''The Breakthrough'' is the seventh studio album by American singer

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actress, and entrepreneur. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Qu ...

. It was released by

Geffen Records Geffen Records (formerly The David Geffen Company from 1980 to 1992 and Geffen Records Inc. from 1993 to 2004) is an American record label, founded in late 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the company known as Geffen Pi ...

on December 20, 2005. Initially expected to be released in 2006, it switched release dates with Blige's first greatest hits album '' Reflections (A Retrospective)'' (2006) after fruitful collaborations with a host of songwriters and record producers, including 9th Wonder, Rodney Jerkins,

Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III (born June 6, 1959) and Terry Steven Lewis (born November 24, 1956) are an American R&B/ pop songwriting and record production team. Their productions have received commercial success since the 1980s with var ...

, Bryan-Michael Cox, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League,

Raphael Saadiq Raphael Saadiq (; born Charles Ray Wiggins; May 14, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He rose to prominence as a vocalist and bassist for the R&B band Tony! Toni! Toné!, which he formed with h ...

, Chucky Thompson, Cool & Dre, Ron Fair, and will.i.am, prompted Blige and her label to shift material from ''Reflections'' to ''The Breakthrough''. The album was released to positive reception from music critics, who considered it a return to form for Blige after 2003's '' Love & Life''. Commercially, it opened to her biggest first week sales in the US yet and became her third album to debut at the top of the ''Billboard'' 200. The album reached triple Platinum status in the US and sold more than 3.1 million copies. Internationally, it entered the top ten in Switzerland, and the R&B charts in both Australia and United Kingdom. ''The Breakthrough'' received numerous accolades, earning Blige her first Grammy Award for Best R&B Album at the 49th awards ceremony. Four singles were released in support of the album. Lead single " Be Without You" became a top three hit on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 as well as Blige's highest-charting single since 2001's " Family Affair", while international follow-up "

One 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

", a duet with Irish rock band U2 on their 1991 song, enjoyed major commercial success throughout Europe, reaching number one in Austria and Norway as well as the top ten on most other charts. From June to September 2006, Blige promoted ''The Breakthrough'' in her The Breakthrough Experience Tour, which visited several cities throughout Canada and the United States.

Release and promotion

Blige embarked on several live performances and appearances to promote the release of ''The Breakthrough''. At the 5th Annual BET Awards (2005), she performed with rapper

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during his performance of " Hate It or Love It" on June 28, 2005. In October 2005, she sung a medley of " You're All I Need to Get By" with

Method Man Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), known professionally as Method Man, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. He is a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan, and is half of the hip hop duo Method Man & R ...

, " I'm Goin' Down", " Real Love", and "Can't Hide from Luv" on BET's ''25 Strong: The BET Silver Anniversary Special''. In November 2005, Blige was honored with the V Legend Award at the 2005 Vibe Awards. On December 21, 2005, the singer was interviewed and performed on '' The Tyra Banks Show'', singing a rendition of "Can't Hide from Luv." On December 31, 2005, Blige sung a medley of " Family Affair", "Can't Hide from Luv", and " Be Without You" on '' New Year's Eve with Carson Daly''. On February 8, 2006, Blige performed "

" with U2 at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards. In April 2006, she performed "Be Without You" and " Enough Cryin" on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

''. At the 2006 BET Awards, Blige sung a medley of "Be Without You" and "Enough Cryin." From July 14, 2006, to September 10, 2006, Blige embarked on The Breakthrough Experience Tour. Letoya Luckett and Jaheim were opening acts during the tour. On December 4, 2006, Blige performed "Enough Cryin" and " Take Me as I Am" at the 2006 Billboard Music Awards, where she won nine awards. At the

49th Annual Grammy Awards The 49th Annual Grammy Awards was a ceremony honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2005, and ending September 30, 2006, in the United States. The awards were handed out on Sunday, February 11, 2007, at the Stapl ...

, on February 11, 2007, Blige performed "Be Without You."

Critical reception

''The Breakthrough'' was met with generally positive reviews. At

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an

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score of 76, based on 20 reviews.The Breakthrough Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic
.

