• ' Released: March 29, 2011 • ' Released: September 1, 2011 • ' Released: October 28, 2011 • ' Released: April 10, 2012 • ' Released: June 19, 2012 My Life II. The Journey Continues (Act 1) is the tenth by American singer and songwriter, released on November 21, 2011,. Titled as the sequel and serving as a thematical extension to her 1994 breakthrough album, which portrayed a in Blige's personal life, it talks about the themes of struggle, heartbreak, and strength while reflecting the growth and evolution she had experienced since the release of its predecessor. Production for the album took place during 2010 to 2011 at several recording studios in and and was handled by,,,,,,,,,. Upon its release, My Life II received generally positive reviews from music critics and debuted at number five on the US chart with first weeks sales of 156,000 copies.

Considered to be her breakthrough album, My Life became Mary J. Blige's second album to reach the top ten on the Billboard 200 chart, peaking at number seven, and debuting at number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart for eight weeks.

It was eventually certified gold by the (RIAA) and became the best-selling R&B album of 2012. From the four singles that were released, only ' achieved chart success, reaching the top ten of the chart. Contents • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Background [ ] In December 2009, Blige's ninth studio album,, was released, 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. New lap steel guitars. It became her ninth consecutive studio album to have debuted at the top of the US chart and won Blige the award for Outstanding Female Artist and Outstanding Album at the 41st. By August 2010, Blige had already begun work on her tenth studio album with,,,, Arden Altino,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Don Pooh,,. First reports claimed the album would be titled LovHer and was due for release in the first quarter of 2011, thought Blige later revealed during her, that she was in no rush to release the album and she had not given it a title yet. A song called 'Anything You Want' featuring and leaked on line in August 2010.

Backstage at the, when speaking of approach to the new album, Blige described crafting sonic heat similar to her first two studio albums but plan to update the vintage Blige sound, telling that “[it will be] more like a of 2012. It's headed [in] that direction but in a new [way]. Not what it used to be.

Right now, it's going in the direction, which is R&B and hip-hop and soul. If it goes into the club direction, it will probably be more soulful than futuristic.' On June 21, 2011, a track titled 'Feel Inside' apparently featuring leaked online.

In an interview with it was revealed that the track was in fact two separate songs that the duo were respectively working on, but that someone had put together. Blige revealed that despite the fake collaboration, Minaj and Blige would be collaborating on a song.