Bring Da Beat Back's Top 10 Albums Of 2011

#1) Kelly Rowland Here I Am
Album Review

#2) Beyonce 4
Album Review

#3) Rihanna Talk That Talk
Album Review

#4) Jennifer Lopez Love?
Album Review

5) Mya K.I.S.S.
Album Review

#6) Avril Lavigne Goodbye Lullaby
Album Review

#7) Kelly Clarkson Stronger
Album Review

#8) Britney Spears Femme Fatale

Album Review

#9) Angels & Airwaves Love
Album Review

#10) Mary J. Blige My Life II... The Journey Continues (Act 1)
Album Review

Album Review: Mary J. Blige "My Life II... The Journey Continues (Act 1)"

Mary J. Blige is back--& right on schedule--with My Life II... The Journey Continues (Act 1), the sequel to her 1994 album My Life that seems to fit right in more with her recent work.

1. "Intro": I'm not sure if this conversation with Diddy about including him in this album is a joke... because he is featured on one (albeit underrated) bonus track & that's it.

2. "Feel Inside" (ft. Nas): This song is just alright. Parts of it are in the part of her range that just isn't the best. Plus, Nicki > Nas. 3.5/5

3. "Midnight Drive" (ft. Brook Lynn): Mary's rap alter-ego helps really kick off the album with this smooth track. 4.5/5

4. "Next Level" (ft. Busta Rhymes): This is one of my favorites. It goes hard & Busta was an excellent choice. 5/5

5. "Ain't Nobody": She sounds good on this Darkchild-produced Chaka Khan cover, but unfortunately, it feels like they weren't able to modernize the song. 4/5

6. "25/8": I love the production on this song, but again, it's in that part of her range where her tone is just... 4/5

7. "Don't Mind": These next few tracks are my favorite part of the album. It's Mary doing Mary, not trying too hard, just chill music. Jerry Wonder is the man for this one! 5/5

8. "No Condition": With her signature structure & a key in her vocal sweet spot, this track has all the elements I need in an MJB song. 5/5

9. "Mr. Wrong" (ft. Drake): Drake aside, this Rico Love composition is, again, right where MJB should be. 5/5

10. "Why" (ft. Rick Ross): Between Rick Ross' multiple verses & the R&B-by-numbers chorus, this isn't one of the album's best offerings. 3.5/5

11. "Love A Woman" (ft. Beyonce): This was a great idea on paper. While I do enjoy them trading verses, the nothing-special voice that the two of them singing in unison on the chorus creates takes away from the power of the song... which isn't the strongest to begin with. 4/5

12. "Empty Prayers": Here is a powerful song for you, my favorite on the album actually. 5/5

13. "Need Someone": Another beautiful ballad. Good stuff. 5/5

14. "The Living Proof": Of course, the Underdogs-produced theme from "The Help" makes for a great closer. 5/5

My Life II... The Journey Continues (Act 1) has some great midtempos and ballads with a few hiccups in between. I wouldn't say it's one of my favorite albums from MJB, but it has some really great songs on it.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

VH1 Divas Celebrates Soul Performance Highlights

Jennifer Hudson, Kelly Clarkson, & Mary J. Blige - Medley



Jennifer Hudson & Jessie J "Knock On Wood"



Kelly Clarkson & Ledisi "Chain Of Fools"



Mary J. Blige & Chaka Khan "Ain't Nobody"



Jennifer Hudson "Night Of Your Life"



Estelle & Travie McCoy "Wake Up Everybody"



Kelly Clarkson "What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger)"



Estelle, Erykah Badu, Marsha Ambrosius, & ?uestlove "Back To Life"



Mary J. Blige "Mr. Wrong"
Jennifer Hudson, Kelly Clarkson, Mary J. Blige, & Estelle were on hand at VH1 Divas Celebrates Soul to, well, do just that. The show was pretty good, especially the opening number with Jennifer Hudson performing "Spotlight", Mary J. Blige singing "Real Love", Kelly Clarkson belting "Since U Been Gone", & all three of them kicking things off with The Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On". Other highlights for me included J-Hud performing her David Guetta collaboration for the first time, Jennifer & Jessie J singing together, & the clever pairing of MJB & Chaka Khan. The fact that they brought out guys & VH1's insistence on pimping that Sharon Jones character irked me though.