. Retrieved on April 16, 2011. Andy Gill of ''

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'' deemed it perhaps "her best, the most vivid realisation of her gripping, confessional style." David Browne believed ''The Breakthrough'' marked a return for Blige to her dramatic strengths, writing in ''

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'' that the music's "messy sprawl of conflicted emotions feels true to her fierce, prickly personality (not to mention life itself)." In ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'',

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Stylus Magazine ''Stylus Magazine'' was an American online music and film magazine, launched in 2002 and co-founded by Todd L. Burns. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog. Addi ...

''s Thomas Inskeep viewed it as a "return to form" for Blige, calling it her "finest full-length since '99's '' Mary''," while ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' journalist Barry Walters said that unlike with her previous albums, ''The Breakthrough''s ballads genuinely stand out. ''Prefix'' critic Norman Mayers found that ''The Breakthrough'' "zips confidently through its sixteen tracks. The album's first two-thirds is so well paced that the eleventh track seems to come around before you can catch your breath. The musical palette is a blend of contemporary

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

–style productions and classic mid-tempo soul." Andy Kellman from

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said each song proved Blige had been given her "best round of productions" since the mid 1990s.Kellman, Andy (December 20, 2005). " AllMusic: Review.

. Retrieved on April 16, 2011. ''

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'' critic Natalie Nichols credited the producers for "adeptly weaving beats and live instruments, vocals and rapping, melody and rhythm in configurations alternately stark and lush." Steve Jones of ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'' wrote that "Blige balances her trademark edginess with the personal happiness she has found in recent years" and her producers "give her compelling musical backdrops". A 2023 review from ''

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''s Clover Hope called it "an unofficial marker of a more self-actualized Mary J. Blige" as well as "so self-referential that it almost does function like a greatest-hits record the label wanted". Jason King was less impressed in ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

'', feeling that ''The Breakthrough'' had improved on Blige's 2003 album '' Love & Life'' but still lacked the creativity of 1999's '' Mary''. Blige's penchant for "hermetic, clinically slick production values doesn't complement her soul-baring aura," King wrote. '' Spin'' journalist Tom Breihan felt the production's "awkwardly programmed drums and cluttered synthetic arrangements" generally failed to give her a conducive space for an effective performance and left "the songs' chin-up aphorisms ringing false." ''

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''s Sal Cinquemani was more critical of the lyrics, finding them distastefully sentimental, unsubtle, and "the epitome of formulaic, giving you the feeling that you've heard this all before." John Murphy from ''

musicOMH ''MusicOMH'' (stylized as ''musicOMH'') is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B. History ''MusicOMH'' was founded an ...

''s found that like Blige's "previous albums, ''The Breakthrough'' is overlong and spoilt by too many producers sticking their oar in. One of these days she'll produce a tight, focused album that's worthy of her wonderful voice – ''The Breakthrough'' isn't it, but there's enough good moments to keep her legions of fans more than happy." In his lukewarm review for '' Vibe'', Dimitri Ehrlich noted that "even cameos by today’s hottest rappers can’t shake Blige's nostalgic flair."

Accolades

''The Breakthrough'' and its singles earned Blige numerous awards and nominations. She received eight nominations at the

, the most of any artist for that ceremony. "Be Without You" was nominated for both

Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without re ...

and Song of the Year categories; it won for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song, while ''The Breakthrough'' won in the category of Best R&B Album. Blige was recognized as Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist and won in the Favorite Soul/R&B Album category, among the three awards she was nominated for at the American Music Awards of 2006. Blige won nine prizes at the 2006 Billboard Music Awards, including Top R&B Album, Top R&B Artist, R&B/Hip-Hop Album Artist of the Year and Female R&B/Hip-Hop Artist of the Year. At the BET Awards 2006 she won two awards, including Best Female R&B/Pop Artist and Video of the Year. Blige also won Outstanding Female Artist at the 38th NAACP Image Awards.

Year-end lists

Commercial performance

''The Breakthrough'' debuted at number one on both the US ''Billboard'' 200 and

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip-hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Luminate. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated January 30, ...

in the week of January 7, 2006. Blige's third album to do so, it sold 727,000 copies in its first week of release, becoming the biggest first-week sales for a female R&B solo artist in SoundScan history, the fifth largest first-week sales for a female artist, and the fourth largest debut of 2005. The biggest-selling R&B album of the year, ''Billboard'' ranked it first on its 2006 Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums year-end chart. It was also ranked fifth on the magazine's ''Billboard'' 200 year-end chart of 2006. ''The Breakthrough'' was certified Gold and Platinum by the

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(RIAA) on the January 24, 2006. It eventually reached double Platinum on March 10, 2006 and triple Platinum status on April 10, 2007. By December 2009, the album had sold 3,100,000 copies in the United States. In the United Kingdom, ''The Breakthrough'' debuted at number 48 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

and number six on the UK R&B Albums chart in the week of December 24, 2005. It eventually peaked at number 22 in April 2006. On February 3, 2006, the album earned a Gold certification from the

British Phonographic Industry BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...

