Stronger with Each Tear's first four songs are decorated like NASCAR vehicles, with IDs from the Runners and Akon, Rodney Jerkins, Ryan Leslie, Stereotypes, and T.I. all heard before the voice of Mary J. Blige enters the mix. Sound logos and gratuitous self-serving plugs from producers and guest MCs are nothing new in mainstream R&B, but when an album by Mary J. Blige is dominated by them, in such an extended succession, a longtime follower’s minor irritation has the potential to turn to low-level rage. And while it is also understandable that the appearance of 2009 breakout star Drake on “The One” will help boost sales, the disparity is glaring; the MC was five years old when What’s the 411? was released. Trey Songz, featured on another track, wasn’t much older. Even when factoring these matters, Stronger with Each Tear is a very good Blige album, if not a classic. One of her briefest sets, it is tremendously (almost studiously) balanced between all the ground she has covered so well before. That’s no criticism, though, since most of the songs are easily memorable and display so much range. Those who detest “The One” on principle, for its use of Auto-Tune, need only to forward to the album’s final song, a quiet and sparse throwback (to 40-plus years ago) production from Raphael Saadiq in which Blige professes new love to chilling effect.Stronger with Each Tear's first four songs are decorated like NASCAR vehicles, with IDs from the Runners and Akon, Rodney Jerkins, Ryan Leslie, Stereotypes, and T.I. all heard before the voice of Mary J. Blige enters the mix. Sound logos and gratuitous self-serving plugs from producers and guest MCs are nothing new in mainstream R&B, but when an album by Mary J. Blige is dominated by them, in such an extended succession, a longtime follower’s minor irritation has the potential to turn to low-level rage. And while it is also understandable that the appearance of 2009 breakout star Drake on “The One” will help boost sales, the disparity is glaring; the MC was five years old when What’s the 411? was released. Trey Songz, featured on another track, wasn’t much older. Even when factoring these matters, Stronger with Each Tear is a very good Blige album, if not a classic. One of her briefest sets, it is tremendously (almost studiously) balanced between all the ground she has covered so well before. That’s no criticism, though, since most of the songs are easily memorable and display so much range. Those who detest “The One” on principle, for its use of Auto-Tune, need only to forward to the album’s final song, a quiet and sparse throwback (to 40-plus years ago) production from Raphael Saadiq in which Blige professes new love to chilling effect.false2025-03-21 10:12:31Stronger With Each Tear1020102010-03-222010-03-2264Contemporary R&BHip HopPop1113732111495fbb5f5a7-0ceb-42f8-b8af-5d7bef6a522cdb76c5ca-d555-4f09-b1db-baa1b713d875c4afb855-9171-4282-a300-b3f6df7c60df/media/data/media8/Music/Mary J. Blige/Stronger With Each Tear (2009)/folder.jpgMary J. BligeMary J. BligeMary Jane Blige ( BLYZHE; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actress, and entrepreneur. Often referred to as the "Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and "Queen of R&B", her accolades include nine Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, four American Music Awards, twelve NAACP Image Awards, and twelve Billboard Music Awards, including the Billboard Icon Award.
Her career began in 1988 when she was signed to Uptown Records by its founder Andre Harrell. During this time, Blige performed background vocals for other artists on the label. In 1992, Blige released her debut album, What's the 411?, which is credited for introducing the mix of R&B and hip hop into mainstream pop culture. Its 1993 remix album became the first album by a singer to have a rapper on every song, popularizing rap as a featuring act. Both What's the 411? and her 1994 album My Life ranked among Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list. Throughout her career, Blige went on to release 15 studio albums, four of which topped the Billboard 200 chart. Her biggest hits include "Real Love", "You Remind Me", "I'm Goin' Down", "Not Gon' Cry", "Everything", "No More Drama", "Be Without You", "One" (with U2), "Just Fine" and the Billboard Hot 100 number-one single "Family Affair".
Blige enhanced her popularity with an acting career. She was nominated for two Academy Awards, for her supporting role as Florence Jackson in Mudbound (2017) and the film's song "Mighty River", becoming the first person nominated for acting and songwriting in the same year. Her other film roles include Prison Song (2001), Rock of Ages (2012), Betty and Coretta (2013), Black Nativity (2013), Trolls World Tour (2020), Body Cam (2020), The Violent Heart (2021), Respect (2021) and Rob Peace (2024). Her television work include the series The Umbrella Academy (2019) and Power Book II: Ghost (2020–2024).
Blige received a Legends Award at the World Music Awards in 2006, the Voice of Music Award from ASCAP in 2007 and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2018. In 2010, Billboard ranked her as the most successful female R&B/Hip-Hop artist of the past 25 years. In 2017, the magazine named "Be Without You" as the most successful R&B/hip-hop song of all time, as it spent a then-record 15 weeks atop the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and over 75 weeks on the chart overall. Blige was featured in listicles such as VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of All Time (2011), Time's 100 most influential people in the world (2022) and Rolling Stone's 200 Greatest Singers of All Time (2023). In 2024, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.