Music Saved My Life Tour

Music Saved My Life Tour was the eighth concert tour by American recording artist, Mary J. Blige. It was launched in support of her ninth studio Stronger with Each Tear (2009). It began in September 2010 and continued through February 2011. Concerts were held in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

Music Saved My Life Tour
Tour by Mary J. Blige
Promotional poster for the tour
Location
  • North America
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Australia
Associated albumStronger with Each Tear
Start dateSeptember 6, 2010 (2010-09-06)
End dateFebruary 8, 2011 (2011-02-08)
No. of shows30
Mary J. Blige concert chronology

Background

Universal Music Group announced Blige's tour on September 1, 2010. The tour was described as Blige venturing back to her R&B roots from her previous festival performances, which focused on a heavy rock sound. Blige states the tour's title comes from her personal viewpoint of music after her battles with drug and alcohol abuse.[1] She further commented:

"Music makes us want to live. You don't know how many times people have told me that they'd been down and depressed and just wanted to die. But then a special song caught their ear and that helped give them renewed strength. That's the power music has. I believe there are certain things that God uses to get us out of a bad situation, and I believe music was one of the things he used for me. The first time I heard 'Keep on Moving' by Soul II Soul, I felt like somebody pumped a new spirit in me that made me want to go on. [Without music] I honestly think I would be in a really bad situation. I don't take it for granted. I have no doubt I was born to do this.[2][3]

Opening acts

Set list
  1. "MJB da MVP"
  2. "The One"
  3. "Enough Cryin"
  4. "You Bring Me Joy"
  5. "Be Happy" / "You Remind Me" / "Real Love" / "Everyday It Rains"
  6. "I'm The Only Woman"
  7. "I Love U (Yes I Du)"
  8. "Love Is All We Need"
  9. "Reminisce" (contain elements of "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)")
  10. "Love No Limit" / "Mary Jane (All Night Long)"
  11. "Good Woman Down"
  12. "Everything"
  13. "All That I Can Say"
  14. "I Never Wanna Live Without You"
  15. "Seven Days"
  16. "Your Child" (contain elements of "The Lady in My Life")
  17. "Deep Inside"
  18. "I Am"
  19. "Sweet Thing"
  20. "Not Gon' Cry"
  21. "I'm Going Down"
  22. "Take Me As I Am" (acoustic)
  23. "No More Drama"
  24. "I Love You" (instrumental interlude)
  25. "I Can Love You" / "Work That"
  26. "Just Fine"
  27. "Family Affair"
Encore
  1. "Be Without You"


Source:[9][10][11]

Additional notes
  • "I Can Love You", "Work That", "The One", and "Family Affair". were only performed during select dates in North America and Europe.
  • During the first concert in New York, Blige performed "I'm Goin' Down" with Katlyn Nichol.
  • During the second concert in New York, Blige performed "Fancy" and "Holding You Down (Goin' in Circles)" with Swizz Beatz and Jazmine Sullivan.
  • "Stairway to Heaven" was performed during the concert in Basel.