Mary J. Blige "Mr. Wrong" Video Premiere

"Mr. Wrong" is the second (or third, depending on how you look at it) single off Mary J. Blige's new album My Life II... The Journey Continues (Part 1). I have to bring up the strange lack of featured artist Drake, as there's really no point of getting the rapper of the moment on your song if you don't put him in the video. That said, I don't think the video suffers without him as her Mr. Wrong & the song certainly doesn't for me personally.

Mary J. Blige "Rock Of Ages" Trailer

Get a sneak peek of Mary J. Blige in the film adaptation of "Rock Of Ages" with this first trailer for the movie. I hate 80's music with a passion, but I might sit through this for MJB! "Rock Of Ages" opens June 1st.

Mary J. Blige Performs "Need Someone" On The X Factor

Mary J. Blige performed "Need Someone" off her new album My Life II... The Journey Continues (Act 1) on The X Factor results show this week. Mary, if you're singing on a show that's a singing competition, you might put a little extra effort into making sure you're singing in tune... just a thought.

Billboard Update

^#1 Album #1 Single^

Michael Buble's Christmas tops the Billboard 200 album chart, where Rihanna debuts @ #3 with Talk That Talk following first-week sales of 197,000 copies. Mary J. Blige also debuts @ #5 with My Life II... The Journey Continues, Act 1 following first-week sales of 156,000 copies. Rihanna continues atop the Hot 100 singles chart with "We Found Love", while she scores the week's highest debut @ #31 with the Jay-Z-assisted "Talk That Talk" & also debuts @ #65 with "Where Have You Been". Jennifer Lopez debuts alongside will.i.am & Mick Jagger @ #36 with "T.H.E. (The Hardest Ever)". Meanwhile, Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You" tops the inaugural Holiday Songs chart!

See full charts HERE

(Photo Credit: Wikipedia)

Mary J. Blige Performs "Mr. Wrong" On The View

New Music Monday: Mary J. Blige "My Life II... The Journey Continues (Act 1)"

This week was a lot of things, but Mary J. Blige wanted to be sure you knew that her new album My Life II... The Journey Continues (Act 1) came out! It includes the new single "Mr. Wrong" featuring Drake, "25/8", &, if you buy the deluxe edition, "Someone To Love Me (Naked)". MJB performed on Chelsea Lately (>) & Today (<), popped up during the parade on Thanksgiving, & even helped give the most awkward, creepy, cringeworthy early-Christmas performance I've ever seen.



"Mr. Wrong" - Chelsea Lately



"Mr. Wrong" - Today



"25/8" - Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade



"Mistletoe" with Justin Bieber - The View

The 2011 American Music Awards Recap

Jennifer Lopez & Pitbull - Medley



Jennifer Lopez, will.i.am, & Mick Jagger "T.H.E. (The Hardest Ever)"



Nicki Minaj & David Guetta - Medley



Christina Aguilera & Maroon 5 "Moves Like Jagger"



Mary J. Blige "Mr. Wrong"



Kelly Clarkson "Mr. Know It All"



OneRepublic "Good Life"
Jennifer Lopez had a showstopping night (of redemption) at the 2011 American Music Awards with her own performance of "Until It Beats No More" "Papi" & "On The Floor", a performance of her collabo with will.i.am, & a win in the Latin Music Artist category! Nicki Minaj set the bar high at the top of the show, performing her David Guetta collabo "Turn Me On" as well as "Super Bass" before going on to win both the Rap/Hip-Hop Artist & Rap/Hip-Hop Album (Pink Friday) trophies! Christina Aguilera... didn't look completely terrible, but sounded terrific while performing her #1 hit with Maroon 5. Mary J. Blige performed her cool new single for the first time... by herself, which was weird since Drake was there, not that I'm complaining. Kelly Clarkson switched things up for a jazzy performance of her latest single that I dug, while OneRepublic stuck to what works with theirs. Meanwhile, Beyonce & Usher won Soul/R&B Female Artist & Soul/R&B Male Artist, respectively, & Rihanna picked up the award for Soul/R&B Album for Loud. A complete list of winners can be viewed HERE.

