In 1992, Blige released her debut album What's The 411?. The album sold 3.4 million copies on the strength of singles You Remind Me, Real Love, Reminisce, Sweet Thing, and Love No Limit. The album pioneered a new genre known as Hip-Hop Soul and is credited with influencing the marriage of Hip-Hop and R&B.
In 1994, Blige released her sophomore album My Life. Blige wrote or co-wrote fourteen of the seventeen album tracks. Supported by singles Be Happy, Mary Jane (All Night Long), I'm Goin' Down, and You Bring Me Joy, the album sold over three million copies and was certified 3x platinum by the RIAA in 1996. It has since been included in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
Not Gon' Cry, a 1996 single written and produced by Babyface for Waiting To Exhale soundtrack (1995), peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Blige's highest charting single of the 1990s. The same year, Blige won her first Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for her performance on I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By by Method Man.
On April 22, 1997, Blige released her third album, Share My World on MCA Records. Blige cut ties with producers Sean Combs and Chucky Thompson and worked with the likes of Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Rodney Jerkins, Babyface, R. Kelly, and Poke & Tone. The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with sales of 240,000 copies, Blige's first to do so. Supported by singles Love Is All We Need, I Can Love You, Everything, Missing You, and Seven Days. Share My World was certified 3x platinum by the RIAA and sold nearly 4 million copies in U.S.
In Summer 1998, Blige embarked on the Share My World Tour, which resulted in a Gold-certified live album released later that year, simply titled The Tour. The album spawned one single, Misty Blue.
On August 17, 1999, Blige's fourth album, titled Mary was released. It marked a departure from her more familiar hip hop-oriented sound; this set featured a more earthy, whimsical, and adult contemporary-tinged collection of songs. The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 239,000 copies in its first week. It spent 57 weeks on the chart and produced four charting singles: All That I Can Say, Deep Inside, Give Me You, and Your Child. Though not as successful as prior releases, the album still sold 2.1 million copies in the U.S. and was nominated for a Grammy for Best R&B Album.
On August 28, 2001, MCA released Blige's fifth studio album, No More Drama. The album's first single, Family Affair (produced by Dr. Dre) became her first number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100, where it remained for six consecutive weeks. Two other singles, Dance For Me and No More Drama were released, with the latter becoming a Top 20 hit. On January 29, 2002, the album re-released and featured three new songs, one being Rainy Dayz, which was released as a single and became another Top 20 hit for Blige. No More Drama has since sold 3.2 million copies in the U.S. and 5 million copies worldwide.
In 2003, Blige won her second Grammy (and first as a lead artist) for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "He Think I Don't Know".
On August 26, 2003, Blige's sixth album Love & Life was released on Geffen Records (which had absorbed MCA Records.) Blige reunited with producer Sean Combs for the album. Despite the album debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 and becoming Blige's fourth consecutive UK top ten album, Love & Life became Blige's then lowest selling album selling 1 million copies. Still, it was nominated for Grammy Best Contemporary R&B Album.
Geffen Records released Blige's seventh studio album, The Breakthrough on December 20, 2005. For the album, Blige collaborated with J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, Rodney Jerkins, will.i.am, Bryan-Michael Cox, 9th Wonder, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Raphael Saadiq, Cool and Dre, and Dre & Vidal. It debuted at number one on both the Billboard 200 and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts. Selling 727,000 copies in its first week, it became the biggest first-week sales for an R&B solo female artist in SoundScan history. The official lead single, Be Without You peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, while peaking at number one on the R&B chart for a record-setting fifteen consecutive weeks. In March 2017, Billboard Magazine ranked "Be Without You" as the most successful R&B/Hip-Hop Song of all time. The song was nominated for Record of the Year and Song of the Year and won the Best R&B Song and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance categories at the 2007 Grammy Awards. Other singles included Top 40 Hit Enough Cryin, Top Five R&B song Take Me As I Am, and UK Top Three Hit One. The Breakthrough won the Grammy for Best R&B Album in 2007.
In December 2006, a compilation called Reflections (A Retrospective) was released. It contained many of Blige's greatest hits and four new songs, including the worldwide lead single We Ride (I See the Future). The album peaked at number nine in the U.S, selling over 170,000 copies in its first week, while reaching number forty in the UK. It has sold more than 1.6 million copies.
