Strength of a Woman (album)


Strength of a Woman is the thirteenth studio album by American R&B singer-songwriter Mary J. Blige. It was released on April 28, 2017, by Capitol Records. The album serves as the follow-up to her twelfth studio album The London Sessions. Strength of a Woman is predominantly a R&B and hip hop soul album. Blige worked with producers and songwriters such as DJ Camper, Brandon "B.A.M." Hodge, Hit-Boy, Jazmine Sullivan, Lamb, Bigg D, Neff-U, Kaytranada, and BadBadNotGood on the album. It also features guest appearances by Kanye West, Quavo, DJ Khaled, Missy Elliott, Prince Charlez, Kaytranada, and BadBadNotGood.
The album debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 78,000 album-equivalent units in its first week. It attained international charting and produced five official singles: "Thick of It", "U + Me ", "Love Yourself" featuring Kanye West, "Set Me Free", and "Glow Up" featuring Quavo, DJ Khaled, and Missy Elliott, with the former two singles peaking atop the US Adult R&B Songs chart. Upon its release, Strength of a Woman received generally positive reviews from music critics. Blige embarked on the Strength of a Woman Tour in support of the album from April 2, 2017 to September 9, 2017.

Singles

"Thick of It" was released as the lead single on October 7, 2016. The song topped the US Adult R&B Songs chart for a record-breaking 16 consecutive weeks. Its music video, directed by Dennis Leupold, premiered on November 7, 2016 on her YouTube account. "U + Me " was released on February 17, 2017 and also topped the US Adult R&B Songs Chart. "Love Yourself" was released as the third single on March 30, 2017. The music video for the official remix of "Love Yourself" featuring Harlem rapper ASAP Rocky premiered via Complex on May 26, 2017. It was directed by Taj and was shot in Los Angeles and New York City. "Set Me Free" was released as the fourth official single on July 19, 2017. "Glow Up" was released as the fifth and last official single on September 1, 2017.

Critical reception

Strength of a Woman received generally positive reviews from music critics. On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from critics, the album received an average score of 74, based on seven reviews. Jon Caramanica of The New York Times gave the album a positive review, stating that, "the album moves like a forest fire: ruthless, wide-ranging, and blunt." Matt Bauer of Exclaim! praised the lyrics, and called it Blige's best work in over a decade, but criticizing songs such as "Glow Up", and "Smile". In a positive review, Julianne Shepherd of Pitchfork considered the album a relief from Blige's previous album, The London Sessions, along with Blige sticking to what makes her unique. In a positive review, Andy Kellman of AllMusic gave the album 3.5 stars, calling some of the songs clichéd, however, praising the anthems on the album. Kate Hutchinson of The Guardian gave a mixed review of the album, criticizing the song "Glow Up", calling it too similar to other artists such as Rihanna, and Beyoncé. Despite these complaints, she praised the anthems included on the album. In another mixed review, Andy Gill of The Independent found the album using a generic R&B theme, however, stating that some songs included on the album are able to do it well, such as "Set Me Free".

Commercial performance

Strength of a Woman debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 on the issue dated ending May 20, 2017, with 78,000 album-equivalent units, in its first week. It became Blige's highest-charting album since 2009's Stronger with Each Tear, her tenth top five entry, and thirteenth top ten album on the chart. The album marked a significant spike of sales for the singer, whose previous release The London Sessions had opened at number nine, with first week sales of 55,000 copies. The album also debuted at number two on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and number one on the Top R&B Albums charts, respectively.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits for Strength of a Woman adapted from AllMusic.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts