Stronger with Each Tear

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The album represents who and what I am right now. I'm a stronger human being after all the growing pains. It's about life, love, change, strength—mostly really knowing who you are and being confident in that [3]

The album was initially titled Stronger, after the song "Stronger", which Blige recorded and released as the lead single from the soundtrack Music Inspired by More than a Game from the LeBron James' documentary More than a Game . [4] However Rap-Up later revealed that the album had been re-titled Stronger with Each Tear. [1]

The album has production and writing credits from Ryan Leslie, Darkchild and Johntá Austin. Also included are several guests like the Canadian rapper Drake who appears on the first single "The One", rapper T.I. who appears on "Good Love" which was initially planned as the second single [5] and Trey Songz himself revealed that he had recorded a duet called "Hood Love" with Blige for the album. [6] The song was previously recorded by Austin and Blige for Austin's first solo album that was never released. The song has since been reworked and re-titled "We Got Hood Love". Following the album's release in the US, the song charted at 82 on the Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs chart due to strong digital downloads. [7] The album track "I Feel Good" entered the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart at number 83 on the issue dated February 6, 2010, and on the issue dated March 6, 2010, it reached a peak of number 68. [8] whilst "Good Love" featuring T.I. entered the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart at number 59 [8] and was on the charts for around eleven weeks with a peak of 58. [9]

Australian media outlets revealed that the international version of the album would be released with an altered track listing. The new version of the album had a duet version of the song "Each Tear" with the Australian artist Vanessa Amorosi. [10] There are also four other versions of the track performed by the Italian singer Tiziano Ferro and the UK singer Jay Sean, Rea Garvey and K'naan. [11] According to HMV, it would also include cover versions of the Led Zeppelin song "Stairway to Heaven", "Whole Lotta Love" and the song "Stronger" from the soundtrack More than a Game . [12] [13] The international version of the album removed the songs "Said and Done", "We Got Hood Love" and "Kitchen" from the tracklist, and replaced them with "Whole Lotta Love", "I Can't Wait", "City on Fire", "Stronger", "Stairway to Heaven" and a remix of "I Am" by Dave Audé.

Release and promotion

The album was originally scheduled for US release on November 24, 2009 [14] but this was pushed back to December 15, 2009 [15] which would have put Blige's album in a chart battle with Alicia Keys' album The Element of Freedom . The album was pushed back once more to December 21, 2009.

After a number of appearances to promote the song "Stronger" for the soundtrack Music Inspired by More than a Game , Blige formally began the album's promotion in America by premiering the second single "I Am" at the American Music Awards (2009). The following day she appeared on the Lopez Tonight show for an interview and encore performance of "I Am". [16] Blige also appeared on The Jay Leno Show , The Today Show , and was also on a special shown on BET named Words & Sounds With Mary J. Blige. She was on a taping of The View . [17] On April 21, 2010, Blige appeared on American Idol's charity telethon, Idol Gives Back to perform her cover of Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" with Orianthi and Randy Jackson on guitars. [18]

On April 13, 2010, Blige appeared on an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show where she performed "Each Tear" and her version of the "Stairway to Heaven", which appears on the Stronger with Each Tear international edition and on iTunes as a digital single.

Singles

  • "The One", featuring Drake was released as the album's first single in the US and Australia on July 21, 2009. [19] Featuring Drake, the song was co-written by Ester Dean and produced by Rodney Jerkins. It peaked at number sixty-three on the US Billboard Hot 100.
  • "I Am" which was written by Blige, Johntá Austin and Ester Dean with music produced by Stargate, was released as the first international single (second in the US) in December 2009. [20] It debuted on the Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs chart at number forty-six prior to its full release and peaked at number four upon release. It debuted on Japan's Oricon chart at number 92 and peaked at number 11 on that chart, [21] while also debuting on the Hot 100 at sixty-seven and peaking at number fifty-five. It was also the international lead single from the album.
  • "Each Tear" was released as the second international single from the album in February 2010. There are different versions of the song. For Australia, it features the singer-songwriter Vanessa Amorosi; for Italy, Tiziano Ferro; for the UK, Jay Sean; for Germany, Rea Garvey and for Canada, K'naan. Marcus Raboy filmed a video which was then edited to show each of the guests in versions for their respective markets. It peaked at number one in Italy and number 183 in the UK, while failing to chart elsewhere. The single was not released in the United States.
  • "We Got Hood Love" featuring Trey Songz was released as the third US single from the album on March 30, 2010. [22] The song debuted at number eighty-two on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart following the album's release due to strong digital downloads and radio airplay. [8] A video was filmed with Mary J. Blige and football player George Wilson in Miami, [23] while Trey Songz filmed his scenes in a New York City apartment. [24] Chris Robinson directed the video for the single [25] with a planned May 10, 2010 premiere through Vevo, [26] though it actually appeared on Rap-Up on May 6, 2010. [27]
Other songs

