Mary J. Blige on Her Lifetime Achievement Award at 2019 BET Awards
Turning 50 is a big milestone for anyone. But for Mary J. Blige, this birthday was especially meaningful. The nine-time Grammy winner explained why during the Feb. 23 episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
“When it hit at 12 o’clock that night, I just cried like a baby because I made it,” she said. “I’ve been through hell in my life. And to make it to 50, it was just beautiful.”
Blige, who turned 50 in January, recently reflected on her journey while listening to some of her early hits amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
“I really don’t like to listen to even the sound of my speaking voice, let alone listen back to Mary J. Blige,” she explained. “But I’ve grown so much, you know, in confidence that during the quarantine, I don’t know, just something just said, ‘Listen to some Mary J. Blige.’ And I did. I felt like an outside person doing it.”
