Mary J. Blige

Mary J. Blige returns to R&B with her ninth album titled “Growing Pains” and its due on her own label Matriarch Records via Geffen Records on November 20th. The album is expected to feature collaborations with Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, Sean “The Pen” Garrett, Swizz Beatz, Bryan Michael Cox, and Ne-Yo. It will be her first album of completely new material since releasing “Reflections - A Retrospective,” a greatest hits collection. Reflections peaked at number nine in the U.S, selling over 170,000 copies in its first week, while reaching number forty in the UK. Reflections has, thus far, sold more than 675,000 copies. Blige’s last full album, “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 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.