R&B icon Mary J. Blige has announced a special concert to bring in the new year.
The pre-New Year’s Eve show will take place Dec. 29 in Jacksonville, Florida, at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. K. Michelle and Queen Naija will join Blige as special guests.
Music from Blige’s latest album, Good Morning Gorgeous, will be part of the setlist, plus her most recognizable hits.
During her nationwide Good Morning Gorgeous Tour earlier this fall, Blige incorporated her current hits, such as “Here With Me” and “Good Morning Gorgeous,” and songs from her iconic catalog for a phenomenal show.
Blige landed six nominations at the 2023 Grammys, including Album of the Year (Good Morning Gorgeous [Deluxe]), her first as a lead artist.
She also earned nods for the title track, one in the general field (Record of the Year) and two in R&B categories (Best R&B Song and Best Traditional R&B Performance).
In July, K. Michelle earned her first No. 1 single on the R&B charts for “Scooch.” The love-crazed jam was produced by Lil Ronnie, a frequent collaborator.
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“I wanted to do something different,” K. Michelle told Rated R&B about going with “Scooch” as the lead-off.
“I wasn’t doing any male-bashing. I wanted to start with something a little bit more bright or something you could dance to. It’s about to get warm. I want you to be able to go out and just do your thing when it comes to that.”
“Scooch” is the lead single from K. Michelle’s long-awaited album I’m The Problem, which she says will be final R&B-centric project.
“This album is super emotional, and I know that. All my albums are emotional but I think this one I’ve been accumulating so many records. I’ve been healing through this album,” K. Michelle explained.
She added, “I have dealt with my relationship through this album. I have dealt with my relationship with my son through this album. I have dealt with where I want to go in my future through this album. I’m at a crossroads in my life right now. So that’s what this is about.”
K. Michelle also is recording a country album with contributions from Dolly Parton, Billy Ray Cyrus and Eric Paslay, to name a few.
Queen Naija previously joined Blige on her headlining Good Morning Gorgeous Tour.
She supported her Big Sean-assisted single “Hate Our Love,” which peaked at No. 1 on Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay chart. It also was certified gold by the RIAA, with more than 500,000 equivalent units sold.
It’s been two years since Queen Naija released her debut album Missunderstood. The album included the hit single “Butterflies Pt. 2” and the gold-certified tune “Pack Lite.”
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Queen Naija is working on her sophomore album, which will be released Capitol Records.
She recently appeared on Babyface’s new album, Girls Night Out.
Bringing the focus back to Blige’s next show, tickets for the Fifth Degree Tours II-presented concert can be purchased on ticketmaster.com.
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Get your tickets for Blige’s show featuring K. Michelle and Queen Naija on ticketmaster.com.
