Mary J. Blige is back with a new encouraging song, “You Ain’t The Only One.”
She co-wrote it with Bryan Jones and the song’s producers Pat Kelly, Angelo “Doc” Velasquez, Will Campbell, and Aidan Brody.
On the hip-hop soul-flavored track, dosed with a funky bassline, rhythmic keys and regal horns, Blige sings about overcoming adversity. Despite the pain she has endured, she remains grateful and chooses to celebrate the good that life has to offer.
“We all have pain, been through somе things in life / Why complain ’cause the world don’t carе? / Life is a game, just play the hand you were dealt / So the sun will shine through the rain,” she sings.
“You Ain’t The Only One” is the second single from Blige’s new album, Gratitude, which releases Nov. 15 via her imprint Beautiful Life Productions in partnership with 300 Entertainment.
Gratitude will also include the lead single “Breathing” featuring Fabolous. The feel-good track, produced by S.Dot, was released Aug. 16. It scored at top 10 debut on Billboard’s R&B Digital Song Sales chart and reached the top 10 on the Adult R&B Airplay chart.
At the time of publication, “Breathing” is No. 3 on the Adult R&B Airplay chart, which is led by Maxwell’s “Simply Beautiful” for a second week.
Speaking on “Breathing,” Blige said, “The story behind the track is what I’m doing finally, which is living, breathing, enjoying my life and celebrating the happiness and freedom I have that life brings. I finally get to exhale and inhale and then exhale and enjoy life, enjoy love.”
Blige announced her new album on SHERRI last month. “It’s called Gratitude because that’s where I am,” she told host Sherri Shepherd.
Blige continued, “I mean, look at my life right now. I’m in a constant state of gratitude. I feel good. I have jobs and opportunities. I’m healthy. My family’s healthy. I have people around that care for me and love me. And I have amazing fans. I’m so grateful to my fans for all the years of love that they’ve given me and support.”
Gratitude is the follow-up to Blige’s 2022 album, Good Morning Gorgeous. The album included the No. 1 hit “Good Morning Gorgeous,” produced by D’Mile and H.E.R., with writing support from Lucky Daye and Tiara Thomas. The RIAA gold-certified song spent four weeks at No. 1 on the Adult R&B Airplay chart.
Good Morning Gorgeous earned Blige six nominations at the 65th Grammy Awards, including for Album of the Year and Best R&B Album.
Blige will support her new album Gratitude on The For My Fans Tour with special guests Ne-Yo and Mario. The Live Nation-promoted tour begins Jan. 30, 2025, at Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina.
“I am so excited to kick off this tour. I have amazing fans and am so grateful for all of the love and support they have given me throughout the years,” said Blige.
She added, “This tour is for them, and I cannot wait to be able to travel to all these cities and see everyone. I am in such a place of immense gratitude and peace at this moment, so also having the chance to release my new album Gratitude on November 15th ahead of this tour is really special to me.”
Before Blige releases her new album and embarks on tour, the Queen of Hip-Hop Soul will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on Saturday, Oct. 19, in Cleveland. She will be honored by Lucky Daye, Ella Mai, Method Man, Dr. Dre and more.
Stream Mary J. Blige’s new song “You Ain’t The Only One” below. Pre-save Gratitude here.
