The Breakthrough
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| The Breakthrough | ||
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| Studio album by Mary J. Blige | ||
| Released | December 20, 2005 (U.S.) December 12, 2005 (UK) |
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| Recorded | 2005 | |
| Genre | R&B | |
| Length | 72:15 | |
| Label | Matriarch/Geffen | |
| Producer(s) | Rodney Jerkins 9th Wonder Cool & Dre Dre & Vidal Bryan Michael Cox will.i.am Jimmy Jam Terry Lewis Raphael Saadiq Ron Fair D. Emile J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League Chucky Thompson Rich Harrison |
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| Professional reviews | ||
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| Mary J. Blige chronology | ||
| Love & Life (2003) |
The Breakthrough (2005) |
Reflections - A Retrospective (2006) |
The Breakthrough is the Grammy-Award winning seventh studio album by American R&B and soul singer Mary J. Blige, released by Geffen Records in Britain on December 12, 2005 and December 20 in North America (see 2005 in music).
Contents |
[edit] History
In spite of buzz circulating in the summer of 2005 that Blige's next release would be a retrospective aptly titled Reminisce, she and her label formally announced that an album of brand-new material was on the way instead. On December 20, 2005, Geffen released Mary's seventh studio album, titled The Breakthrough.
The debuted at #1 on both the R&B albums and Billboard 200 albums charts selling 727,163 copies in its first week, making it the biggest first-week sales for an R&B solo female artist in SoundScan history[1] and the fifth largest first-week sales for a female artist, and the fourth largest debut of 2005.
Production on the album included Blige herself, Rodney Jerkins, will.i.am, Bryan Michael Cox, 9th Wonder, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Raphael Saadiq, Cool and Dre, and Dre & Vidal, and the album includes a duet with U2 on the cover of the 1992 U2 hit, "One," which was released as the second single in Europe and Latin America.
A return to Mary's prime, the leadoff single "Be Without You" quickly raced up both the R&B and pop singles charts; "Be Without You" topped the R&B singles chart for a record-setting 15 consecutive weeks.
The album's second single "Enough Cryin'" was not as successful as "Be Without You", as it peaked at #32 on the Billboard Hot 100, but it was more successful on the R&B chart, hitting #2.
"One" was released as a single in the U.S. on July 17, 2006; it is an R&B song mixed with alternative rock song. It was the album's second single in the UK and gave Mary her biggest hit to date in the UK, peaking at #2 on the Top 40.
The album's 3rd and current single is "Take Me As I Am" with production by "infinity". The song "MJB Da MVP" was released as a radio only single prior to the release of Be Without You. Another song, "Ain't Really Love," reached number 73 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in the U.S., although it was not released as a single [1].
The album has so far gone 2x platinum in the U.S. and has been proclaimed as her comeback album (after the disappointment of Love & Life). The album has shown signs of longevity, remaining in the top five of the Billboard 200 for 11 consecutive weeks (including 2 weeks at #1). As of February 2007, the album's Nielsen SoundScan American sales stood at over 2,900,000 units.
The album is somewhat notable for its cover featuring Blige sporting a Yulia Tymoshenko-esque look.
Blige won nine Billboard Music Awards for work done on The Breakthrough.
In December 2006, Blige received eight Grammy Award nominations at the 2007 Grammy Awards for The Breakthrough, the most of any artist for the 2007 awards. "Be Without You" was nominated for both "Record of the Year" and "Song of the Year". Mary won three Grammy Awards: "Best Female R&B Vocal Performance", "Best R&B Song" ( both for "Be Without You" ), and "Best R&B Album" for The Breakthrough.
