The Breakthrough
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The Breakthrough is the seventh studio album by American R&B and soul singer Mary J. Blige, released by Geffen Records in Britain on December 12 2005 and December 20 in North America (see 2005 in music).
History
It debuted at #1 on both the R&B albums and Billboard 200 albums charts, selling 727,163 copies in its first week — the biggest first-week sales for an R&B solo female artist in SoundScan history[citation needed], the 5th largest first-week sales for a female artist and was the 4th largest debut of the 2005.
The Production on the album included Blige herself, Rodney Jerkins, will.i.am, Bryan Michael Cox, 9th Wonder, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Raphael Saadiq, Cool and Dre, Dre & Vidal, and includes a duet with U2 on the cover of the 1992 U2 hit, "One", which was released as the second single in Europe and Latin America.
Indeed a return to her prime, the lead off single "Be Without You" quickly raced up both the R&B and pop singles charts; "Be Without You" topped the R&B singles chart for a record setting fifteen consecutive weeks.
The album's second single "Enough Cryin" was not as successful as "Be Without You" as it peaked at #32 on the Billboard Hot 100, but was successful at #2 on the R&B chart.
One was released in the US July 17, 2006; it is a R&B mixed with alternative rock song. It was the album's second single in the UK, and gave Mary her biggest hit to date in the UK, peaking at #2 on the Top 40. Nevertheless, "One" was voted in Britain as the song with the nation's favourite lyric: "One Life, With Each Other Sisters, Brothers".
The album's 3rd and current single is "Take Me As I Am" with production by "infinity". The song "MJB Da MVP" was released as a radio only single prior to the release of Be Without You. Another song, "Ain't Really Love", reached number seventy-three on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in the U.S., although it was not released as a single. [1]
The album has so far gone 2x Platinum, and has been proclaimed as her comeback album (after the disappointment of Love & Life). The album has shown signs of longevity, remaining in the top five of the Billboard 200 for eleven consecutive weeks (including 2 weeks at #1). As of November 29, 2006, the albums Nielsen SoundScan American sales stood at 2,660,986 units.
Incidentally, the album is somewhat notable for its cover featuring Blige sporting a Yulia Tymoshenko-esque look.
In December 2006, Blige received 8 Grammy Award nominations, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year for "Be Without You".
Track listing
# | Track | Songwriters | Producer(s) | Length |
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1. | "No One Will Do" | E Ortiz, K Crowe, C Brown III, D Young, B Sigler | J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League | 4:48 |
2. | "Enough Cryin" (featuring Brook) | M J Blige, R Jerkins, S Garrett, S Carter | Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins | 4:20 |
3. | "About You" (featuring will.i.am) | M J Blige, W. J, Adams, K Harris, A Newley, L Bricusse | Will.I.Am | 4:05 |
4. | "Be Without You" | M J Blige, B Michael-Cox, J Perry, J Austin | Bryan-Michael Cox | 4:05 |
5. | "Gonna Breakthrough" (featuring Brook) | M J Blige, D Gordon, D Emile, Q Wages, H Palmer | D. Emile | 4:00 |
6. | "Good Woman Down" | M J Blige, S Garrett, P Douthit, R Aries, F Jackson, M Morgan | 9th Wonder | 4:07 |
7. | "Take Me As I Am" | J Sucof, E Lewis, C Nelson, K Hilson, T Nkkerfante, L Smith | Infinity & Ron Fair | 3:57 |
8. | "Baggage" | M J Blige, J Harris III, T Lewis, B Avia, I Avia, J Right, D Young | Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis | 3:35 |
9. | "Can't Hide From Luv" (featuring Jay-Z) | M J Blige, A Harris, V Davis, R Toby | Dre & Vidal | 3:52 |
10. | "MJB Da MVP" | C Jackson, J Taylor, A Lyon, M Valenzano, N Harris, R Backer, A Felder, J Johnson, P Rushen, D Ecans, R Ayers | Cool & Dre | 3:21 |
11. | "Can't Get Enough" | M J Blige, Jam & Lewis, B Avila, I Avila | Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis | 3:40 |
12. | "Ain't Really Love" | M J Blige, B Michael-Cox, J Austin, C Childress | Bryan-Michael Cox | 4:40 |
13. | "I Found My Everything" (featuring Raphael Saadiq) | M J Blige, R Saadiq, K Wooten, R Ozuma | Raphael Saadiq | 5:23 |
14. | "Father In You" | M J Blige, A Harris, V Davis, R Toby | Dre & Vidal | 5:23 |
15. | "Alone" (featuring Dave Young) | D McKenzie, D Young | Davel "Bo" McKenzie | 4:29 |
16. | "One" (with U2) | Bono, A Clayton, The Edge, L Mullen Jr | Ron Fair | 4:20 |
North American edition (released December 20 2005)
# | Track | Songwriters | Producer | Length |
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17. | "Show Love" | M J Blige, R Saadiq, T Moses | Raphael Saadiq | 3:40 |
International edition (released December 12 2005)
# | Track | Songwriters | Producer | Length |
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17. | "Show Love" | M J Blige, R Saadiq, T Moses | Raphael Saadiq | 3:40 |
18. | "So Lady" (featuring Raphael Saadiq) | M J Blige, S Garrett, C Thompson | Raphael Saadiq | 4:18 |
Japanese edition (released December 12 2005)
# | Track | Songwriters | Producer | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
17. | "Show Love" | M J Blige, R Saadiq, T Moses | Raphael Saadiq | 3:40 |
18. | "So Lady" (featuring Raphael Saadiq) | M J Blige, S Garrett, C Thompson | Raphael Saadiq | 4:18 |
19. | "Out My Head" | M J Blige | Rich Harrison |
Unreleased, unused or leftover songs
- "Turn Off The Lights" (Version 1 featuring Jay-Z)
- "Turn Off The Lights" (Version 2 Featuring Jay-Z & T.I.)
- "Best Friend"
- "Enough Cryin" (Unreleased Version featuring Foxy Brown)
Charts performances
Peak positions
Chart (2006) | Providers | Peak | Certification |
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The Official UK Album Chart | BPI / The Official UK Charts Company | 22 | Gold |
German Album Chart | Media Control | 28 | |
The Billboard RnB/HipHop (U.S.) | Billboard | 1 | 2x Platinum |
The Billboard 200 (U.S.) | Billboard | 1 | 2x Platinum |
Chart runs
United States Billboard 200 Albums Chart | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Week | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
Position | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Week | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 |
Position | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
UK Top 75 Album Chart | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Week | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
Position | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Week | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 |
Position | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
German Top 100 Album Chart | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Week | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
Position |
Footnotes:
- ^ indicates that the album left the chart.