Mary J. Blige Bares Soul with "Thick Of It"

Mary J. Blige is going through some shiz right now. With her 12 year marriage broken, the Diva has turned to the one constant in her life to make sense of her current predicament: music. And it's with the help of Jazmine Sullivan that the Diva has channelled all that angst and created one of her best lead singles to date with the Thick Of It.

Though dabbling in old school Rnb with its sample, the DJ Camper-produced cut remains current sounding and fresh. But it's Mary's soulful vocals that are the real star. Even though I loved her last LP, The London Sessions, I feel like I haven't heard her sing with this kind of conviction in some time.

Maybe no more drama is what she needed after all. 

Mary J. Blige, Britney Spears, RuPaul and others Unite For Pulse Tribute, "Hands"

The tributes to those slain in the Pulse massacre continue to come forth from the entertainment industry. Released yesterday, Hands features a huge (and varied) group  of entertainers from both the mainstream and the LGBT community. Written by Justin Tranter, Julia Michaels and BloodPop, the song seeks to be both uplifting and inspirational, with the "Hands" of the title being a metaphor for people coming together and creating a change.

The full roll call of artists featured are as follows: Mary J. Blige, Jason Derulo, Tyler Glenn, Halsey, Imagine Dragons, Juanes, Mary Lambert, Jennifer Lopez, Kacey Musgraves, MNEK, Alex Newell, P!nk, Prince Royce, Nate Ruess, RuPaul, Ty Herndon, Troye Sivan, Jussie Smollett, Meghan Trainor, the Trans Chorus of Los Angeles, Spears, Stefani, Lambert and Gomez.

Money raised from the song will go to the Equality Florida Pulse Victims Fund, the GLBT Community Center of Central Florida and GLAAD.

Mary J Blige Gives Us Festive Feels With "The Christmas Song" @ White Hot Holiday

On the Patti Labelle and John Legend post I spoke about not knowing who the "Terrance and Taraji" in the Fox special Terrance and Taraji‘s White Hot Holiday were. Only now has it clicked that the guy introducing the performers is Terrance Howard. Thus, logically, Taraji must be another actor in the show Empire. I'm so old....

[Watch] Divas Rock the 2014 AMAs

The 2014 American Music Awards happened yesterday at the Nokia Theater in LA. Amidst the boring award giving, there was a peppering of Divas who took to the stage to entertain and amuse.

The standout of which had to be Jessie J, who absolutely smashed it with Bang Bang. Even though she was sharing a stage with two- arguably more famous- Divas, Jessie remained unbothered, out shining both with nothing but voice and charisma. This woman was born to be on stage.

(Also, Taylor Swift takes a little bit more of my heart every time I see her getting her life at an award show. I'm worried soon they'll be no more to take!)

[Music Video] Mary J. Blige - "Right Now"

For some reason, I was expecting the output from Mary J. Blige's The London Sessions to be more...acoustic in nature. There's no rational reason for me having come to this conclusion, other than the album cover, but you'd think by single number three I'd have managed to dissuade myself from this falsehood.

[Music Video] Mary J. Blige - "Suitcase"

Mary J. Blige has released the video for her new song Suitcase, and it's giving me Russian Roulette teas (which is good thing!). The song itself I'd somehow managed to avoid listening to until now- despite it being leaked and a lyric video hitting YouTube. Still, I'm pleasantly surprised by it on first spin.

[Watch] Sam Smith Duets With Mary J.Blige @ The Apollo

Could Sam Smith be the next British export to reach Adele superstar status? Well, maybe not the "next" one because Adele is going to come back this year and slay everyone, but her male equivalent?

As far as the UK goes, I could totally see him enjoying the same success she has. If he's to replicate that globally, though, it's going to be a different story, and he's going to need a breakout song like Adele had with Rolling In the Deep. His team up with Naughty Boy (La La La) should have been that, but unfortunately he didn't feature in the video, so not many clocked him as the singer.

[Listen] Mary J Blige, Kelly Clarkson and Leona Lewis Get Festive With New Releases

It's November, so you know what means! I can now listen to Christmas music without looking like a total nutter! With it being so close to the festive period, it's no shocker that some of our Divas have Yuletide albums out for us to stuff the stockings with. So let's take a listen and see what's on offer!

[Watch] Divas Unite For "Chime For Change" Concert @ Twickenham Stadium

Saturday saw the Chime For Change concert take place at the home of Rugby Union, Twickenham stadium. There was something fittingly symbolic about a venue usually so crammed full of alpha males that just breathing the surrounding air on match day could make you sprout chest hairs, being used to highlight the plight of women everywhere.

Some of you may know that I was lucky enough to attend the concert- and had an amazing time, thanks for asking. But this post isn't really going to offer a play by play of the concert, instead I thought I'd post MY top three best and worst things about the night. Doing that should hopefully stop me from rambling and let you get to the performances quicker. (Or you could just ignore all of this and just scroll straight down, you scoundrels!)

[Watch] Christina Aguilera and Mary J Blige @ "Hurricane Sandy: Coming Together" Benefit Concert

Christina Aguilera and Mary J Blige were two females representing the Divas at the Coming Together benefit concert in aid of those who have suffered under Hurricane Sandy. The one-hour concert was aired on American network NBC and managed to raise an impressive 23 million dollars for the victims of the natural disaster, with donations still coming in.

Mary J Blige - Vocal Profile/ Range

Mary J Blige

Vocal Type: Mezzo-soprano (voice has deepened with age)
Range: 3 octaves. 2 notes A2- C6
Longest Note: 12 seconds .
Vocal Pluses: Soulful voice that has a unique, husky texture. Has a solid midrange, that has a dark, weighty timbre and a lighter chest range that is able to mix well to belt higher into the fifth octave. Dexterous voice that is capable of complex melisma, as well as the stamina to be able to hold sustained notes. Able to use the voice to convey the emotions of the song exceptionally. 
Vocal Negatives: Voice sometimes sounds strained