Blige's eighth studio album, Growing Pains, was released on December 18, 2007, debuting at number two on the Billboard 200 and at number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. It sold 629,000 copies in its week and was certified Platinum by the RIAA. The album won Grammy for Best Contemporary R&B Album in 2009. It spawned the Top 40 Hit Just Fine.
Blige's ninth studio album, Stronger with Each Tear, was released on December 21, 2009, debuting at number two on the Billboard 200 and at number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, selling 332,000 units in its first week of release. The album had sold 726,100 copies in the United States by April 2010, and was certified Gold by the RIAA on January 6, 2011.
Blige was honored at the 2009 BET Honors Ceremony and was paid tribute by Anita Baker and Monica.
Blige's tenth studio album, My Life II... The Journey Continues (Act 1), was released in November 2011. The album debuted at #5 on the Billboard 200, selling 156,000 copies in the first week; it was eventually certified Gold in 2012 and has sold 763,000 in the US.
A Mary Christmas, Blige's first holiday album, was released on October 15, 2013 through Matriarch and Verve Records. In early December, A Mary Christmas became Blige's 12th top ten album after it rose to #10 in its eighth week and was certified Gold by the RIAA.
Think Like A Man Too, which serves as Blige's 12th studio album, was released on June 17, 2014. On Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, the soundtrack album charted at number six, marking Blige's 16th top ten entry on the chart, tying her with Mariah Carey for the second-most top tens by a female artist.
Following her concert date at the Essence Festival, on July 9, 2014 it was announced Blige would move to London to experiment with a new sound for her new album. Blige spent a month in London recording her album in RAK Studios with a host of young British acts, including Disclosure, Naughty Boy, Emeli Sandé and Sam Smith. Twelve new songs, co-written and recorded by the singer, were released on November 24, 2014 on an album entitled The London Sessions. The album received acclaim and was included on many Best Albums of 2014 lists. The album debuted at number nine on the Billboard 200 and number one on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, with 55,000 albums sold and 2,000 shifted in album-equivalent units. It became her 13th top ten entry on the Billboard 200 and her tenth number one entry on Top R&B/Hip-Hop albums.
Following a heavily publicized divorce from her husband and manager Kendu Isaacs, Blige released her thirteenth studio album Strength of a Woman on April 28, 2017. Supported by Urban AC hit singles Thick of It and U + Me (Love Lesson), Strength of a Woman debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 on the issue dated ending May 20, 2017, with 78,000 album-equivalent units, selling 72,000 standard copies in its first week. It became Blige's highest-charting album since 2009's Stronger with Each Tear, and her tenth top five entry on the chart.
In 2017, Blige starred in the period drama film Mudbound directed by Dee Rees. Playing Florence Jackson, the matriarch of her family. For her performance in Mudbound, Blige was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress. She also received nominations for Best Original Song for Mighty River, becoming the first person nominated for an Academy Award for acting and original song in the same year.
On July 12, 2018, Blige released a new single, titled Only Love.
Overjoyed
Mary J. Blige Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My castle of love
Just for two, though you never
Knew you were my reason
I've gone much too far for you
Now to say
That I've got to throw my
Castle away
Over dreams, I have picked out
A perfect come true
Though you never knew it was
Of you I've been dreaming
The sandman has come from
Too far away
For you to say come back some
Other day
And though you don't believe
That they do
They do come true
For did my dreams
Come true when I looked at you
And maybe too, if you
Would believe
You too might be
Overjoyed, over loved, over me
Over hearts, I have painfully
Turned every stone
Just to find, I had found what
I've searched to discover
I've come much too far for me
Now to find
The love that I sought can never
Be mine
And though you don't believe
That they do
They do come true
For did my dreams
Come true when I looked at you
And maybe too, if you
Would believe
You too might be
Overjoyed, over loved, over me
And though the odds
Say improbable
What do they know
For in romance
All true love needs is a chance
And maybe with a chance you
Will find
You too like I
Overjoyed, over loved, over
You, over you
Mary J. Blige's song Overjoyed is a romantic ballad about unrequited love. The lyrics describe the singer's feelings for someone who they have been secretly in love with for a long time. The singer has built a "castle of love" for the two of them, but they have never known that they were the reason for it. However, the singer realizes that they have gone too far and must let go of the castle they have built.