Critical reception

Stronger with Each Tear
MJB - Strong with Each Tear (U.S. version).jpg
Studio album by
Mary J. Blige
ReleasedDecember 18, 2009 (2009-12-18)
Length48:19
Label
Producer
Mary J. Blige chronology
Growing Pains
(2007)		Stronger with Each Tear
(2009)		 My Life II... The Journey Continues (Act 1)
(2011)
Alternative covers
MJB - Stronger with Each Tear (International Version).jpg
International artwork.
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 75/100 [30]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [31]
Chicago Tribune Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [32]
Christgau's Consumer Guide Five Pointed Star Solid.svg Five Pointed Star Solid.svg Five Pointed Star Solid.svg [33]
Entertainment Weekly B [34]
The Irish Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [35]
Los Angeles Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [36]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [37]
Spin 6/10 [38]
The Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [39]
USA Today Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [40]

Stronger with Each Tear received generally favorable reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 75 based on twelve reviews. [41] Andy Kellman from AllMusic called "Stronger with Each Tear a "very good Blige album, if not quite a classic. One of her briefest sets, it is tremendously (almost studiously) balanced between all the ground she has covered so well before. That's no criticism, though, since most of the songs are easily memorable and display so much range." [31] Boston Globe critic Sarah Rodman found that the album was a "reminder that Blige gets stronger with each album", further noting: "The queen of hip-hop soul splits her loyalty between three masters with the agility of a gymnast, but she manages to hold a mood with seamless transitions between each." [42] Similarly, Billboard wrote: "Like fine wine and Brett Favre, some things just get better with time [...] Blige has never been in better voice-or more adventurous." [43]

Margaret Wapplerf from The Los Angeles Times felt that Stronger with Each Tear finds Blige "as in touch with that resilient truth as ever, her personal discoveries bound in slick but never alienating packaging." [36] USA Today editor Steve Jones remarked that the album "finds the now-mature Blige happy, confident and ready to have some fun." While he felt that the "upbeat songs don't lend themselves to the emotional torrents that used to flow from her regularly," a "stellar list of producers and songwriters [...] give her plenty of radio-friendly beats in keeping with the album's overall positive vibe." [40] BBC Music critic Daryl Easlea called it a "body of work that is one of the strongest in R&B. Although Stronger with Each Tear may not be one of her greatest works, it ensures that Blige remains as relevant as any of her more recent contemporaries." [44]

In a mixed review, Jon Pareles from The New York Times wrote that Blige's "chosen producers are masters of what might be called algorithm-and-blues: crisply digitized grids of beats and hooks [...] The arrangements are often supremely clever, but the songs can also be busy and bloodless, and they’re built for adequate voices, not commanding ones. Often they tend to treat vocals as one more neatly placed sound effect." [45] Mikael Wood from Spin magazine wrote: "Blige has spent the past decade effecting a slow transformation from R&B's queen of pain to the closest thing the genre counts to Oprah Winfrey [...] It's hard to believe this is the same woman who once felt the need to announce she was done with drama. Yet despite the conviction that those track names suggest—and despite solid writing and production contributions from A-listers [...] it feels less vital than 2005's terrific The Breakthrough or 2007's Growing Pains [...] The result is minor Mary—strong by many standards, a bit tepid by hers." [38] In his Consumer Guide, Robert Christgau offered the description, "plainspoken, low-drama, midtempo love vows, with attempted glamour relegated to the cover shoot", while naming "Tonight" and "I Am" as the record's highlights. [33]

