Mary J. Blige To Receive Billboard’s Icon Award

The Queen of Hip Hop Soul Mary J. Blige will gain another major accolade. The Billboard Music Awards announced Blige will be the recipient of this year’s Icon Award.

“My career has been such an incredible and unexpected journey that has included many turns into avenues I never could have imagined like acting, producing, launching businesses, and now even my own music festival,” said Mary J. Blige.

She continued, “Through it all, I always one way or another gravitated back to my first love, music. To be recognized in this way at this moment, with the Icon Award at the Billboard Music Awards, is an incredible honor and one that I am truly humbled by.”

Mary J. Blige has earned four Number Ones and fourteen Top 10 entries on the Billboard 200 album chart. The R&B singer/songwriter also spent six weeks at the pinnacle of the Hot 100 chart with her “Family Affair” single. Plus, she is a 10-time Billboard Music Awards winner.

Her discography contains several 3x-Platinum albums – 1992’s What’s the 411?, 1994’s My Life, 1997’s Share My World, and 2005’s The Breakthrough. Blige also received nine Grammy Awards from the Recording Academy. The Breakthrough won Best R&B Album. Growing Pains won Best Contemporary R&B Album.

Additionally, Mary J. Blige scored two Academy Award nominations (Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Song) for the Netflix film Mudbound. MJB joins a list of BBMA Icon Award recipients that includes Stevie Wonder, Prince, Jennifer Lopez, Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, and others.

Last month, Mary J. Blige announced the “Strength of a Woman Festival and Summit” in partnership with Pepsi and Live Nation Urban. The three-day event takes place in Atlanta during Mother’s Day weekend. She also performed alongside headliner Dr. Dre for the Super Bowl LVI halftime show in February.

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