The song continues with the singer describing their dreams of this person, and how they have turned every stone to find the love they sought. Yet, they have come too far to realize that the love they desire can never be theirs. The singer still believes that dreams can come true, and if the person they love would believe too, they might be overjoyed, over loved and over the singer.
The song's lyrics are powerful and emotionally charged. The lyrics evoke the pain of unrequited love and the hope that dreams can come true. Mary J. Blige's soulful voice adds to the intensity of the lyrics and brings the emotions to life.
Line by Line Meaning
Over time, I've been building
I've been putting in effort and time for a while now
My castle of love
My perfect love story
Just for two, though you never
I only imagined it for the both of us
Knew you were my reason
You were the inspiration behind it
I've gone much too far for you
I went overboard for you
Now to say
It's hard to admit that
That I've got to throw my
I have to let go of my
Castle away
Perfect love story so that I can move on
Over dreams, I have picked out
I have been dreaming
A perfect come true
An ideal representation of perfection
Though you never knew it was
You were not aware
Of you I've been dreaming
That I was dreaming about us
The sandman has come from
I have been waiting for a long time
Too far away
It seems like it will never happen
For you to say come back some
For us to be together some other day
Other day
In the future when we can be together
And though you don't believe
Even if you're skeptical
That they do
That dreams can come true
They do come true
It can happen
For did my dreams
Because my dreams
Come true when I looked at you
Came true when I saw you
And maybe too, if you
Perhaps you
Would believe
Had faith in it
You too might be
You might be too
Overjoyed, over loved, over me
Ecstatic, loved and with me
Over hearts, I have painfully
I have painstakingly
Turned every stone
Looked through every possibility
Just to find, I had found what
Only to realize that what I had found
I've searched to discover
I had been searching for
I've come much too far for me
I went too far just for myself
Now to find
Yet wasn't able to discover
The love that I sought can never
The love I wanted so bad can't
Be mine
Be with me
And though the odds
Despite the chances being low
Say improbable
Saying that it can't happen
What do they know
Why should I listen to them
For in romance
In love and affection
All true love needs is a chance
Is an opportunity
And maybe with a chance you
Possibly - given that chance
Will find
You will discover
You too like I
Just like me
Overjoyed, over loved, over
Ecstatic, loved, and over -
You, over you
You belong to yourself
Lyrics © FUSE FOUR, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Stevie Wonder
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@FabricioSantos-ql9gr
Over time, I've been building my castle of love
Just for two, though you never knew you were my reason
I've gone much too far for you now to say
That I've got to throw my castle away
Over dreams, I have picked out a perfect come true
Though you never knew it was of you I've been dreaming
The sandman has come from too far away
For you to say come back some other day
And though you don't believe that they do
They do come true
For did my dreams come true when I looked at you
And maybe too, if you would believe
You too might be
Overjoyed, over loved, over me
Over hearts, I have painfully turned every stone
Just to find, I had found what I've searched to discover
I've come much too far for me now to find
The love that I sought can never be mine
And though you don't believe that they do
They do come true
For did my dreams come true when I looked at you
And maybe too, if you would believe
You too might be
Overjoyed, over loved, over me
And though the odds say improbable
What do they know
For in romance
All true love needs is a chance
And maybe with a chance you will find
You too like I
Overjoyed, over loved, over you, you
Over you
@seanjoseph1700
Michael Jordan's classic commercial Brought me here again recently.....if you know you know
@josmoe674
greatest sports commercial💎
@derek5499
Greatest commercial of all time. He was so iconic and the face of my generation. I'm 45 years old and I was born in 78. Not only the face of my generation but the greatest basketball player of all time
@17thNO
@@josmoe674it is
@jermelekelly7086
I just watch that commercial 💯👏🏾👍🏾
@johnconnor210
Remember this song from Michael Jordan commercial
@lakeithia7
That’s why I’m here I loved that commercial
@edwardgarrett901
Yup
@17thNO
@@lakeithia7 One of the best commercials ever made.
@hesboli1
It brings me to tears listening to this because both of my children are my world and mean more than life to me