SANTA MONICA, CA. (Geffen Records) - The 12-month span of December '05 to the present continues to be one of the most successful and most rewarding years of Mary J. Blige's extraordinary career. This year only gets better and better for the multi-platinum selling, Grammy winning,
Queen of Hip Hop Soul. Containing a chart-topping album, history-making No. 1 single, galvanizing television appearances and a sold out tour, 2006 has now added industry accolades galore. Last night, Mary added eight Billboard
Music Awards to the two American
Music Awards she won just two weeks ago.
Announced live last night from the MGM Hotel in Las Vegas, Mary received a show-topping nine awards. Blige's awards included R&B/Hip-Hop Artist of the Year and Female R&B/Hip-Hop Artist of the Year. "The Breakthrough" earned her the awards for R&B Album and R&B/Hip-Hop Album of the Year. Her single "Be Without You" collected awards for Hot 100 Airplay Song, R&B/Hip-Hop Song, R&B/Hip-Hop Song Airplay, and Videoclip. Additionally, Blige was named R&B/Hip-Hop songs artist.
At the American Music Awards, held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on November 21st, Blige took home awards for both "Favorite Female Artist" and "Favorite Album: The Breakthrough."
Released on December 20th, 2005, Mary's 7th CD "The Breakthrough" debuted at No 1, and sold an astonishing 727,163 copies its first week: making it the best opening week for a solo R&B female artist in SoundScan history. "The Breakthrough" has now sold in excess of 2.6 million copies. Yet even more explosive than "The Breakthrough's" success was the album's lead off single "Be Without You" which reached the No. 1 spot on the Billboard R&B charts and stayed there for a record breaking 15 straight weeks. "Be Without You" was not only the biggest hit of Mary's already brilliant career, it entered the history books by becoming the longest-running No. 1 song on the R&B chart since it was reintroduced, after a brief hiatus, in 1965.
Blige's much anticipated and long awaited collection "Reflections - A Retrospective" will be released on Geffen Records December 12th. "Reflections - A Retrospective" not only gathers together all of Blige's timeless hits but also features four new hits-to-be - the first of which is the hot single "We Ride (I See The Future)." Spanning the entirety of Blige's spectacular 15- year career "Reflections - A Retrospective" is more than a collection of hits. It's a soulful shout out to Blige's loyal fans, and a celebration of the year when one of R&B's most influential singers "broke through" bigger than ever.
With her landmark 1992 CD "What's The 411" Mary J Blige became R&B's standard bearer, setting both its sound and style. Since that debut, Mary has earned 3 Grammys, had 7 multi-platinum albums, lent her support to a slew of high profile charities and earned the unqualified respect of fans, critics and her fellow performers. With a soulful power that knows no equal, Mary J Blige owned 2006 and the Queen continues her reign with "Reflections - A Retrospective."
