Mary J. Blige

So, what did you do for Valentine's Day?
Nothing, really. I'm so busy right now. I think I went out and bought my husband some pajamas and — um, something else, I forgot what else. It was a great one, yeah.

Your CD titles read like announcements about what's happening to you at a particular time. What inspired The Breakthrough?
I began to work on myself in every way. I mean, I have been working on myself for a very long time but, y'know, [I'm] just not playing around with it anymore and actually going through, for real, the pain that it takes to break through — dealing with my own anger, my own selfishness, my own ignorance, my own all of this, and not wanting to hurt anyone or myself anymore for real, y'know?

Is there a particular track that you're hoping resonates with your audience?
I'm just hoping everything resonates. "Take Me as I Am" and "Good Woman Down," those songs mean a lot to me. You can sit at home with your girls, and play cards, or you do whatever you do, and listen to this record.

"Good Woman Down" is classic Mary J. How did it come about?
I guess it's just based on everything that I've been through in my life, and watching every woman that I grew up around who is still around, still has a job, still has a family, or has left that abusive man, or has gotten out of that rehab and is still doing well. They just refuse to live for the approval of people, and they live for themselves, and those are the good women you can't hold down.

Any examples?
I would have to use Mariah [Carey] as a for instance because she's someone that everybody was just counting out, and she definitely showed people, "I'm the good woman you cannot hold down." That's what that song is based on.

Who would you love to tour with?
Me honestly, I think that a Mary J. Blige and Mariah Carey tour would be something to see. That's a whopper. [Laughs] She is someone that has earned everything, and she's got a huge fan base, and I have a huge fan base, and that would just be crazy to bring those two worlds together.

Is that close to happening?
I don't think it's gonna happen, but I mean, I wish it would. That's my wish.

Who's idea was it to cover U2's "One" — with Bono?
Well, actually I was gonna record the record with or without Bono 'cause I loved it so much. I think three or four years ago, MusiCares did a tribute to Bono. As I was learning the song I fell in love with it lyrically and just how it sounds. Then Hurricane Katrina happened, and me and Bono sang it on television as a contribution for Hurricane Katrina relief [Shelter from the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast], and everybody liked the way we sounded so much. The rest is history.

Who would you say is left that you're hoping to work with in the future?
There's just — there's so many people, man. [Laughs] I can't even begin to name.

Any American Idols on that list?
Uh, not…not…no. No. Not at this moment, no.

That show is a disaster, isn't it?
Umm, it's kind of a good thing because it gives people a chance to actually get discovered, man. I mean, we had Star Search when we were kids, so this is good for everybody else. This is their Star Search.

But Star Search had a better host. It had Ed McMahon!
Well, at the end of the day people get discovered, and that's the most important thing. There's some little girl sitting around like, "Man, I wish someone could hear my voice," and then she goes on there and then she becomes Fantasia, and it's like, "Wow."

Did you do any of those kind of shows?
Nah. Nope, I never did.

I researched the word "hateration," and you are credited with being its originator. Is that true?
Yeah, I mean it was a made-up word. It's not a real word; it's "hateration" — like, that's not in the dictionary.

And "holleration," too?
Yeah, those are all made-up words.

What was going on that day?
Well, you know, we played around a lot, and when we played around, like, especially when we're hanging out, we said things like that. It's just some foolishness. It's not a serious thing; just some foolishness. That's it.

But you realize that in 2012 they will both be in the Oxford English Dictionary, most likely.
Oh, boy. [Laughs]

Don't you think?
I have no idea. I didn't think that they would put something that ignorant-sounding in there.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Don't be so sure of that, Mary. "D'oh!" was included in the Oxford English Dictionary in 2001; "Bling bling" made it in 2003. Projected date for the inclusion of both "hateration" and "holleration": early next week.]

Official site

Out Now:
The Breakthrough
(Geffen)

But wait, there's more:
Mary J. Blige's Girls of Maxim gallery
Mary J.'s Valentine's Day playlist
33 Things You Should Know About Mary J. Blige
The Secret Life of Mariah Carey
U2 Walks on Water

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