(BPI) for shipments in excess of 100,000 units. Elsewhere, ''The Breakthrough'' reached number one on the Australian Urban Albums chart and the top ten on the Swiss Albums Chart. It reached Gold status in Australia, Germany, and Japan and was certified Platinum by the

International Federation of the Phonographic Industry The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a non-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland and founded in Italy in 1 ...

(IFPI) in Switzerland.

Track listing

Notes

* signifies a vocal producer * signifies an additional producer * signifies an additional vocal producer * signifies a co-producer

Sample credits

* "No One Will Do" contains excerpts from "I Swear I Love No One but You", written by Bunny Sigler and performed by

the O'Jays The O'Jays are an American Rhythm and blues, R&B group from Canton, Ohio, formed in summer 1958 and originally consisting of Eddie Levert, Walter Lee Williams, William Powell, Bobby Massey, and Bill Isles. The O'Jays made their first chart appea ...

. * "About You" contains samples from " Feeling Good", written by Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse and performed by

Nina Simone Nina Simone ( ; born Eunice Kathleen Waymon; February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003) was an American singer, pianist, songwriter, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, and po ...

. * "Gonna Breakthrough" contains samples from " The Champ", written by Harry Palmer and performed by the Mohawks. * "Good Woman Down" contains excerpts from "Heart Breaking Decision", written by Robert Aries, Freddie Jackson and Meli'sa Morgan and performed by Morgan. * "Take Me as I Am" contains samples from "A Garden of Peace", written and performed by Lonnie Liston Smith. * "Can't Hide from Luv" contains excerpts and a sample of " I Wanna Be Where You Are", written by Arthur Ross and Leon Ware and performed by

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

. * "MJB da MVP" contains excerpts from "Rubberband", written by Ron Baker, Allen Felder and Norman Harris and performed by the Tramps. It also contains resung lyrics from "All Night Long", written by James Johnson, "Remind Me", written by

Patrice Rushen Patrice Louise Rushen (born September 30, 1954) is an American jazz pianist, R&B singer, record producer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and music director. At the 25th Annual Grammy Awards, her 1982 single, "Forget Me Nots", received a no ...

and Karen Evans, and "Everybody Loves the Sunshine", written by

Roy Ayers Roy Edward Ayers Jr. (September 10, 1940 – March 4, 2025) was an American vibraphonist, record producer, and composer. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several studio albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure ...

Personnel

Credits for ''The Breakthrough'' adapted from

.The Breakthrough - Mary J. Blige , AllMusic: Credits
Allmusic. Retrieved on April 16, 2011. *

50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and television producer. Born in Queens, a borough of New York City, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 1996. In 1999–2000, ...

– vocals *

Chalmers Alford Chalmers Edward "Spanky" Alford (May 22, 1955 – March 24, 2008) was an American gospel, jazz, and neo-soul guitarist. Alford was born in Philadelphia. He was well known for his playing style, utilizing chord embellishments. He had an illustrious ...

– guitar * Johnta Austin – vocal producer * Bobby Ross Avila – guitar, keyboards, producer, strings * Issiah "IZ" Avila – bass guitar, drums, percussion, producer * Robert Bacon – guitar * Charlie Bisharat – string instrument * Mary J. Blige – producer, vocal arrangement, vocal producer, vocals * Bono – guitar, vocals * Jacqueline Brand – violin * Craig Brockman – piano * Charles "Biscuits" Brungardt – vocal producer * Roberto Cani – violin * Lily Chen – violin * Danny Cheung "Stems" – engineer * Candice Childress – production coordination * Adam Clayton – bass guitar * Larry Corbett – cello * Bryan-Michael Cox – instrumentation, producer, string arrangements * Vidal Davis – instrumentation, producer * Loren Dawson – piano * Mario Diaz de Leon – violin * Brian Dembow – viola * Joel Deroin – string instrument * Patrick Dillett – engineer, vocal producer * Reginald Dozier – engineer * Andrew Duckles – viola * Bruce Dukov – violin * The Edge – guitar * Michael Eleopoulos – assistant engineer, engineer * Stephen Erdody – cello * Anthony "Devyne" Evans – engineer * Anthony Lavon Evans – engineer * Ron Fair – conductor, guitar, harmonica, keyboards, orchestra bells, organ, piano, producer, string arrangements, vocal arrangement, vocal producer * Jan Fairchild – engineer * AMarlow Fisher – viola * Drew FitzGerald – art direction * Paul Foley – engineer * Samuel Formicola – viola * Matt Funes – string instrument * Sean Garrett – vocal producer * Endre Genet – string instrument * Julie Gigante – violin * Carl Glanville – original recordings * Larry Gold – string arrangements * John Goux – acoustic and electric guitar * Endre Granat – violin *