[edit] Track listing
| # | Track | Songwriters | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "No One Will Do" | E Ortiz, K Crowe, C Brown III, D Young, B Sigler | J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League | 4:48 |
| 2. | "Enough Cryin" (featuring Brook) | M J Blige, R Jerkins, S Garrett, S Carter | Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins | 4:20 |
| 3. | "About You" (featuring will.i.am) | M J Blige, W. J, Adams, K Harris, A Newley, L Bricusse | Will.I.Am | 4:05 |
| 4. | "Be Without You" | M J Blige, B Michael-Cox, J Perry, J Austin | Bryan-Michael Cox | 4:05 |
| 5. | "Gonna Breakthrough" (featuring Brook) | M J Blige, D Gordon, D Emile, Q Wages, H Palmer | D. Emile | 4:00 |
| 6. | "Good Woman Down" | M J Blige, S Garrett, P Douthit, R Aries, F Jackson, M Morgan | 9th Wonder | 4:07 |
| 7. | "Take Me As I Am" | J Sucof, E Lewis, C Nelson, K Hilson, T Nkkerfante, L Smith | Infinity & Ron Fair | 3:57 |
| 8. | "Baggage" | M J Blige, J Harris III, T Lewis, B Avia, I Avia, J Right, D Young | Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis | 3:35 |
| 9. | "Can't Hide From Luv" (featuring Jay-Z) | M J Blige, A Harris, V Davis, R Toby | Dre & Vidal | 3:52 |
| 10. | "MJB Da MVP" | C Jackson, J Taylor, A Lyon, M Valenzano, N Harris, R Backer, A Felder, J Johnson, P Rushen, D Ecans, R Ayers | Cool & Dre | 3:21 |
| 11. | "Can't Get Enough" | M J Blige, Jam & Lewis, B Avila, I Avila | Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis | 3:40 |
| 12. | "Ain't Really Love" | M J Blige, B Michael-Cox, J Austin, C Childress | Bryan-Michael Cox | 4:40 |
| 13. | "I Found My Everything" (featuring Raphael Saadiq) | M J Blige, R Saadiq, K Wooten, R Ozuma | Raphael Saadiq | 5:23 |
| 14. | "Father In You" | M J Blige, A Harris, V Davis, R Toby | Dre & Vidal | 5:23 |
| 15. | "Alone" (featuring Dave Young) | D McKenzie, D Young | Davel "Bo" McKenzie | 4:29 |
| 16. | "One" (with U2) | Bono, A Clayton, The Edge, L Mullen Jr | Ron Fair | 4:20 |
North American edition / Hidden track (released December 20, 2005)
| # | Track | Songwriters | Producer | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16. | "Show Love" (Hidden Track) | M J Blige, S Garrett, C Thompson | Chucky Thompson | 3:40 |
International edition (released December 12, 2005)
| # | Track | Songwriters | Producer | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17. | "So Lady" (featuring Raphael Saadiq) | M J Blige, R Saadiq, T Moses | Raphael Saadiq | 4:18 |
| 18. | "Show Love" | M J Blige, S Garrett, C Thompson | Chucky Thompson | 3:40 |
Japanese edition (released December 12, 2005)
| # | Track | Songwriters | Producer | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17. | "So Lady" (featuring Raphael Saadiq) | M J Blige, R Saadiq, T Moses | Raphael Saadiq | 4:18 |
| 18. | "Show Love" | M J Blige, S Garrett, C Thompson | Chucky Thompson | 3:40 |
| 19. | "Out My Head" | M J Blige | Rich Harrison |
[edit] Unreleased, unused or leftover songs
- "Turn Off The Lights" (Version 1 featuring Jay-Z)
- "Turn Off The Lights" (Version 2 Featuring Jay-Z & T.I.)
- "Best Friend"
- "Enough Cryin" (Unreleased Version featuring Foxy Brown)
[edit] Charts performances
[edit] Peak positions
| Chart (2006) | Providers | Peak | Certification |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Official UK Album Chart | BPI / The Official UK Charts Company | 22 | Gold |
| German Album Chart | Media Control | 28 | Gold |
| Dutch Album Chart | MegaCharts | 12 | |
| The Billboard RnB/HipHop (U.S.) | Billboard | 1 | 2x Platinum |
| The Billboard 200 (U.S.) | Billboard | 1 | 2x Platinum |
| Spanish Album Chart | Promusicae | 74 |
[edit] See also
Studio albums: What's the 411? (1992) • My Life (1994) • Share My World (1997) • Mary (1999)
No More Drama (2001) Love & Life (2003) The Breakthrough (2005)
Compilation albums: Ballads (2001) • Reflections - A Retrospective (2006)
Related articles: Discography • Awards • Videography
| Preceded by Curtain Call: The Hits by Eminem |
Billboard 200 Number 1 Album January 7, 2006 - January 13, 2006 |
Succeeded by Unpredictable by Jamie Foxx |
| Preceded by Unpredictable by Jamie Foxx |
Billboard 200 Number 1 Album January 28, 2006 - February 3, 2006 |
Succeeded by Unpredictable by Jamie Foxx |
