The album was released in the United States on August 17, 1999,[3] and in the United Kingdom on October 1, 1999.[4]
"All That I Can Say," "Deep Inside," "Your Child," and "Give Me You" were the album's commercial singles in the United States. "As"—Blige's collaboration withGeorge Michael—was released as the lead single everywhere else worldwide. Three singles from the album charted on theBillboard Hot 100: "All That I Can Say" at number 44, "Deep Inside" at number 51, and "Give Me You" at number 68.[5] All four United States singles charted on theBillboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks: "All That I Can Say" at number six, "Deep Inside" at number nine, "Your Child" at number 23, and "Give Me You" at number 21.[6]
Mary was met with universal acclaim from critics.Q wrote, "Blige can turn from sassy to agonized to vulnerable in the space of a singlephrase [...] The Queen Of Hip Hop Soul remains classy and invincible".[11]Craig Seymour ofSpin praised its classicist influences and calledMary "emotionally gripping and stylistically diverse", writing that "[Blige's] assured blues moans, gospel shouts, and jazzy inflections graph the history ofAfrican-American music".[13]Chicago Tribune writerGreg Kot noted "a more organic feel" in its production, which he viewed as less "uninspired" than on Blige's previous albums.[16]Entertainment Weekly'sAnthony DeCurtis complimented Blige's vocal embellishments and the album's "lush and spare" arrangements, stating "Musically,Mary is essentially a long, soulful, ballad-tempovamp over which Blige alternately — and sometimes simultaneously — tells tales of faithless love, preaches the gospel of female strength, and determinedly clings to hope".[8]The Source complimented Blige's "pure emotion" and stated "she dares to break thehip-hop soul template she helped create, and do something different. Something ourloop-weary souls need".[17] Steve Jones ofUSA Today commended Blige for "making you feel rather than merely hear what she's singing about", adding that she "continues to separate herself from her peers, conveying a wide range of emotions without becoming whiny, petty or overwrought".[14]
Despite viewing its strength as "more in how Blige sings the songs than the songs themselves",Los Angeles Times writerSoren Baker commented that "the lively, supple instrumentation only adds to the force of her already dominating delivery" and noted "a more soul-stirring, straightforward R&B attitude than the hip-hop/R&B hybrid of her earlier collections".[9]Rolling Stone writerTouré said "Blige seems to have moved away from theTerry McMillan once-again-he's-breaking-my-heart mantra to, perhaps, anOprah love-your-spirit ethos".[12]Christopher John Farley ofTime wrote that "Mary is somewhat inconsistent in song quality, but Blige's soul-singed vocals save the weaker material".[18]Ann Powers ofThe New York Times viewed that the album exemplifies a "new conscience" of feminine themes in contemporary R&B at the time, adding that "ifMary gestures toward an older, non-hip-hop audience, it also makes the claim for Ms. Blige's canonization within the rhythm-and-blues hall of fame".[19] In his consumer guide forThe Village Voice, criticRobert Christgau wrote, "Rather than hating playas, she's bored with them [...] all that she can say is that she's ready to love someone serious and walk away from anyone who isn't".[15]
In a retrospective review forThe Rolling Stone Album Guide, Tom Moon deemedMary an improvement over Blige's previous album, commenting that it "more fully realizes Blige's vision forShare My World".[20]AllMusic editorStephen Thomas Erlewine praised its "sheer classiness", writing that "There's still grit in the music, but it's been glossed over with a polished production".[2] Erlewine described it as "a rewarding, engaging way to mature" and wrote that "Blige's voice is richer and her skills have deepened, and her new songs, while not as streetwise, are worthy of her talents".[2]
Spin ranked the album number 15 in its year-end list of best albums.[21] Blige won and was nominated for many awards for this album.
She was nominated for 2MTV Europe Music Awards for Best Video and Best Song ("As" with George Michael).
In 2000 Blige was nominated for a Brit Award for Best International Female Solo Artist.
3Grammy Awards nominations for Best R&B Vocal Performance - Female ("All That I Can Say"), Best R&B Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group ("Don't Waste Your Time" with Aretha Franklin), and Best R&B Album (Mary).
In 2001 Blige was nominated for a Soul Train Music Award for Best Female R&B/Soul Single for "Your Child".
Blige won aSoul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul Album, Female (Mary) and was also nominated for Best R&B/Soul or Rap Album.
Blige also won 2 Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards for Solo R&B/Soul Album of the Year forMary and R&B/Soul or Rap Song of the Year for "All That I Can Say". She was also nominated for Best Solo R&B/Soul Single for "All That I Can Say".
Blige also won the first ever BET award for Best Female Artist in 2001 for Deep Inside.
Mary debuted at number two on the USBillboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 239,000 copies in the United States.[22] It also entered at number one onBillboard'sTop R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, becoming Blige's fourth album to top the chart.[22]Mary spent 57 weeks on theBillboard 200 and 69 weeks on theBillboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.[23][24]Billboard ranked it 20th and 17th on its 1999 and 2000 Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums year-end chart, respectively.[25][26] On October 18, 2000, the album was certifieddouble platinum by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of two million copies in the United States.[27] By December 2009,Mary had sold 2,100,000 copies in the United States.[28]
In the United Kingdom,Mary marked Blige's highest-charting album yet, debuting at number five on theUK Albums Chart.[29] As steady seller, it was certified Silver by theBritish Phonographic Industry (BPI) on April 24, 2000 and reached Gold status on July 22, 13, indicating shipments of 100,000 copies in the United Kingdom.[30] In Canada, the album peaked at number nine on bothRPM's Canada Top Albums/CDs and the Canadian R&B Albums chart.[31][32] On August 23, 1999, it was certified Gold byMusic Canada for shipments of 40,000 copies.[33] Elsewhere,Mary became Blige's first top ten album in Sweden and first top 20 entry in Japan, Norway, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.[34]
"Time" contains an interpolation of "Pastime Paradise" as performed by Stevie Wonder
"Let No Man Put Asunder" is a cover version of theFirst Choice song of the same name; Musical arrangement is based on theFrankie Knuckles andShep Pettibone remixes of the First Choice recording.[42]
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