Janet Jackson Was One Of My Biggest Inspirations Growing Up – Mary J. Blige

Popular singer, Mary J. Blige has been honored with the coveted Billboard Icon Award during Sunday’s 2022 Billboard Music Awards ceremony in Las Vegas.

She was recently presented with the award by 2018 winner and singer, Janet Jackson, and the world has been reacting.

According to her, Janet Jackson was one of her biggest inspirations growing up, and she now knows that becoming a legend takes a lot of time, hard work, surviving trial and error to achieve greatness.

Mary added that she sees an icon to be someone who overcomes obstacles to accomplish the unthinkable and be widely admired for having influence over a multitude of people.

Her words, “What an icon means to me is overcoming obstacles to accomplish the unthinkable and be widely admired for having influence over a multitude of people, and that is what I’ve always represented.”

“I was ghetto fabulous, and I still am,” adding: “So ghetto, so fabulous, and people were threatened by that.”

“The message in my music has always been that we are not alone in our struggles. And I’m not alone now.”

“For so long, I was searching for a real love, but I finally found my real love. And that real love is me.”