Accolades

YearRegionAwardCategoryResult
2010United States NAACP Image Awards Outstanding Album [46] Won

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart with first-week sales of 332,000 copies. It also went to number one on the R&B chart. [47] [48] Blige is the ninth woman in SoundScan's 18-year history to see at least three albums all debut with an opening sales week of 300,000 or more. [49] Stronger with Each Tear had sold 726,100 copies in the United States by April 2010, [50] and was certified Gold by the RIAA on January 6, 2011.

In the UK, it debuted at number 33 on the main albums chart in its first week [51] but dropped out of the top forty on its second week. [52] On the UK R&B Chart it debuted at number four [53] and fell nine places to number 13 in its second week. [54]

Track listing

Standard track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Tonight"
4:00
2."The One" (featuring Drake)
Jerkins3:14
3."Said and Done"
Leslie3:23
4."Good Love" (featuring T.I.)
4:01
5."I Feel Good"
3:47
6."I Am"
3:23
7."Each Tear"
4:15
8."I Love U (Yes I Du)"
  • Blige
  • Jamal Jones
  • E. Dean
  • Devon Reed
  • Donald Level
  • Billy Williams
 Polow da Don 3:23
9."We Got Hood Love" (featuring Trey Songz)
4:15
10."Kitchen"
4:31
11."In the Morning"
4:36
12."Color" (from the motion picture Precious )
Saadiq5:31
Total length:48:19
US Amazon MP3 download bonus tracks [55] [56]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
13."Stay"
 Anthony M. Jones [57] 3:49
14."Gonna Make It" (featuring Jazmine Sullivan)
  • Blige
  • Sullivan
 Salaam Remi 3:36
Total length:55:44
US iTunes bonus tracks [58]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
13."Closer"
  • Blige
  • LaNeah Menzies
Leslie4:11
14."Brand New" (Pre-Order Only)
  • Blige
  • Erik Ortiz
  • Kevin Crowe
  • C. Brown III
  • D. Young
  • B. Sigler
 J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League 3:39
Total length:56:09
International edition [59]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Whole Lotta Love"
3:34
2."Tonight"
  • Blige
  • Thiam
  • Birdsong
  • Harr
  • Jackson
  • Cossom
  • The Runners
  • Akon [a]
4:00
3."The One"
  • Blige
  • Graham
  • Dean
  • Jerkins
Jerkins3:14
4."I Can't Wait" (featuring will.i.am)
 will.i.am 4:25
5."Good Love" (featuring T.I.)
  • Smith
  • Reeves
  • Romulus
  • Yip
  • Stereotypes
  • Ne-Yo [a]
4:01
6."I Feel Good"
  • Smith
  • Hermansen
  • Eriksen
  • Stargate
  • Ne-Yo [a]
3:47
7."I Am"
  • Blige
  • Austin
  • E. Dean
  • Hermansen
  • Eriksen
  • Stargate
  • Fair [b]
3:23
8."Each Tear" (featuring Jay Sean)
  • Blige
  • Chin
  • Chin-Quee
  • Supa Dups
  • Fair [b]
4:32
9."I Love U (Yes I Du)"
  • Blige
  • Jones
  • E. Dean
  • Reed
  • Level
  • Williams
Polow da Don3:23
10."City on Fire"
  • Bhasker
  • Reynolds
3:34
11."Stronger" (from motion picture More than a Game )
4:09
12."In the Morning"
  • Blige
  • Anesha Birchett
  • Antea Birchett
  • D'Mile
  • Fair [c]
4:36
13."Color" (from the motion picture Precious )
  • Blige
  • Saadiq
  • Menzies
Saadiq5:31
14."Stairway to Heaven" (featuring Travis Barker, Randy Jackson, Steve Vai and Orianthi)
  • Fair
  • Tal Herzberg
8:44
15."I Am" (Dave Audé Remix)
  • Blige
  • Austin
  • E. Dean
  • Hermansen
  • Eriksen
 Dave Audé 6:28
Total length:1:07:21