Bernie Grundman Bernie Grundman (born 16 December 1943, Minneapolis) is an American audio engineer. He is most known for his mastering work and his studio, Bernie Grundman Mastering, which he opened in 1984 in Hollywood. The studio, which includes engineers Chr ...

– mastering * Alan Grunfeld – string instrument * Rexsell Hardy, Jr. – drums * Andre Harris – instrumentation, producer * Keith Harris – keyboards, organ, piano, synthesizer bass * Clayton Haslop – violin * Tal Herzberg – digital editing, engineer, producer * Keri Hilson – vocal arrangement * Paula Hochhalter – cello, strings * Infinity – producer * Kendu Isaacs – mixing * Jun Ishizeki – assistant engineer * Jake & the Phatman – producer * Jimmy Jam – producer * Jaycen Joshua – assistant engineer, engineer, mixing * Rodney Jerkins – mixing, producer * Justice League – producer * Suzie Katayama – cello * Bernard Kenny – bass guitar * Kimberly Kimble – hair stylist * Markus Klinko &

Indrani Indrani (Sanskrit: इन्द्राणी, IAST: ''Indrāṇī''), also known as Shachi (Sanskrit: शची, IAST: ''Śacī''), is the queen of the Deva (Hinduism), devas in Hinduism. Described as tantalisingly beautiful, proud and kind, ...

– photography * Armen Ksadjikian – cello * Songa Lee – violin * Natalie Leggett – violin * Phillipe Levy – violin * Terry Lewis – producer * Andrea Liberman – stylist * David Low – string instrument * David Lowery – string instrument * Rene Mandel – violin * Matt Marrin – engineer * Tony Maserati – mixing * Harvey Mason, Sr. – glockenspiel, timpani * Darrin McCann – viola * Davel "Bo" McKenzie – producer * Cornelius Mims – bass * Vicki Miskolczy – viola *

Peter Mokran Peter Mokran is an American mixer, producer, engineer, and musician. Early life Mokran was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. Growing up, he studied classical guitar, while also learning engineering and programming as a teen.Paul Tingen“ ...

– mixing * Wesley Morrow – production coordination * Larry Mullen, Jr. – drums, percussion * Dean Nelson – assistant, mixing * 9th Wonder – producer * Robin Olson – violin * Robert Ozuna – drums, percussion, scratching * Sid Page – violin * Alyssa Park – violin * Dave Pensado – mixing * Katia Popov – violin *

Jack Joseph Puig Jack Joseph Puig is an American audio engineer, record executive, and record producer. He has worked with Tonic, Hole, Jellyfish, The Black Crowes, John Mayer, Weezer, Fiona Apple, Roger Hodgson, Taxiride, Green Day, Counting Crows, No Dou ...

– mixing * Frank Romano – guitar * Mark Robertson – violin * Mally Roncal – make-up * Anatoly Rosinsky – violin * Raphael Saadiq – bass guitar, guitar, producer * Allen Sides – engineer * The South Central Chamber Orchestra – strings * South Central Orchestra – strings * Tereza Stanislav – string instrument * Supa Engineer "Dura" – mixing * John Tanksley – assistant engineer, engineer * Troy Taylor – vocal producer * Cecilia Tsan – cello * Charles Vail – strings * Josephina Vergara – violin * will.i.am – engineer, keyboards * Kelvin Wooten – keyboards * Benjamin Wright – string arrangements, string conductor, string writing * James "Big Jim" Wright – keyboards, producer * Dave Young – performer * Dave Young Orchestra – vocal producer

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links