| Queen of Hip-Hop Soul Hits the Road |
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| Written by Robert ID2713 |
| Friday, 09 June 2006 14:54 |
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Mary J. Blige is still the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul. She was anointed the title even before her boundary-breaking, genre-making debut smash hip-hop favorite "What's the 411?" dropped in 1992 and now thirteen years later on the heels of the success of her new album, "The Breakthrough," the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul Mary J. Blige has announced a summer headlining tour featuring opening acts Jaheim and Latoya. "Mary J. Blige: The Breakthrough Experience" tour will kick off July 1st in Houston, TX (see below for complete itinerary) and hit over 30 cities nationwide. Released on December 20th, "The Breakthrough" debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album Chart. Enormous first week sales of 727,163 earned it the honor of being the best opening week for a solo R&B female artist in SoundScan history. The CD also had the distinction of being the fourth-best debut of all of 2005. "The Breakthrough" has currently sold over 2.3 million copies. The first single off The Breakthrough., "Be Without You," has been breaking records as well. It remained on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs chart for 15 weeks which established Mary as having the longest running No. 1 song on this chart since it was reintroduced in 1965. "Be Without You" is the sixth Mary J. Blige recording to reach No. 1 on the R&B/Hip Hop Songs chart. The other five were "You Remind Me," "Real Love," "I''ll Be There For You/You''re All I Need To Get By," "Not Goin'' Cry," and Family Affair." Mary's new single "Enough Cryin''" is poised to reach #4 on the R&B/Hip Hop chart. The Queen of Hip-Hop Soul's six prior platinum and multi-platinum hit albums include such classics, "No More Drama," "What's the 411," "My Life," "Share My World," "Mary and Love & Life." Below is a complete itinerary for "Mary J Blige: The Breakthrough Experience" tour: DAY DATE CITY VENUE Sat 6/24 Chicago, IL Bridgeview Stadium Thu 6/29 Atlanta, GA Chastain Park Sat 7/01 Houston, TX Reliant Stadium Mon 7/3 Milwaukee, WI Summerfest Fri 7/14 St. Louis, MO UMB Bank Pavilion Sat 7/15 Indianapolis, IN Conseco Fieldhouse Sun 7/16 Charlotte, NC Verizon Wireless Wed 7/19 Hartford, CT Mohegun Sun Arena Fri 7/21 New York, NY Madison Square Garden Sun 7/23 Philadelphia, PA. Tweeter Wed 7/26 Pittsburgh, PA Post Gazette Thu 7/27 Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Center Sat 7/29 Cleveland, OH Plain Dealer Pavilion Sun 7/30 Washington, DC Nissan Pavilion Fri 8/04 Atlantic City, NJ Borgata Casino and Hotel Sat 8/05 Raleigh, NC Altell Pavilion Sun 8/06 Virginia Beach, VA Verizon Wireless Wed 8/09 San Antonio, TX Verizon Wireless Fri 8/11 Dallas, TX Smirnoff Sat 8/12 Memphis, TN Fed Ex Forum Sun 8/13 Kansas City, MO Starlight Theater Fri 8/18 Columbus, OH Germain Amphitheater Sat 8/19 Chicago, IL Charter Sun 8/20 Detroit, MI DTE Energy Music Fri 8/25 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Bank Atlantic Center Sat 8/26 Tampa, FL Ford Amphitheater Sun 8/27 Atlanta, GA Lakewood Fri 9/01 Irvine, CA Verizon Wireless Sat 9/02 Las Vegas, NV Mandalay Bay Sun 9/03 Los Angeles, CA Gibson Amphitheater Wed 9/06 Phoenix, AZ Cricket Pavilion Thu 9/07 Sacramento, CA Sleep Train Amphitheater Fri 9/08 Oakland, CA Chronical Pavilion Please visit these web sites for more information: |