Inspire Entertainment Magazine Winter 2013 Vol. 3 | Page 49

T

here is definitely something
special about 9-time Grammy
winner Mary J. Blige. A gifted
performer, Blige has been a
singer, an actress, and a successful entrepreneur. Few artists have been able to juggle these areas successfully, but Blige has
done it with style and grace. With a strong
faith in God, a wonderful husband, and an
awesome career, Blige has a lot to be
thankful for this holiday season. Blige has
a hit movie in theatres (Black Nativity) as
well as a beautiful Christmas album that is
guaranteed to become a holiday favorite.
A Mary Christmas is the first holiday album performed by Blige, and like all her
other albums, this one doesn’t disappoint. A
Mary Christmas features Blige’s soulful interpretations of 12 classics, including “The
First Noel,” featuring the Clark Sisters;
“Do You Hear What I Hear,” featuring Jessie J.; “When You Wish Upon a Star,” featuring Chris Botti and Barbra Streisand;
and a Spanish-language version of “Silent
Night” (“Noche De Paz”), featuring Mark
Anthony.
Blige said that doing a Christmas album
was something she always wanted to do,
and now seemed liked the perfect time to
do so. It was important to Blige to make sure
she kept the classic Christmas songs just
that—classics. “I’m just like everyone else; I
don’t like when people take the nostalgia out
of the classics. I didn’t want to mess anything
up. So I delivered my version of the Christmas

songs,” says Blige. To make sure the sentiment of her Christmas album was just right,
Blige came up with a creative way to get her
listeners into the holiday mood.
“I make you believe that it’s Christmas
when I go back to the holiday as a little
child,” said Blige. “[It’s about] becoming
that child again, remembering what was going on when we were decorating the Christmas tree—what song was playing, how it
made me feel, and sharing that with everyone.”
Blige has many wonderful Christmas memories, but one is particularly close to her
heart. “My sister and I really wanted this
doll by the name of Dancerella. We would
scream and yell every time we saw it on a
commercial. My mom surprised us with it. I
was seven years old, and that made me really, really happy,” says Blige.
Creating new Christmas memories with her
husband and family members is something
that excites her. “I enjoy decorating the tree.
I enjoy playing Christmas songs and having
my sister make eggnog and sweet potato
pie,” says Blige. Even though she has the
ability to buy anything she wants for Christmas, Blige says the best Christmas gift she
ever received was not material, but personal.
“One Christmas I got the chance to see my
father after 27 years. I hadn’t seen him for a
long time. Our reconnecting was a beautiful
Christmas surprise,” says Blige.
We agree with the old saying that the most
precious things in life are those things that
are free. Have A Merry Christmas!