Mary J Blige new dates
Here are the new dates (we thought we’d wait a bit before posting them)
The new dates will see the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul, kicking off in Johannesburg at the Coca-Cola Dome on 18 October, before heading to Durban’s Westridge Park Stadium on the 19th followed by the Bellville Velodrome in Cape Town on the 21st of October 2007.
The tour which was set to kick off in Johannesburg on the 12th of May was postponed in order to accommodate a routing change on her world tour.
Tickets already bought for the May dates are valid for the new dates.
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What a letdown – Mary J Blige’s concert has been ‘postponed’ – boohoo – we await more info but here’s the official PR for now:
MARY J BLIGE POSTPONES UPCOMING TOUR
METRO FM, Edgars Music Series and Big Concerts regretfully announce the postponement of Mary J. Blige’s highly anticipated South African tour. The tour which was set to kick off in Johannesburg on the 12th of May has been postponed in order to accommodate a routing change on her world tour.
NEW TOUR DATES will be released early next week.
“Edgars has had a profound effect on the music scene for the past seven years through Edgars Music Series (EMS), its sponsorship of music events both on a national and international scale in South Africa. It is unfortunate that the tour has been postponed, and Edgars would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused to Edgars’ customers and Edgars Music Series supporters. However, both Mary J Blige and keen EMS supporters can still look forward to a fantastic showcase once the dates are established,” says Dineo Sobantu, Events & Sponsorship Manager for Edgars Chain.
“As media partners for the Mary J Blige tour Metro FM welcome the fact that tour is still going to take place later in the year and hope that her fans and listeners have not been too inconvenienced,” said Bob Mabena, acting station manager Metro FM..
Tickets already bought for the May dates are valid for the new dates
The South African media described her as having a “smouldering stage presence” during her April 2000 concerts in, which saw her performing to 48 000 ecstatic fans countrywide. Critics and fans alike will be floored by her powerful combination of modern R&B with an edgy rap, and electrifying live performances when she performs in South Africa in October.
For further information log on to:
www.edgarsmusicseries.co.za or www.bigconcerts.co.za
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“Well I hope she’s better than last time” has been the wary comment from two of my friends and “WHOOHOOHOO” from everyone else that heard that the DIVA is on her way. I love Mary J Blige, her songs have punctuated my life, we’d loved her from her podgy innocent days of “What’s the 411” through to “No more drama” where she said it so well, “911” with Wyclef had me feeling all emotional and pent up, “Be Without You.. ” just takes the wind right out of me…
This native New Yorker has had a tough ride, getting caught up in cocaine and alcohol addiction and having to claw her way out while fighting depression and a lack of confidence – we love her strength and tenacity – she’s a great female icon who represents true triumph over adversity. Zoe Williams from the UK Guardian interviewed Mary at the end of ’05 – you can read the entire article here…
“Blige was discovered at the age of 17 by producer Andre Harrell, a friend of her mother’s boyfriend, and the man who launched LL Cool J and Run DMC. She was then taken up by Sean “Puffy” Combs, who produced What’s The 411? Combs noticed, shortly before the rest of the world did, that Blige was never going to be any ordinary hip-hop hot stuff – not because she wouldn’t take off all her clothes (although she wouldn’t), but because she represented a totally original marriage of rap and soul music; without her, there would be no Destiny’s Child, no Keyshia Cole. Throughout the 90s, she was the female vocalist every rapper wanted to work with; by 1997, she’d sung with Method Man, Jay-Z, Ghostface Killah, Lil’ Kim. Since then, you can add Whitney Houston, Sting, Elton John (of all the nerdy, unrap faces), U2 (a yet to be released single) and Wyclef Jean” (and BONO too!)
On drugs:
“…By this time, she was heavily into booze and cocaine. “I was drinking, I was doing drugs heavy, so I couldn’t even feel or see anything, and that made it all right for the moment, until I had to come down and go look for some more. But at the end of the day, it depressed me that, you know – I didn’t know for sure – but that so many people were banking on my demise.”
