USA: R&B diva Mary J. Blige reaps the rewards of a number one album along with a boost in self-empowerment

As Mary J. Blige sings on her new album, "You can't hold a good woman down." That was certainly the case for the R&B superstar when her new album hit shelves last month. "The Breakthrough" sold 727,000 units, making it the best opening week for a solo R&B female artist in the Nielsen SoundScan era. The uplifting album marks Blige's third project to hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200. "I definitely believe that the first week's sales definitely have an effect on the level of artistry that I'm at right now," Blige told Reuters. "It just lets people know that, you know, I am the real deal in what I do. And it really humbles me, though, you know it really lets me know that I should never ever doubt or go against what's in my heart as far as my music goes and what my fans like." The feat is all the more remarkable given that the December 20 release moved 441,000 units more in its debut week than her last studio set, 2003's "Love & Life." At 944,000 units, "Love & Life" is Blige's lowest-selling studio release. Her best seller is 1992's "What's the 411?," which has sold 3.1 million copies. Besides the remarkable commercial success, Blige says "The Breakthrough" represents a new level of optimism and peace of mind: "It's about me actually believing in me and wanting to get past that insecure point, that 'I'm not attractive' or 'I'm not smart' -- you know, just things that have been going through my mind for years. So right now I'm in a confident place, mentally, spiritually, vocally, intellectually, everywhere. And in titling the album 'The Breakthrough', I have made progress in those areas and that's why." Born in 1971, the singer struggled through a difficult and painful childhood in the housing projects just outside New York City. "Terrible things happened to me from (age) 5 to 27," Blige remembered. "You know, my father was abusive to my mother and I saw all of that. I saw women all around me abused day and night, I heard them being abused next door. You know, these are the things that stuck in my head. So I believed that that's what I was supposed to do, I was supposed to be abused, I believed that I was supposed to drink and do drugs because that's what was around me, so I abused them." But Blige says hard work and spiritual growth turned her life around. In fact, she hopes the next year will be the most thrilling yet: "I believe that I will be shooting a movie. I believe that I will have sold millions of records. I believe that I will do the clothing line that I desire to do and I believe that I will have helped many people with my walk in life."

ITN Source | January 19, 2006

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