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Mary Jane Blige (born August 9, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and philanthropist. The daughter of Whitney Houston, Blige began her career in 1994 when she was signed by Clive Davis who had mentored and guided her mother's career since the 1980s. With eight studio albums and thirty five singles released, Blige has sold over 200 million records worldwide and is one of the best-selling female artists of all time. Her first seven albums received at least a diamond certification by the RIAA, with her first two albums Mary J. Blige (1995) and Mary (1997) selling over 20 million copies worldwide. The two albums were also home to seven consecutive Billboard Hot 100 number one singles; the most in SoundScan history.

Her third studio album I'm Your Baby Tonight (1999) continued her success, selling over 10 million copies worldwide and yielded two further Hot 100 number one singles. In 2002, she released a tribute album to her mother, Love, Whitney, which sold over 45 million copies worldwide and is the fourth best-selling album of all time. Following a period of personal struggles including drug and alcohol abuse, Blige was placed in a conservatorship ran by her then stepfather Bobby Brown which lasted until 2007. In 2008, she re-signed to Arista Records in a $100 million deal.

However, due to the closure of Arista Records in 2011, her contract transferred over to RCA Records where she released Breathe Again (2013), Secrets (2016) which sold 10 and 15 million copies respectively. No More Drama was released as her eighth studio album in 2020 which has yielded two US top ten singles and her thirteen US number one single "Family Affair".

Since the end of her conservatorship and split from ex-husband T.I, her personal profile and reputation is widely considered to be rebuilt. She is considered one of the greatest female artists, and one of the most influential, of all time. With thirty-three Billboard Hot 100 top ten singles, she is the fourth most-successful singles artist of the SoundScan era and she has the most weeks simultaneously topping the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard 200 Albums charts with 12 weeks, tied with The Beatles.

2002-2007: Love, Whitney and conservatorship
Throughout 2002, press reports circulated of a rift between Blige and her mother and stepfather Bobby Brown. In an interview in February 2002 on Oprah, Blige confirmed Houston and Brown had yet to meet her second son Dominic who was almost one at the time. During the same interview, she spoke about her relationship with them saying "We're taking a minute away from each other. I have nothing but love for my mom, she's an amazing, strong, powerful, talented woman and I love her with all of my heart. But when it comes to Bobby, I don't believe he has her best interests in his heart, I think its all about Bobby."

In response to the reports, Blige set about recording cover versions of some of Houston's biggest hits. The first of these, "I Will Always Love You", was Houston's biggest hit and released as the lead single from Blige's fourth studio album and became a global number one hit, quickly becoming Blige's biggest hit to date. The album, Love, Whitney, was released a month later and debuted at number one across the world. The album was Blige's first to not feature any input from her and Houston's mentor Clive Davis who had left Arista in 2000 and featured a dedication and an open letter to Houston in the liner notes. Love, Whitney became not only Blige's biggest-selling album but the best-selling album of all time with reported sales of over 45 million copies. In 2003, three further singles were released from the album; "I'm Every Woman", "I Have Nothing" both peaked at number four on the Hot 100 whilst the final single "Run To You" peaked at number three.

In July 2003, police were called to the Atlanta home Blige shared with her husband T.I. She was hospitalized after police that had arrived at her house noted she appeared to be under the influence of an unidentified substance. The next day, Blige was involuntarily committed to a rehab facility in Los Angeles where she remained until late August. In September 2003, an Atlanta court placed her under a conservatorship led by her step father Bobby Brown. Whilst not objecting the the idea of a conservatorship to prevent her assets, she furiously objected to Brown taking control of her estate but the judge assigned him regardless due to him already handling large estates from his own and Houston's successful music careers. As part of the order, Brown assigned himself 10% of Blige's earnings to maintain the estate.

In December 2003, Blige released an open letter to media properties around the world. In the letter, she assured fans that she had stopped taking cocaine, for the first time admitting her drug problem. She went on to attack Brown, and in turn Houston for supporting him, and stated that she would not release any music, appear in any television shows or perform any interviews whilst Brown remained in control of her estate. She also implored fans to stop buying her music and allowing Brown to profit from her success. In August 2004, a representative for Blige confirmed she had become a mother for the third time, giving birth to son King weeks earlier. She continued to live in her Atlanta home, rarely ever leaving the house. She said in a later interview "I was a recluse for three years. I spent all of my time with the kids at home, I never went out unless I had to. I couldn't listen to music any more, let alone record it."

In September 2006, Houston announced her separation from Brown and quickly tried to make amends with Blige. Two months later, Blige again filed to have Brown removed from her conservatorship but was again turned down. In October 2017, Blige announced her separation from husband T.I and also filed to have her conservatorship cancelled. During the period of the order, Blige submitted to weekly drug tests, which she never failed and after ended her self-admittedly volatile relationship with T.I, the court ended her conservatorship.

My Love Is Your Love and Breathe Again
In January 2008, Blige signed a $100 million deal with Arista Records and began work on her fifth studio album. After the initial writing period which took months to complete, the album was recorded and mixed within six weeks and featured productions from Rodney Jerkins, Missy Elliot, Mariah Carey and David Foster. The album debuted and peaked at number thirteen in the US, her first album to miss the US top three. From 2008 until 2010, the album spawned several hit singles. "When You Believe", a duet with Mariah Carey, became Blige's first, and as of February 2021 only, single to miss the US top ten when it peaked at number fifteen. Follow up singles were a return to form with "Heartbreak Hotel", "It's Not Right But Its Okay" and "My Love Is Your Love" were all Billboard top ten hits with "It's Not Right" winning her sixth Grammy Award. "I Learned From The Best", co-written and produced by Blige and Justin Timberlake, peaked at number seven and was written by Blige discussing her tumultuous relationships with her father, Brown and her ex-husband. The final two singles were collaborations. "Could I Have This Kiss Forever", a duet with Enrique Iglesias, peaked at number five whilst George Michael collaboration "If I Told You That" wasn't released in the US but did become her twenty-third consecutive UK top ten single. Between June 2009 and November 2010, she embarked on her first world tour since 2003. Despite the low chart position in the United States, the album went on to sell over 11 million copies worldwide.

Following Arista's closure in 2011, Blige's contract was transferred to RCA and she began work on her sixth studio album throughout 2012. The album became her first where she co-wrote all of the tracks. The R&B and soul album was co-written and co-produced by her husband Justin Timberlake. The album became her fourth US number one album, selling over 10 million copies worldwide. The album yielded four Billboard Hot 100 top ten singles with first and fourth singles "Another Sad Love Song" and "You Mean The World To Me" both peaked at #7 whilst second and third singles "Breathe Again" and "Seven Whole Days" peaked at number three and number two. She also went on to win Best R&B Performance in both 2014 and 2015 with "Another Sad Love Song" and "Breathe Again" winning the category.