2023 Grammys: Mary J. Blige Earns First Album of the Year Nomination as Lead Artist
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82 Mary J. Blige is no stranger to the Grammys, holding the title as the only artist to have won in four distinct genres: R&B, rap, pop and gospel. She has brought home nine awards in total.
On Tuesday, the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul gained six more Grammy nominations, including two in the general field, Album of the Year for Good Morning Gorgeous (Deluxe) and Record of the Year (“Good Morning Gorgeous“).
This is Blige’s second-most nominated year at the Grammys. She scored eight nominations at the 49th Grammy Awards. She was also the most-nominated artist that year.
Thirty years into her career, Blige, now a 37x Grammy nominee, has received her first Album of the Year nomination as a lead artist.
No, her enormous 2005 album The Breakthrough did not capture a nod at the 49th Grammy Awards in 2007. Unfortunately, none of her classic albums, such as 1994’s My Life and 2001’s No More Drama, could snare a consideration.
In 2014, Blige landed an Album of the Year nomination at the 56th Grammy Awards as a featured artist on Kendrick Lamar’s major label debut album, Good Kid, M.A.A.D City. She was also nominated for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for Lamar’s “Now Or Never,” which appeared on the same album
“Good Morning Gorgeous,” a chart-topping anthem, places Blige in the Record of the Year category. It’s her second time being nominated in this category. She snagged her first Record of the Year in 2007 for “Be Without You,” which triumphed twice in the R&B field (Best R&B Song and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance).
“During Mudbound and when I was married, I was feeling so low. I had to pay myself the highest compliments, even if I didn’t believe it, just so I could build myself up. I would do it in the morning, because that’s the time when your hair is not done and you don’t have on makeup. You’re just kind of dealing with yourself for real,” Blige told Elle in January.
Crowned with four nominations in the R&B field, Blige contends for Best R&B Performance for the first time with “Here With Me” featuring Anderson .Paak. The lithe groove peaked at No. 4 on Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay chart.
Blige’s uplifting single “Good Morning Gorgeous” not only gives her a nod for Best Traditional R&B Performance, but it also is up for Best R&B Song. She co-wrote it with H.E.R., Lucky Daye, Tiara Thomas and D’Mile. (H.E.R. and D’Mile co-produced the song.)
In an interview with Rated R&B, Thomas shared her experience working on “Good Morning Gorgeous” with Blige.
“She was just mad cool. It was crazy being in the studio with Mary J. Blige. She was really involved in the songwriting process and what she wanted to write about,” said Thomas.
“We didn’t even know she was gonna name the album [Good Morning Gorgeous]. That was just the name of the song. When the album came out, that’s when I saw that the album was called Good Morning Gorgeous. I was like, ‘Oh, that’s fire.’”
In the Best R&B Song category, a songwriter’s award, Blige’s second time securing a nod as a songsmith. Her record-shattering hit “Be Without You” won Best R&B Song in 2007.
She did have previous tracks nominated, including “All That I Can Say” in 2000 and “Lean On Me” in 1999; however, she was only the artist and not the songwriter for either tune.
In addition to an Album of the Year nod, Blige triumphs with her sixth Best R&B Album nomination as Good Morning Gorgeous (Deluxe) gets acknowledged.
The achievement extends her lead as the artist with the most-nominated albums in the category. Her 2005 album The Breakthrough won at the 2007 Grammy Awards; it’s her only win in this category.
Additionally, Good Morning Gorgeous (Deluxe) is Blige’s first studio effort since 2007’s Growing Pains to have any of its recordings in any Grammy category, including R&B.
Growing Pains, her eighth album, was awarded Best Contemporary R&B Album at the 50th Grammy Awards, while its energetic lead single “Just Fine” was nominated for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.
The 65th Grammy Awards will air live Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023, at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT on CBS and stream live and be on demand on Paramount+.
Revisit Mary J. Blige’s Good Morning Gorgeous (Deluxe) below.