Photo credit: Sarah Douglas

Ms. Mary J. Blige Comes to New Orleans

20:00 October 16, 2022
By: Reine Dugas

Mary J. Blige walked out onto the Smoothie King Center stage to a huge welcome from New Orleans this weekend. Here for her 2022 Good Morning Gorgeous Tour, Blige performed emotion-filled sets, kicked off by openers, Grammy-winning Ella Mai and Queen Naija.


[Sarah Douglas]

Fierce as she sauntered onto the stage in purple sequins, pink thigh boots, and long, wavy blonde hair, Blige sang and danced to chants of "Go Mary." Flames shone in the background as she gave a shout out to the audience and sang one song rolling into the next, without missing a beat, for her first set.


Though her body of work crosses genre and decades, some of her most significant professional accomplishments include nine Grammy awards, fourteen albums, a documentary, My Life, named after her break-out album, and a 2022 Super Bowl performance. And there's more. When you see her perform live, you understand why she's known as the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul.


Blige has come a long way and overcome personal and professional obstacles. She started out as a back up vocalist in 1988 and then worked with Puff Daddy, who executive produced her first album in 1992, What's the 411? Then My Life came out in 1994, and both of these albums established her place in the hip-hop world. Her powerful storytelling skills and the theme of love became evident through her lyrics and can be found in every album. Despite Blige's many struggles, which include a painful divorce, she finally found her footing and herself.


[Sarah Douglas]

What might have been considered a small retinue for her performance, the handful of dancers that shared the stage with her was just right for keeping the focus on Blige and her music. Blige's voice filled up the arena—the ache, longing, anger were all there. More than that, she knew how to connect with her audience—both through her songs and her emotions. Reaching out through shared experience, Blige's lyrics and music resonated.


Performing old and new music, Blige would call out an album—"Where are my Real Love people?" And then she'd sing a few songs from it. When it came to the Good Morning Gorgeous album, Blige appeared lying back in a chaise as though she'd just woken up to sing the titular song. "Good Morning Gorgeous" has special significance for Blige as she's shared in countless interviews. She has admitted that she's struggled with self-worth—coming from both herself and people she's been in relationships with. "Good Morning Gorgeous" was an affirmation she began saying to herself every day. It took her a while but she after a while, she began to feel that way. To believe it. To feel gorgeous, which Blige says, is more than just how she looks on the outside—it's her spirit too. The album Good Morning Gorgeous, pays tribute to that growth and self-love.

[Sarah Douglas]

During the evening, she performed favorites like "You Remind Me," "Real Love," "Failing in Love," "I Love You," "I'm Not Going to Cry," "I'm Going Down," "Everything," "I Can Love You," and "Just Fine." Between Blige's four costume changes, videos played in the background—clips of interviews, bits from the documentary, photos from her many performances. That's the only time the audience sat down. As soon as she came out, they were up on their feet, singing along. She would hold out the mic and nod her head as their voices filled the arena.

Mary J. Blige is one of the greats. Her music and style are like non other. An icon of style, her signature look--self-described as ghetto-fabulous--is one that performers have imitated in the past and continue to do today. More than that, as fellow performers have said of her, she keeps it real. And even in a packed Smoothie King Center, that was evident. The warmth she showed to her fans, the affection they had for her—it was real love.


All photos by Sarah Douglas.

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