Line-up

Headliner
Mary J. Blige Last time in Atlanta: 6 months ago

Venue

Presence Arena

555 Main Street Northeast, 30363, Atlanta, GA, US

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Additional details

Doors open: 19:30

Concert in your area for R&B, Funk & Soul, Hip-Hop, and Pop.

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Mary J. Blige biography

Mary J. Blige (born January 11, 1971) is a decade-spanning American R&B, hip-hop and neo-soul singer-songwriter and actress, hailing from The Bronx, New York, U.S.

Under the influence of R&B/soul legends Aretha Franklin, Gladys Knight, and Chaka Khan among others, Blige earned her first taste of recognition after singing Anita Baker’s “Caught Up in the Rapture” into a karaoke machine at the mall. A recording of the performance was then given by Blige’s stepfather to Andre Harrell, the CEO of Uptown Records, who signed the young Blige to sing backup for a host of acts including Father MC. In 1991 however, Sean Combs, better known as Diddy, showed Blige the ropes and began working on her debut album. “What the 411?” was released in July 1998, and introduced a whole new wave of gritty and unrefined R&B with a strong connection to hip hop. The album went on to sell over three million copies, aided by the No. 1 R&B chart singles “Real Love” and “You Remind Me”.

Combs was once again at the reigns of Blige’s second album “My Life” released in November 1994. Largely written by the singer herself this time, “My Life” debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard 200, and topped the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The success of her first two albums led to Blige collaborating with the likes of Faith Evans, Method Man, Ghostface Killah, and Jay-Z.

Documenting her tumultuous and unsustainable previous lifestyle, Blige’s third full-length “Share My World” shot to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in 1997. The album was the singer’s highest-selling album to date, aided by the five hit singles “Love Is All We Need” featuring Nas, “I Can Love You” featuring Lil’ Kim, “Everything”, “Missing You”, and “Seven Days”. In a move away from hip-hop towards the adult contemporary scene, the album “Mary” released in 1999, was an acclaimed album that later earned success for its club-friendly dance remixes.

The new millennium brought the albums “No More Drama” in 2001, “Love & Life” in 2003, the Grammy Award winning “The Breakthrough” in 2005, and the compilation “Reflections” in 2006. Dubbed the “Queen of Hip-Hop Soul”, Blige’s subsequent album “Growing Pains” marked the third successive album which topped both the Billboard 200 and R&B/Hip-Hop Album charts. Shortly after Blige contributed to 50 Cent’s 2007 album “Curtis” and toured as a part of Jay-Z’s Heart of the City tour.

“Stronger with Each Tear” appeared in December 2009, with guest contributions from Drake, Trey Songz and will.i.am, followed by “My Life II… The Journey Continues (Act 1) in 2011. After issuing the Christmas album “A Mary Christmas” in 2013, and contributing to the soundtrack to the comedy film “Think Like a Man Too”, Blige enlisted the help of Disclosure, Sam Smith, and Emeil Sandé for the album “The London Sessions” released in 2014.

Live reviews

Attending a Mary J. Blige concert for me is like going to church. There’s going to be a lot of praising, amen's and hallelujahs. This is just the way it is when Mary is in town. My usual experience at her shows is spiritual, reflective and cathartic. Sometimes I might even catch the “Holy Ghost.” It also always leaves me drained with a hoarse voice the following day. Because I have such high expectations when it comes to Mary and the fact that this was called “The Liberation Tour,” I was a bit surprised that the show ended and didn’t feel as I had previously. Sure, the concert was good, but it wasn’t great. Don’t get me wrong, she still gave a performance I’ll remember. She preached to the choir and we hung onto every word, shouting back when necessary (and taking notes as well). Mary still looks fabulous (who is her trainer and can he/she hook me up?), but her voice wasn’t as pure and crisp as it has been in previous shows. There was something lacking that I can’t quite put my finger on. It seemed like Mary wasn’t at the top of her game. Perhaps she was tired or just having an off night. A friend who attended with me said it might be because Mary has had so much turmoil this year. I wasn’t quite sure what turmoil she was referring to – outside of Mary having issues with her charity FFAWN – so I did some research and didn’t find much that would explain Mary’s demeanor. Changing twice (into a black dress and white outfit with thigh-high leopard print boots), she started the show rocking a red shorts outfit and her trademark sunglasses. The set opened with her version of Chaka Khan’s Ain’t Nobody. Keeping the high-energy pace going, next was Family Affair, followed by Feel Inside and Enough Cryin’. She asked the audience if she could get her “Charlie Wilson on” during Real Love (which led into the Gap Band’s Outstanding). Before launching into Good Woman Down she expressed to the men that, “Fellas, I am a woman and I relate to them, so no disrespect.” At the end of Not Gonna Cry Mary had her own Holy Ghost moment singing repeatedly, “He wasn’t worth it!” I usually take a break during I’m Going Down because the audience has sung this song at every single Mary show I’ve been too. And that’s fine, because I’ve been singing along to all the songs anyway, and I need a moment to collect myself before I go HAM again. I had just one issue, though. Not only did the audience sing I’m Going Down, we also sang portions of My Life and Be Without You. I found this unusual because Mary generally sings all songs. Ending with Be Without You there was no encore. When the house lights turned on, I was a bit perplexed. The show just didn’t seem long enough. And once I realized she only sang one song from Growing Pains (Just Fine), I was even more disappointed.

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