Mary J. Blige has released two songs in advance of her upcoming album The London Sessions, due Dec. 3. She performed both on Later…With Jools Holland supported by a lean, efficient four-piece band.
“Right Now” is built around a tricky beat, and the glitchy, uptempo percussion common in U.K. garage music. Of Blige’s new tracks, this one shows the clearest influence of the duo Disclosure, who are co-producing The London Sessions. Live, Blige’s band injected a heavy dose of funk into the track. Toward the end of her performance, the singer loosened up and started stalking the stage, encouraging the audience to clap along.
Mary J. Blige – Therapy (Later With Jools… by BhamUrbanNewsUK
Blige also performed “Therapy,” which is co-written by Sam Smith. An emotionally honest number that mixes gospel’s fervor with doo-wop’s harmonies, it’s a slower song, but tempo didn’t make a difference — by the end of the song, the audience was clapping along again.