Notes

Sample credits

Personnel

Charts

Certifications

Certifications and sales for Stronger with Each Tear
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA) [73] Gold500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Original release

Release history and formats for Stronger with Each Tear
CountryDateFormatLabelCatalog
Australia [74] December 18, 2009 CD, digital download Universal Music 2725654
Germany [75] 0602527256542
Italy [76] 060252725654
Greece [77]
Sweden [78]
Netherlands [79]
Switzerland [80]
France [81] December 21, 2009 Barclay Records
United States [82] Matriarch Records 602527256542
Japan [83] December 23, 2009CDUniversal MusicUICF9065
Korea [84] February 2, 2010DF6424
Brazil [85] Digital download

Reissue release

Release history and formats for the reissu eof Stronger with Each Tear
CountryDateFormatLabelCatalog
Germany [86] March 15, 2010CD, digital downloadUniversal Music060252731839
Italy [56] March 19, 2010
Greece [77]
Sweden [87]
Netherlands [79]
Switzerland [80]
United Kingdom [88] March 22, 2010 Polydor Records 2725654
France [89] [90] Barclay Records060252731839
Australia [91] March 23, 2010International re-releaseUniversal Music
Canada [92] April 13, 2010CD, Digital downloadGeffen Records
razil [93] April 20, 2010CDUniversal Music602527318394
Australia [94] April 23, 2010Australian re-release2736019
Japan [95] May 12, 2010CD, Digital downloadUICF1125

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References

  1. 1 2 "Mary J. Blige Renames New Album". Rap-Up.com. Retrieved November 18, 2009.
  2. ↑ "Mary J. Blige's 'Stronger' Pushed to Christmas Week". Rap-Up.com. Retrieved November 18, 2009.
  3. ↑ "Mary J. Blige "stronger" than ever on new album". Rap-Up . Retrieved August 1, 2009.
  4. ↑ "Video: Mary J. Blige – 'Stronger'". Rap-Up.com. August 21, 2009. Retrieved December 20, 2009.
  5. ↑ "Mary J. Blige Enlists T.I. for New Single". Rap-Up.com. Retrieved December 20, 2009.
  6. ↑ "Trey Songz Lines Up Mary J. Blige, Plies Collabos". Rap-Up.com. Retrieved December 20, 2009.
  7. ↑ https://www.billboard.com/artist/mary-j.-blige/chart-history/r%26b/hip-hop-songs
  8. 1 2 3 "Music Charts, Most Popular Music, Music by Genre & Top Music Charts". Billboard.com. Retrieved March 5, 2010.
  9. ↑ https://www.billboard.com/artist/mary-j.-blige/chart-history/
  10. ↑ McCabe, Kathy (February 9, 2010). "Aussie duo Vanessa Amorosi and Orianthi oblige soul queen Mary J Blige". News.com.au. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved March 5, 2010.
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  12. ↑ "Stronger With Each Tear (International Version)(4 Bonus Tracks)【CD】-Mary J Blige (メアリージェイブライジ)｜Dance｜Dance & Soul｜Music｜HMV ONLINE Online Shopping & Information Site". Hmv.co.jp. Retrieved March 5, 2010.
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  14. ↑ "Video: Mary J. Blige f/ Drake – 'The One'". Rap-Up.com. August 28, 2009. Retrieved December 20, 2009.
  15. ↑ "Mary J. Blige's 'Stronger' Coming This Year". Rap-Up.com. October 23, 2009. Retrieved December 20, 2009.
  16. ↑ "Video: Mary J. Blige Visits 'Lopez Tonight'". Rap-Up.com. November 23, 2009. Retrieved December 20, 2009.
  17. ↑ "Album Cover: Mary J. Blige – 'Stronger withEach Tear'". Rap-Up.com. November 30, 2009. Retrieved December 20, 2009.
  18. ↑ "Video: Alicia Keys, Mary J. Blige, & Black Eyed Peas Give Back on 'Idol'". Rap-Up.com. April 21, 2010. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
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