英语名人堂：玛丽·布莱姬
1992年，Mary J. Blige分布第一张个人唱片《What's the 411?》。1996年凭借歌曲“I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need To Get By”和Method Man一起获得了第38届格莱美最佳说唱组合奖。2005年岁末，Hip-Hop Soul天后Mary J. Blige发行了第7张个人专辑《The Breakthrough》。新专辑《Stronger》也于2009年12月15日发行。而Mary J. Blige还将客串担任2010年《美国偶像》的评委。[1]
Mary Jane Blige is a singer, rapper, songwriter and actress. She is widely known as the "Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" for mixing the two musical genres together. Blige has sold over 40 million albums worldwide and has won eight Grammy awards. She also has a World Music Legends Award, despite her young age. Her musical style has influenced many other female vocalists, including Alicia Keys and Ashanti.
Blige was born in 1971 in New York. She grew up listening to the new sounds of hip-hop and rap that were starting to come out of New York. She also loved her mother’s collection of 60s and 70s soul records. She won a talent competition when she was seven and decided she wanted to be a singer.
Blige improved her singing technique in the local church choir. In 1988, she recorded an AnitaBaker song at a recording booth in a local mall. Her mother's friend loved it and sent it to a recording company executive, who signed Blige instantly. She spent several years as a backup singer, before releasing her debut album in 1992.
Blige has recorded eight studio albums, including the highly successful ‘The Breakthrough’, for which she scooped many awards. She also branched out into acting and has appeared in television series, Broadway plays and movies. Blige is also actively involved in several charities and started the Foundation for the Advancement of Women Now, “to inspire women from all walks of life to reach their individual potential.”
