The Breakthrough

The Breakthrough
Studio album by Mary J. Blige
Released	December 20, 2005 (2005-12-20)
Genre	R&B[1]
Length	72:59
Label	Geffen
Producer	9th Wonder Mary J. Blige Vidal Davis Cool & Dre Bryan-Michael Cox D'Mile Ron Fair Andre Harris Rich Harrison Infinity J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League Jake and the Phatman Rodney Jerkins Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis Davel "Bo" McKenzie Raphael Saadiq Chucky Thompson will.i.am
Mary J. Blige chronology
Love & Life (2003) The Breakthrough (2005) Growing Pains (2007)
Singles from The Breakthrough
"Be Without You" Released: November 14, 2005[2] "Enough Cryin" Released: March 2, 2006 "One" Released: April 3, 2006 "Take Me as I Am" Released: August 17, 2006

The Breakthrough is the seventh studio album by American singer Mary J. Blige. It was released by Geffen Records on December 20, 2005. Initially expected to be released in 2006, it switched release dates with Blige's first greatest hits album Reflections (A Retrospective) (2006) after fruitful collaborations with a host of songwriters and record producers, including 9th Wonder, Rodney Jerkins, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Bryan-Michael Cox, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, Raphael Saadiq, Chucky Thompson, Cool & Dre, Ron Fair, and will.i.am, prompted Blige and her label to shift material from Reflections to The Breakthrough.

The album was released to positive reception from music critics, who considered it a return to form for Blige after 2003's Love & Life. Commercially, it opened to her biggest first week sales in the US yet and became her third album to debut at the top of the Billboard 200. The album reached triple Platinum status in the US and sold more than 3.1 million copies. Internationally, it entered the top ten in Switzerland, and the R&B charts in both Australia and United Kingdom. The Breakthrough received numerous accolades, earning Blige her first Grammy Award for Best R&B Album category at the 49th awards ceremony.

Four singles were released in support of the album. Lead single "Be Without You" became a top three hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 as well as Blige's highest-charting single since 2001's "Family Affair," while international follow-up "One," a duet with Irish rock band U2 on their 1991 song, enjoyed major commercial success throughout Europe, reaching number one in Austria and Norway as well as the top ten on most other charts. From June to September 2006, Blige promoted The Breakthrough in her The Breakthrough Experience Tour, which visited several cities throughout Canada and the United States.