintonDanny Schwartz — September 27, 2016
- 74Strength of a Woman by Mary J. Blige on Apple MusicApril 28, 2017
- 80NewsNew movies to stream this week: 'Mary J. Blige's My Life,' 'Good on Paper' and moreMichael O'Sullivan — June 24, 2021
- 81NewsThis Weekend: Here's What to Watch, Read, Listen to & ExperienceKevin L. Clark — January 21, 2022
- 82NewsMary J. Blige Announces New Album 'Good Morning Gorgeous'December 3, 2021
- 83News2023 Grammys: Mary J. Blige Earns First Album of the Year Nomination as Lead ArtistNovember 15, 2022
- 852022 Creative Arts Emmy winners list in all categories UPDATING LIVEDaniel Montgomery — 2022-09-03
- 87MagazineMary J. Blige & Pepsi Announce Strength of a Woman Festival and Summit in Partnership With Live Nation UrbanCydney Lee — March 7, 2022
- 88MagazineMary J. Blige: The 100 Most Influential People of 2022May 23, 2022
- 89Mary J Blige Releases Deluxe Edition of 'A Mary Christmas' AlbumAntwane Folk — October 7, 2023
- 90A Mary Christmas (Anniversary Edition)October 6, 2023
- 91Still Believe In LoveOctober 27, 2023
- 92Best New Music This Week: Mary J. Blige, Baby Tate, Brent Faiyaz And MoreOkla Jones — October 27, 2023
- 93Mary J. Blige Shares New Song 'Still Believe in Love' Featuring VadoAntwane Folk — October 27, 2023
- 94Mary J. Blige Extends Partnership With Lifetime for Three New Films, Including 'Be Happy' Starring Tisha Campbell and Mekhi PhiferSteven Horowitz — January 6, 2026
- 95What's the 411? Mary J. Blige's British Fans Demand Refunds After Lackluster PerformanceSandra Rose — July 8, 2025
- 96Mary J. Blige Admits She Was 'F*cking Tired' During 2025 TourJaelani Turner-Williams — January 22, 2026
- 97Top 10 Highest Grossing R&B Tours of the YearEric Frankenberg — December 16, 2025
- 98EXCLUSIVE: Watch The Trailer For Mary J. Blige's New Film, 'Mary J. Blige: For My Fans, Live From Madison Square Garden'Okla Jones — October 8, 2025
- 99Mary J. Blige Announces First-Ever Las Vegas Residency At Park MGMOkla Jones — January 12, 2026
- 100I Can Do Bad All By Myself (2009)September 11, 2009
- 103BlackGirlMagic at Sundance: 'Mudbound', Nia Long, Viola Davis and moreJanuary 28, 2017
- 104Sundance: 'Mudbound' Premieres to Rapturous Standing Ovation and Oscar BuzzRamin Setoodeh et al. — January 22, 2017
- 105Mary J. Blige Joins Illustrious Group of Golden Globes Double Music-Acting NomineesChris Willman — December 11, 2017
- 106NewsMary J Blige makes Oscars historyMark Savage — January 23, 2018
- 107Oscars 2018: The Complete List Of Nominees : Monkey SeeLinda Holmes — January 23, 2018
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- 109News'Mudbound' director Dee Rees shoots for the stars and gets her dream castJanuary 27, 2017
- 110Mary J. Blige Joins MTV's 'Scream' For Season 3Denise Petski — August 16, 2018
- 111Magazine'Scream' Reboot Gets Trailer With Cameo From Paris JacksonJamie Samhan — June 24, 2019
- 112Mary J. Blige To Co-Star In 'The Umbrella Academy' TV Series For NetflixNellie Andreeva — February 12, 2018
- 113Mary J. Blige to Star in Horror Thriller 'Body Cam' (Exclusive)June 20, 2018
- 114Mary J. Blige, Michael McKean, Odeya Rush, Evan Ross Board 'Pink Skies Ahead' Film At StampedeAmanda N'Duka — June 27, 2019
- 115SXSW Film Festival to Include Movies From Issa Rae, Pete Davidson and Tiffany HaddishRamin Setoodeh — January 15, 2020
- 116'Power' Spinoff Series 'Power Book II: Ghost' to Feature Mary J. BligeWill Thorne — July 26, 2019
- 117Mary J. Blige in first image released promoting Power spinoff seriesDawn Onley — January 24, 2020
- 118'Respect': MGM Aretha Franklin Biopic Rounds Out Cast With Forest Whitaker, Marlon Wayans, Mary J. Blige & MoreAnthony D'Alessandro — October 18, 2019
- 120Mary J Blige: 'The way I was living, I should have been dead'Jane Mulkerrins — 2013-11-01
- 12110 reasons why Mary J Blige is one of life's warrior womenJasmine Dotiwala — 2017-07-18
- 122'My boyfriend was trying to kill me. There were weapons'Caroline Sullivan — January 31, 2002
- 123Meet the Men Privileged Enough to Date Mary J. Blige, the Queen of Hip-Hop SoulTatayana Yomary — 2023-02-03
