When Mary J. Blige was a current hitmaker, I wasn't a fan. I can't tell you exactly why. I just wasn't.
But times change. Tastes change. And I can see the genius that is Mary J.
This song was co-written by a team including Blige and her brother, Bruce Miller, as well as the producer of the track, a Mr. Andre Young, who you may know as Dr. Dre. For those so inclined, the song follows a C♯m–G♯m7–C♯m–G♯m7 chord progression, written by Dre a fair bit before he sent it along to Mary J., who added lyrics. She sings all the vocals on this track, both lead and background.
This song ended up spending six weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Blige's only #1 hit and her biggest hit song by far. It was also a chart-topper worldwide. It was also the first number one song to include the word "hateration".
There are so many great live versions of this song, so I went with this in-studio one from 2005, which features a full band, including background vocalists that aren't Mary J. Blige.
I decided to include one more version - this one with a different backup vocalist who does step to lead for a few seconds.
Sorry, Swifties - she doesn't have the range of Mary J.
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