About Mary J. Blige

Iconic Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, Oscar-nominated actress, producer, and philanthropist Mary J. Blige is a figure of inspiration, transformation, and empowerment, making her one of the defining voices of the contemporary music era. With a track record of eight multi-platinum albums, nine Grammy Awards (plus a staggering 32 nominations), two Academy Award nominations, two Golden Globe nominations, and a SAG nomination, among many other accolades, Blige has cemented herself as a global superstar. Influenced at an early age by the music of Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan, and Gladys Knight, Blige brought her own gritty, urban-rooted style—fusing hip-hop, soul, and honest, frank lyrics—to the forefront on her 1992 debut album What’s the 411? The multi-platinum set, executive produced by Sean “Diddy” Combs, quickly spun off several hits, including two No. R&B No. 1s: You Remind Me and Real Love. Blige helped redefine R&B and began forging a unique niche for herself on the more personal second album, 1994’s My Life. She is loved for her passionate, chart-topping hits like “Be Without You,” “No More Drama,” and “Family Affair,” all of which have made her a force in music. Over her career, Blige has released 15 studio albums (most recently Good Morning Gorgeous) and has starred in films and television programs such as Mudbound, The Umbrella Academy, Power Book II: Ghost, Respect, and has recently released her own documentary, Mary J. Blige's My Life. This past February, she performed at the Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA, alongside Dr. Dre, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, and Kendrick Lamar. Blige has her own production company, Blue Butterfly, and recently launched her own festival, “Strength of a Woman Festival and Summit,” with Pepsi and in partnership with Live Nation Urban.

About Ella Mai

In 2018, Ella Mai’s first single, “Boo’d Up,” broke the record for the most weeks at No. 1 of any song by a woman on the “R&B/Hip Hop Billboard Airplay” chart. Her follow-up single “Trip” peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard “Hot 100,” and her album, Ella Mai, has almost 6 billion streams and is RIAA Certified Platinum. In addition to her chart-topping domination and success, Ella Mai has won a number of awards, including her first GRAMMY for Best R&B Song, 3 Billboard Music Awards, including the coveted Top R&B Artist, 3 iHeartRadio awards including R&B Artist of the Year, 3 Soul Train Awards, and a BET Viewers Choice Award. After two years of touring the world, Ella released her new single, “Not Another Love Song,” off her forthcoming album. In her own words, the new single “is about falling in love but not wanting to admit it, so it's quite vulnerable but still has an edge to it.” If the adage is true and history always repeats itself, get ready for Ella Mai to dominate the music and cultural zeitgeist once again.

About Queen Naija

Singer/Songwriter Queen Naija has cemented her status as one of R&B’s most compelling young stars. Hailed as “the first soul star of the social media generation” by The New York Times, the 25-year-old Detroit native has amassed over three billion combined global streams to date. Queen struck out on her own with her breakthrough single “Medicine,” which debuted at No. 45 on the Billboard Hot 100 (a nearly-unheard-of achievement for an unsigned artist) and quickly landed her a deal with Capitol Records. Her 2018 critically acclaimed self-titled EP debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Emerging Artists chart and earned major recognition in the 2019 awards season, including nominations for Top R&B Artist at the Billboard Music Awards and Best New Artist at the BET Awards, in addition to three nods at the iHeartRadio Music Awards. In October 2020, she released missunderstood, a five-song project featuring three platinum-certified singles: “Butterflies,” “Karma,” and “Medicine.” This project proved to be another smash success for Queen, debuting at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top R&B Albums chart and cracking the top 10 on the Billboard 200.