Tour dates
List of concerts, showing date, city, country and venue
Date City Country Venue
September 6, 2010[A] Seattle U.S.
[6][12]
[13][14]		 Memorial Stadium
October 1, 2010[B] Mobile Miller Lite Stage
October 2, 2010 Atlanta Chastain Park Amphitheater
October 3, 2010 Virginia Beach Virginia Beach Amphitheater
October 7, 2010 Bristow Jiffy Lube Live
October 8, 2010 Atlantic City Borgata Events Center
October 10, 2010 Ledyard MGM Grand at Foxwoods
October 11, 2010 New York City Radio City Music Hall[15]
October 12, 2010
October 15, 2010 Detroit Fox Theatre
October 16, 2010 St. Louis Fox Theatre
October 17, 2010[lower-alpha 1] Chicago Chicago Theatre
October 20, 2010 Los Angeles Gibson Amphitheatre[16]
October 21, 2010
October 23, 2010 Concord Sleep Train Pavilion
October 29, 2010 Basel Switzerland
[6][17][18]		 Messe Basel
October 30, 2010
November 2, 2010 London England The O2 Arena
November 3, 2010 Birmingham LG Arena
November 5, 2010 Manchester Manchester Evening News Arena
January 16, 2011 Seoul South Korea
[19]		 Grand Peace Palace
January 19, 2011 Tokyo Japan JCB Hall
January 20, 2011
January 22, 2011 Osaka Namba Hatch
January 26, 2011[C] Perth Australia
[6][13][20]		 Fremantle Oval
January 28, 2011[C] Sydney Parramatta Park
January 29, 2011[C][lower-alpha 2] Melbourne Sidney Myer Music Bowl
January 30, 2011[C][lower-alpha 3] Brisbane Riverstage
February 2, 2011[C][lower-alpha 4] Adelaide Thebarton Theatre
February 5, 2011[C] Rotorua New Zealand Rotorua International Stadium
February 8, 2011 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
[22]		 Plenary Hall
Festivals and other miscellaneous performances
A This concert was a part of 2010 Bumbershoot
B This concert was a part of Bayfest[23]
C These concerts are a part of the Raggamuffin Music Festival[24]

Cancelled shows
List of cancelled concerts, showing date, city, country, and venue
Date City Country Venue
October 5, 2010 Raleigh U.S. Raleigh Memorial Auditorium
October 22, 2010 Las Vegas Pearl Concert Theatre
October 26, 2010 Amsterdam Netherlands Heineken Music Hall
December 18, 2010 Harare[25][26] Zimbabwe Harare International Conference Centre [lower-alpha 5]
January 30, 2011 Port Macquarie Australia Cassegrain Winery
February 3, 2011 Sydney Sydney Entertainment Centre

Box office
List of concerts, showing venue, city, attendance and revenue
Venue City Attendance
(Tickets sold / available)		 Gross revenue
Radio City Music Hall New York City 11,150 / 11,896 (94%) $1,200,835[27]
Fox Theatre Detroit 4,091 / 4,260 (96%) $392,465[27]
Chicago Theatre Chicago 3,481 / 3,481 (100%) $330,390[27]
The O2 Arena London 8,148 / 8,148 (100%) $550,439[27]
Manchester Evening
News Arena		 Manchester 3,530 / 4,413 (80%) $245,030[27]
TOTAL 30,400 / 32,198 (94%) $2,719,159

Critical reception

Overall, the tour received praise from music critics and spectators alike. Blige was noted for her positive messages through her performances encouraging women to believe in themselves and know there is something "better" plan for them. Ines Min (The Korea Times) wrote, "A soulful train of songs, including 'Reminisce', was accompanied by her smooth dancing skills before breaking down the stage with the pique song 'Good Woman Down'. The performer shook, jumped and shimmied in perfect motion, spurring the crowd to rise in an emotional fervor."[28] Anthony Langone (The Depaula) continued the praise for Blige noting, "Never have I seen such a venue this alive. The entire crowd was on its feet singing every word. This is a true testament of Blige's star power. The ability to not only command the stage, but all the people in a sold-out venue is no easy task. Blige did it with ease, making it look easy."[29] Jon Pareles (The New York Times) stated, "In her songs Ms. Blige transmutes setbacks into determination; she confronts trouble, she cries, she wills herself to get over it, she finds the next love. Onstage she's a pop star as life coach, preaching sermons in self-esteem with gospel cadences."[9]

Notes
  1. The October 17, 2010 show at Chicago Theater, Chicago was originally set to take place on October 16 before being rescheduled.
  2. The January 29, 2011 show at Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne was originally set to take place on January 28 at Royal Melbourne Showgrounds before being rescheduled.
  3. The January 30, 2011 show at Brisbane Riverstage, Brisbane was originally set to take place on January 29 at Pine River Park before being rescheduled due to the Queensland Floods.[21]
  4. The February 2, 2011 show at Theabarton Theatre, Adelaide was originally set to take place at Memorial Prive Drive before being rescheduled.
  5. Originally set to take place at Jaggers Msasa Warehouse.

