Review of the Breakthrough by Mary J. Blige

After a disappointing 6th album, Mary J. Blige, who's known as the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul, has definitely redeemed herself. Her seventh album, entitled The Breakthrough, is possibly the best album of Mary 's career. In fact, Mary J. Blige has won 3 Grammy Awards for Best R&B album, Best R&B Song and Best R&B Female Vocal Performance for her hit song "Be Without You".

In this album, she pours her heart out with every lyric revealing her personal pain, heartbreak, and trials. Listening to "The Breakthrough" is like overhearing a very personal, heartfelt conversation between good friends, a confession between a penitent and a priest, a child and her parents...pillow-talk between lovers...

The Breakthrough is a solid and enjoyable album. In this album, Mary takes you on a musical journey as she celebrates life and love. The Breakthrough features fantabulous work by some of the biggest producers in the industry including Bryan Michael-Cox, Sean Garrett, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins to name a few) and also features a beautiful performance on the remake of U2's "One."

I'm not going to review every song on the album, but here are my thoughts on a few of the songs:

My favorite song on the album is "Be Without You." "Be Without You," features a beautiful piano intro. It reminds me a little of Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together", but "Be Without You" is more enjoyable in my opinion. In the chorus she states:

"We've been too strong for too long (and I can't be without you baby),
And I'll be waiting up until you get home (cuz I can't sleep without you baby).
Anybody who's ever loved, ya know just what I feel,
Too hard to fake it, nothing can replace it,
Call the radio if you just can't be without your baby"

This song has beautifully written lyrics that are relatively deep, and the vocal performance is simply sensational. If you are in love, you gotta hear this song!