Mary J. Blige could be in the race to ascend to EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) status.
The Queen of Hip-Hop Soul won Outstanding Variety Special (Live) for The Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show on night one of the 2022 Creative Arts Emmy Awards.
It’s the legendary singer and songwriter’s first Emmy win. She shares the award with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, Eminem, and 50 Cent, who all shared the stage in February for an iconic performance.
Shawn Carter, better known as JAY-Z, also accepts the honor as executive producer alongside Jessie Collins and Desiree Perez.
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The Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show won two other awards, including Outstanding Production Design for a Variety Special and Outstanding Music Direction. The latter trophy went to Adam Blackstone.
As part of Blige’s short and sweet set, she took the stage to perform “Family Affair” and “No More Drama.” Both songs appear on her 2001 album No More Drama, which was re-released the following year.
The former track, produced by Dr. Dre, soared up to nearly 160% in global streams on Spotify. Meanwhile, the Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis-produced “No More Drama” rose to nearly 520% on the platform.
Blige is an Oscar and a Tony award away from becoming an EGOT recipient. She has won nine of her 31 Grammy nominations.
She is the only artist to win music’s highest honors in four distinct genres: pop, rap, R&B and gospel.
Her last won a statuette for Best Contemporary R&B Album for Growing Pains at the 51st Grammy Awards.
In 2018, Blige made Oscar history as the first person to score nominations for a performance, and an original song in the same year, for the same film (Mudbound).
Blige’s Emmy win comes behind her carrying home a handful of other accolades this year. She won the BET HER Award for “Good Morning Gorgeous” in June at the 2022 BET Awards.
She received two honors in May, including the Icon Award (Billboard Music Awards) and a Legend Award (Clio Music Awards).
“What an icon means to me is overcoming obstacles to accomplish the unthinkable and be wildly admired for having influence over a multitude of people, and that is what I’ve always represented,” said Blige during her acceptance speech at the Billboard Music Awards.
Blige was also featured on TIME’s 100 Most Influential People of 2022 list, which was published in May.
Nas, a longtime collaborator and friend of Blige, profiled her in the cover story. “Mary came up the way we all did. She was a voice for us, but she wasn’t like other R&B artists at the time,” he wrote.
“She became a household name early because she was a hip-hop artist who also sang. The industry needed someone like that.”
He added, “The streets wanted that. Pop culture wanted that… And when Mary came onstage at the Super Bowl halftime show this year, she got one of the loudest responses… She carved out a lane for herself, and now she can feed the people more than just music… She became who she’s supposed to be.”
Blige partnered with Apple Music to host an exclusive live concert to celebrate the 30th anniversary of her debut album, What’s the 411?
Ahead of her performance, in an interview with Nadeska of Apple Music, Blige shared her approach to curating a set list that would reflect her three-decade career.
“I’ve been touring and doing shows for years now so I know what the fans want to hear from each album,” Blige said. “So, you know…classics… you can’t lose with that and of course, they love ‘Good Morning Gorgeous’ and they love the album. But if you do not incorporate those classics… it will not be good.”
Following her concert, Blige released a live album titled Apple Music Live: Mary J. Blige. It included all the songs she performed that night at Union Palace in New York City.
On Sept. 17, Blige will launch her headlining Good Morning Gorgeous Tour. The nationwide trek supports her 2022 album Good Morning Gorgeous and its singles such as “Here With Me” featuring Anderson .Paak and “Rent Money” featuring Dave East. Ella Mai and Queen Naija will join blige on select dates.
In non-music news, Blige most recently voice-starred in Netflix’s Lost Ollie, a four-part limited series.
Revisit Mary J. Blige’s Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show set below.