References
  1. McLean, Craig (1 November 2011). "Mary J Blige – devil diva? Exclusive interview". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  2. Vaziri, Aidin (17 October 2010). "Mary J. Blige beats high odds". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  3. Roura, Phil (2 October 2010). "Moving spirit: Mary J. Blige is on a soul-stirring crusade while on tour". New York Daily News. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  4. Concepción, Mariel (1 September 2010). "Mary J. Blige Announces Tour with Jazmine Sullivan, El DeBarge, Miguel". Billboard. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  5. Bland, Bridget (13 October 2010). "Newcomer Miguel Making Big Moves With Opening Gigs for Mary J. Blige, Usher". Black Voices. AOL, Inc. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  6. Smith, Jay (1 September 2010). "Blige Taps Sullivan, Miguel For Tour". Pollstar. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 8 October 2010. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  7. "Gyptian joins forces with Mary J Blige". The Jamaica Observer. 6 October 2010. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  8. "MINMI and Mye to join Mary J. Blige on her Japanese tour". Tokyo Hive. 6Theory Media, LLC. 26 November 2010. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  9. Pareles, Jon (12 October 2010). "Attention, Ladies: After Heartbreak Can Come Redemption". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  10. "Mary J. Blige set list". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 17 October 2010. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  11. Cox, Calvin (17 October 2010). "Show Review: Mary J Blige, El DeBarge and Jazmine Sullivan Thrill at the Fabulous Fox, Saturday, October 16". Riverfront Times. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  12. "Events: Tour Archive". Mary J. Blige's Official Website. Universal Music Group. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  13. Hall, Tara (2 September 2010). "Mary J. Blige hits the road with Jazmine Sullivan". SoundSpike. MTV Networks. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  14. Concert Review; Mary J. Blige and Jasmine Sullivan in Atlanta Archived 2013-06-16 at archive.today
  15. Concert Review; El Debarge, Miguel and Mary J. Blige at Radio City Music Hall
  16. Review, Mary J. Blige Live at Gibson Amphitheater, Los Angeles Archived 2013-06-16 at archive.today
  17. "Mary J Blige announces UK tour". The Belfast Telegraph. 1 September 2010. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  18. Williams, Sarah (1 September 2010). "Mary J. Blige Returns To U.K." Billboard. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  19. "Mary J. Blige: Music Saved My Life Tou". CNNGo. Turner Broadcasting System. 10 January 2011. Archived from the original on 29 July 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  20. "Mary J Blige to headline Raggamuffin". Fairfax New Zealand. 14 October 2010. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  21. "Mary J Blige gigs to raise flood funds". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 18 January 2011. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  22. "MARY J BLIGE TO PERFORM IN KUALA LUMPUR" (Press release). PR Canada. 8 January 2011. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
  23. Specker, Lawerence F. (8 July 2010). "BayFest adds R&B superstar Mary J. Blige to lineup". Press-Register. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  24. McCabe, Kathy (26 January 2011). "Putting her soul into it". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  25. Showbiz Reporter (19 December 2010). "Mary J Blige pulls plug on Zimbabwe tour". New Zimbabwe. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  26. Manhango, Simbarashe (19 December 2010). "Fans wait in vain as Mary J Blige gig is cancelled". The Standard. Archived from the original on 23 January 2011. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  27. "Billboard Boxscore". Billboard. 2010-11-27. Retrieved 2010-11-18.
  28. Min, Ines (17 January 2011). "Mary J. Blige breaks down the walls". The Korea Times. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
  29. Langone, Anthony (25 October 2010). "Mary J. Blige serenades Chicago Theater". The Depaulia. DePaul University. Archived from the original on 30 October 2010. Retrieved 25 January 2011.
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