Jennifer Lopez, Others To Perform At 2011 AMAs

Jennifer Lopez is set to perform with will.i.am, likely their collaboration "T.H.E. (The Hardest Ever)", at the 2011 American Music Awards. Christina Aguilera will perform, oh, I don't know, with Maroon 5, while Nicki Minaj & David Guetta are set to open the show. Other performers include Kelly Clarkson & Mary J. Blige. The 2011 AMAs air live on ABC this Sunday, November 20th, @ 8/7c.

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Mary J. Blige "My Life II... The Journey Continues (Act 1) (Deluxe Edition)" Details

For the deluxe edition (slightly altered artwork to the left) of her forthcoming album My Life II... The Journey Continues (Act 1) (November 21st), Mary J. Blige has added three tracks--two at the end: "Miss Me With That", which has previously leaked, & "Someone To Love Me (Naked)", & "Irreversible" smack dab in the middle of "Love A Woman" & "Empty Prayers". I know the two we've heard before are good, so the outlook is positive!

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Preview Mary J. Blige's "My Life II... The Journey Continues (Act 1)"

Snippets of Mary J. Blige's upcoming album My Life II... The Journey Continues (Act 1) (November 21st) have emerged HERE. I'm really gonna need to hear the album in its entirety to get a legit feel for it. Speaking of getting a feel for the album though, catch MJB performing live from LA on Thursday, November 17th, @ 11/10c on VEVO.

Black Girls Rock Performance Highlights

Estelle "Thank You"



Melanie Fiona "This Time"



Mary J. Blige "My Life"
This year's Black Girls Rock special on BET resulted in Estelle's fantastic first performance of her new single, Melanie Fiona debuting a song from her upcoming album that... I'm gonna need to hear the studio version... & Mary J. Blige travelling back in time rather than continuing the journey.

Mary J. Blige Performs "Need Someone To Love You" On Later With Jools Holland

Mary J. Blige debuted "Need Someone To Love You", a cut off her upcoming album My Life II... The Journey Continues (Part 1) (November 21st), with a performance on Later With Jools Holland. What a beautiful song. I just got considerably more excited for her new album!

Mary J. Blige "25/8" Video Premiere

"25/8" is the first single off Mary J. Blige's upcoming album My Life II... The Journey Continues (Act 1) (November 21st). The video's cool. I like the song... there's still just a little something off about it for me though.

Jennifer Hudson, More Set For VH1 Divas Celebrates Soul

Jennifer Hudson & Kelly Clarkson, for the second time in three years, as well as Mary J. Blige are set to participate in VH1 Divas Celebrates Soul. Also featuring Jessie J, Florence + The Machine, Jill Scott, & The Roots as house band, the special will air on December 19th @ 9/8c. Pretty decent lineup, more appropriate than last year's.

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Mary J. Blige "My Life II... The Journey Continues (Act 1)" Tracklisting

Following update after update, we finally have the tracklisting for Mary J. Blige's upcoming album My Life II... The Journey Continues (Act 1) (November 21st):

1. Intro (ft. Diddy)
2. Feel Inside (ft. Nas)
3. Midnight Drive (ft. Brook Lynn)
4. Next Level (ft. Busta Rhymes)
5. Ain't Nobody
6. 25/8
7. Don't Mind
8. No Condition
9. Mr. Wrong (ft. Drake)
10. Why (ft. Rick Ross)
11. Love A Woman (ft. Beyonce)
12. Irreversible
13. Empty Prayers
14. Need Someone To Love You
15. The Living Proof

3, 4, & of course 11 should be good... 9 is, 10 not so much. And, um, Nas is not an acceptable replacement for Nicki Minaj. No sir.

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Mary J. Blige "My Life II... The Journey Continues (Act 1)" Update

For her second single, Mary J. Blige has called upon Drake, her "The One" collaborator (& the only thing wrong with that song), to feature on the appropriately-titled "Mr. Wrong" from Rico Love & Jim Jonsin. Come November 21st, My Life II... The Journey Continues (Act 1) will also include the rap stylings of Busta Rhymes & a Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins-produced remake of Chaka Khan's "Ain't Nobody"! Mary, just release the official tracklisting already lol.

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Mary J. Blige "25/8" Behind-The-Scenes

Mary J. Blige offers a behind-the-scenes look at her video for "25/8", the lead single off her upcoming album My Life II... The Journey Continues (Act 1) (November 21st). The song still misses the mark somewhere for me, but the video looks promising.