She gave up drinking and doing drugs when Aaliyah died, in a plane crash, on the last weekend of August 2001. “She wasn’t a close friend. It was just that when I saw her die, that’s when I discovered the fact that I’m next.”
What we love the most about Mary is her gravelly voice that wakens up the soulful side of you, soaring to touch the sky and take you on a trip of extreme highs and lows. This sister can sing.
We are proud enough to have our own personal photo of Mary J at Oprah’s school launch earlier this year looking sexy and phenomenally amazing (see pics here) – we (the media) all asked begged her to please come and perform solo in South Africa (last time she was here she guested with KC and JOJO and was ok)… so in other words guys, you owe us, this is our work, we rock… 🙂
We know she’s going to be better than last time – we cannot wait!
Here’s the lowdown – tickets go on sale today so BUY BUY BUY:
METRO FM and Edgars Music Series are pleased to announce the upcoming tour of one of R&B/Hip Hop’s most celebrated artists. Mary J. Blige is set to perform at the Coca-Cola Dome in Johannesburg on the 12th of May, before heading to Durban’s Westridge Park Stadium on the 13th and on to the Bellville Velodrome in Cape Town on the 16th of May 2007.
Described by the media as having a “smouldering stage presence” during her last South African concerts in April 2000, the tour saw her performing to 48 000 ecstatic fans countrywide.
The accomplished six-time Grammy Award winning R&B, soul, and hip-hop soul singer, songwriter, producer, and actress who has sold more than 34 million records worldwide, has just completed a season sweep of the “big three” major music awards, having won the American Music Award in November 2006, the Billboard Music Awards in December 2006, and the Grammy Awards in February 2007, where she took home 3 awards for her last studio album, “The Breakthrough”. The album, her seventh studio album, has sold more than 3 million copies, starting with 727,000 in its opening week – the highest ever for a female R&B singer. The lead single, “Be Without You,” ruled the R&B charts for fifteen straight weeks, and the powerhouse collaboration with U2 on their classic “One” reached an even bigger audience – proving without a doubt that Blige is the pre-eminent soul singer of our time.
Blige has long been called the “Queen of Hip-Hop Soul”. A bridge between the R&B world and the hip-hop nation, she pioneered the movement that would later become neo-soul, generating gripping songs that were also massive radio hits. She has the distinction of being the first to fully seize the narrative possibilities of rap: Her tough-girl persona and streetwise lyrics give her 1992 debut “What’s the 411?” a realism and gritty undertone. The then released the more conventional R&B-ballad “My Life” in 1994, and the follow up, “Share My World” took her into the R&B mainstream, entering the Billboard charts at No.1 in 1997. Her 4th album, “Mary” came out in 1999, with a fuller, more elegant sound and classic soul style. The album made it obvious that the ghetto fabulous style and more confrontational aspects of her music were gone, while the emotive power still remained. Mary then released “No More Drama” in 2001, and “Love and Life” in 2003. A greatest hits album, “Reflections (A Retrospective)” was released at the end of 2006,
Known for her electrifying live performances, Mary J. Blige is capable of conveying heartache and happiness in a single musical phrase. Her emotional honesty reflects the great traditions of blues and soul, and has won her countless honors and a devoted, ever-growing audience around the world. Critics and fans alike are floored by her powerful combination of modern R&B with an edgy rap.
TOUR ITINERARY
Saturday 12 May : The Coca-Cola Dome, JHB
Sunday 13 May : Westridge Park Tennis Stadium, DBN
Wednesday 16 May : The Bellville Velodrome, CT
TICKETS AVAILABLE FROM COMPUTICKET
Internet Site: www.computicket.com
Call Centre: 083 915 8000
TICKET PRICES (excl service charges)
Johannesburg : R175 – R325
Durban : R160 – R280
Cape Town : R175 – R325
