Mary J. Blige’s The Breakthrough Dominates Holiday Sales The Queen Of Hip-Hop Soul Reigns Both On

MARY J. BLIGE’S “THE BREAKTHROUGH ” DOMINATES HOLIDAY SALES

THE QUEEN OF HIP-HOP SOUL REIGNS BOTH ON AND OFF LINE

Santa Monica, California, January 5, 2005 –
Mary J. Blige must have been having an enlightened
moment when she titled her seventh album, “The
Breakthrough. ” Released on December 20th, it lived
up to its title and rocketed up the Billboard chart to
debut at #1. Massive 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.
Additionally, “The Breakthrough ” has the distinction
of being the fourth-best debut of all of 2005.

Releasing “The Breakthrough ” Christmas week was
considered by many as an unconventional strategy,
due to the fierce competition in the retail space.
However, the decision to put the record out that
week obviously worked in Mary’s favor as “The
Breakthrough ” has sold nearly a million copies in its
first two weeks of release. Billboard Magazine tipped
their hat to the approach when they wrote, “Ok, so
maybe dropping an album the week before Christmas
is not such a bad idea after all, as evidenced by new
Billboard 200 Queen Mary J. Blige. ”

Furthermore, “The Breakthrough ” is still generating
unstoppable momentum at retail. Orders continue to
roll in — the CD has now shipped 1.5 million copies
and counting. On the charts, Mary continues to rule
the upper echelon as she sits pretty at #2 on the
Billboard 200 and #1 in SoundScan’s Top 25 markets.
The on-line sector has championed Mary, as well,
as “The Breakthrough ” has held the #1 position on
the digital album chart for the past two weeks.

Beyond commercial success, the press is unanimous
in their praise of the artistry of “The Breakthrough. ”
Vanity Fair raves, “she’s still the Queen ” USA
Today claims, “Another Blige ¬Ç√Ñ√≤Breakthrough’ Blige
still touches souls. ” People Magazine calls the
CD “…one of her most impassioned performances,
proving a little drama can go a long way. ” NY Daily
News says Mary, “wins by finely delivering songs
that show how complicated simple joy can be. ” The
Boston Globe hails the CD as “a start-to-finish
triumph. “

Mary’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. “

The Breakthrough Tracklisting:
1. No One Will Do
2. Enough Cryin
3. About You feat. Nina Simone
4. Be Without You
5. Gonna Breakthrough
6. Good Woman Down
7. Take Me as I Am

8. Baggage
9. Can’t Hide from Luv feat. Jay-Z
10. MJB Da MVP
11. Can’t Get Enough
12. Ain’t Really Love
13. I Found My Everything feat. Raphael Saadiq
14. Father in You
15. Alone
16. One feat. U2