Mary J. Blige News

See and hear Jennifer Hudson for the first time as Aretha Franklin in the first teaser for the upcoming bipoic, Respect!

Via his first-ever holiday project, Holiday Love, 2x Grammy Award-Winning contemporary R&B singer/songwriter Elijah Blake has now released its first visual, “5 Gold Rings,” a trap-esque version of “The 12 Days of Christmas,” premiered by HotNewHipHop.

Today, VEW Live! announces Cardi B as the first headliner for the inaugural VEWTOPIA Music Festival taking place on January 31st and February 1st 2020, prior to the big game. VEWTOPIA Music Festival 2020 will bring together some of the biggest names in pop, hip-hop and Latin music with 14 hours of live performances and interactive experiences that combine music and arts over the course of two days.  Additional headliners and artists will be revealed in the coming weeks.

Today, BET Networks announced new original scripted miniseries 'Uptown.' The three-part television event will tell the comprehensive story of Andre Harrell's iconic New York City record label, Uptown Records. Launched in 1986, following a joint venture deal with MCA, Andre Harrell's Uptown Records played a vital role in the careers of some of the most influential voices in hip hop, soul and R&B, including Heavy D & The Boyz, Russell Simmons, Lyor Cohen, Mary J. Blige, Jodeci, Father MC, Al B. Sure, Christopher Williams, Teddy Riley, Notorious B.I.G., Sean 'Diddy' Combs and many more. Each gripping episode will take viewers from the label's inception to current day, featuring the music and powerhouse hit-makers that helped mold what would come to be known as the Uptown 'sound' and define a musical era that would impact generations to come. 'Uptown' is scheduled to premiere on BET in 2020.

Don Mischer, award-winning producer and director, has been named the recipient of the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Cinematographers Guild (ICG, IATSE Local 600) Publicists, honoring his prolific career as an internationally acclaimed producer and director of television and live events. The 57th Annual ICG Publicists Awards ceremony, which traditionally occurs the week leading up to the Academy Awards®, will be held in the International Ballroom of The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Friday, February 7, 2020. More than 800 industry leaders are expected to attend this year's luncheon, celebrating excellence in publicity and promotion for motion pictures and television programs.

Tis the season for holiday tunes! From festive favorites to brand-new bops, Broadway isn't disappointing this year, with a huge variety of new holiday albums from your favorite artists to put under the tree. Check out a full list of 2019 holiday albums from Broadway best and brightest!

The National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE) announced today that the recipients of NATPE's 17th Annual Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Award are award-winning actress Christine Baranski, ABC Entertainment President Karey Burke, prolific television creator, producer and writer Courtney A. Kemp, President of NBCUniversal's Telemundo Global Studios, Marcos Santana, and Chairman, WarnerMedia News and Sports & President, CNN Worldwide Jeff Zucker. They will receive the prestigious award during the NATPE Miami 2020 convention during a dinner gala on January 22, 2020, at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach. The dinner, with its A-list attendees, benefits the NATPE Educational Foundation, with a portion going to the Broadcasters Federation of America (BFOA). Bob Holmes is returning as Executive Producer of the show.

R&B/Pop/Soul songstress and pianist Sheléa, a protégé of music icon Quincy Jones, will release her new original holiday single “Don't Wanna Wait “Til Christmas” on November 22, supported by performances on the nationally televised Hollywood Christmas Parade, taping December 1 on Hollywood Blvd. and airing  December 13, and the New York Stock Exchange's annual tree lighting event on December 5.  

Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake return in an all-star sequel to DreamWorks Animation's 2016 musical hit: Trolls World Tour. In an adventure that will take them well beyond what they've known before, Poppy (Kendrick) and Branch (Timberlake) discover that they are but one of six different Troll tribes scattered over six different lands and devoted to six different kinds of music: Funk, Country, Techno, Classical, Pop and Rock. Their world is about to get a lot bigger and a whole lot louder.

Ahead of this year's holiday season, 2x Grammy Award-Winning contemporary R&B singer/songwriter Elijah Blake has released his first-ever holiday project, Holiday Love, comprised of 7 tracks: 6 original and 1 classic. The EP was premiered by Okayplayer on November 7.

Vevo announces Jadakiss as the next artist in their Ctrl series with performances of 'ME' premiering today. 

2x Grammy Award-Winning contemporary R&B singer/songwriter Elijah Blake has released his latest single “5 Gold Rings,” arriving ahead of his first-ever holiday project, Holiday Love, comprised of 7 tracks: 6 original and 1 classic, due out November 8.

The '80s are back at Limelight Theatre in the smash hit Broadway musical Rock of Ages.

Aurora Theatre Company presents seven evenings of hip hop theatre and spoken word in TELL TALE HEARTS: An Evening of Hip Hop Theatre Featuring Carlos Aguirre and The Bay Area Theatre Cypher.

Two-time GRAMMY winner Tori Kelly will kick off 2020 with a tour in support of her new album, Inspired By True Events. The North American leg, produced by Live Nation, will kick off on January 28 at the House of Blues in Cleveland, OH. The headline run will include shows at Manhattan Center Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City (January 31), Nashville's Ryman Auditorium (February 12) and The Wiltern in Los Angeles (February 26). Audrey MiKa will open on all dates.

MGM and Bron Studios have announced the final casting for the upcoming Aretha Franklin biopic Respect, starring Jennifer Hudson, according to Deadline.

Today, Oliver Riot - a pop duo comprised of identical twins, Benjamin and Alexander Moore - have released their brand new song, 'Nervous,' via AWAL. Currently, Oliver Riot has two EP's under their belt, which racked up 100+ million streams. Now the boys are back for more. The song was produced by Eric Palmquist (Bad Suns, R.Lum.R, Thrice, Half Alive) featuring strings by Thomas Lea (Rhye, Mary J Blige, Yuna).

Mary J. Blige, the legendary Grammy and Golden Globe winning and Oscar nominated singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist and honorary Queen of Hip-Hop Soul, will release an immersive box set of her biggest 1990s hits along with rare remixes, HERstory, Vol. 1, on December 6 via UMe. The collection will be released in three physical forms: a set of eight standard-weight black 7” vinyl records, a 1CD version, a 2LP set and a digital version. From her solo 1992 hit “You Remind Me” to the 1993 remix of “What's the 411” featuring K-Ci (of K-Ci and JoJo) and the Notorious B.I.G., HERstory, Vol. 1 tells the story of Blige as she first established herself as a tour de force of '90s R&B.

A respectful and moving tribute to the late, great George Michael, FASTLOVE will make its North American premiere at the Harris Center on October 24. The show features all the greatest hits from George's solo career to the classic Wham! numbers, including a?oeCareless Whisper,a?? a?oeOutside,a?? a?oeOne More Try,a?? a?oeI'm Your Man!,a?? a?oeWake Me Up,a?? and many more. Direct from London's West End, it's a musical journey from the moving a?oeJesus To A Childa?? to the celebration of a?oeDon't Let The Sun Go Down On Me.a?? The dancers are electric, the live band catches fire, and in the end, a great vocalist is fondly remembered. a?oeIncrediblea??a must-see showa?? (Encore Magazine).

With a successful Berkeley world premiere under its belt, the new musical Kiss My Aztec! headed to the southern end of California for a late summer run at the famed La Jolla Playhouse.