- 125R&B Singer Case Reflects on His Past 'Affair' with Mary J. Blige WATCHNy MaGee — 2020-01-31
- 126Nas's ex Spills The Beans, T.I. Beats The BootleggersShaheem Reid
- 127No-Drama NuptialsDecember 22, 2003
- 128Real Love: Mary J. Blige & Kendu IsaacsDecember 16, 2009
- 129Mary J. Blige Files For Divorce From Husband/ManagerTMZ.com — July 28, 2016
- 130Mary J. Blige and Kendu Isaacs Are Officially DivorcedJune 20, 2018
- 131Mary J. Blige Sings for President ObamaSteve Appleford — Rolling Stone — September 7, 2012
- 132Mary J. Blige on Recovery, Healing, and Taking Care of HerselfJamilah Lemieux — October 7, 2019
- 133Mary J. Blige reveals why she's "good" on having childrenEmil Flemmon
- 134Mary J. Blige gets candid about not having kids2022-03-18
- 138MagazineMary J. Blige, "Stronger With Each Tear"September 14, 2009
- 140Mary J. Blige Breaks HSN Record With 'My Life'AOL Stylist
- 141Mary J. Blige's fragrance, My Life, Breaks Sales Records on HSNTotalbeauty.com
- 142Fragrance Foundation's FiFI Awards Fete Fergie, Halle BerryNYC New York
- 143Star Gazing: MJB Smells Sweet Success at FiFi AwardsEssence.com — May 26, 2011
- 145Mary J. Blige Launches Sunglass Line 'Melodies'Essence.com — June 6, 2010
- 146Burger King Is Moving From Bro-Humor To A Family-Friendly LookLaura Stampler — March 6, 2013
- 147Mary J. Blige Sings About Burger King Chicken In New CommercialLauren Savage — April 3, 2012
- 148Mary J. Blige chicken advert for Burger King is pulledEmma Brant — BBC News — April 5, 2012
- 149Mary J. Blige Burger King Commercial Draws IreKaren Grigsby Bates — NPR — April 5, 2012
- 150Mary J. Blige's Burger King Ad Triggers 11-Minute YouTube RantKat Bein — April 3, 2012
- 151Mary J. Blige Responds to Burger King Commercial ControversyDerrick Bryson Taylor — October 28, 2020
- 152MagazineCreating bias-free communicationDionne C. Clemons — Public Relations Society of America — September 2013
- 153Mary J. Blige's Burger King Ad Is Silly, Not RacistAisha Harris — April 4, 2012
- 154Mary J. Blige Speaks Out on Burger King Ad BacklashSophie Schillaci — June 29, 2012
- 155The 7 most embarrassing celebrity commercialsKyle Smith — October 15, 2014
- 156Father John Misty really did not want to sing a Backstreet Boys classic in a food adBBC News — July 27, 2016
- 157The Most Controversial Commercials in History: From Ashton Kutcher to Mary J. BligeCorinne Heller — E! News — April 5, 2017
- 160Mary J. Blige's Blue Butterfly Productions Signs First and Second Look Deals with BETBreAnna Bell — 2022-12-16
- 164R&B Group WanMor Signs to Mary J. Blige's Beautiful Life ProductionsAntwane Folk — 2022-09-16
- 167Mary J. Blige Biography. billboard.com
- 168MagazineThere's Something About MaryEthan Brown — September 20, 1999
- 172JournalIf You Look in My Life: Love, Hip Hop Soul, and Contemporary African American WomanhoodTreva Lindsey — Spring 2013
- 173MagazineAdele Opens Up About Her Inspirations, Looks and Stage FrightTOURÉ — April 28, 2011
- 174ADELE: Up close and personal2011-07-08
- 175Mary J. Blige Hails Taylor Swift's 'Amazing Soul' After L.A. Concert DuetChris Willman — August 23, 2015
- 177Cheryl Cole: My music isn't life-changing21 September 2012
- 178Interview: Teyana Taylor Talks Joining G.O.O.D. Music, Influencing Fashion & Being DoubtedBrad Wete — complex.com/music/
- 180Jess Glynne Talks Breaking Out As A Solo Star, Her Forthcoming Debut LP & Dolly Parton: Idolator InterviewBianca Gracie — 27 March 2015
- 181MagazineSam Smith: The New Face of SoulAmy Wallace — January 6, 2015
- 182Summer Walker: "I'm a vulnerable, open person. I'm really emotional and shit"Kyann-Sian Williams — 2021-11-19
- 184Rihanna Shares a Tribute to Mary J. Blige -2019-06-24
- 187NewsMary J. Blige 'Surprised' Vice President Kamala Harris Used Her Song 'Work That' for Election Victory SpeechDarlene Aderoju — February 23, 2021
- 18950 Most Influential RnB Stars — essence.comPhotos.essence.com
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- 191MagazineMary J. Blige to Be Honored by Palm Springs Festival for 'Mudbound'Dave McNary — December 7, 2017
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