Mary J Blige is living her best life.
The legendary singer kicked off her My Life, My Story residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM this Friday. Her opening run continues through May 9, with a second leg of performances scheduled for July 10 through 18.
In an interview with Good Morning America, she says Las Vegas is exactly “where I’m supposed to be.”
“Is it like a full-circle moment for you after all these years in the industry to be here with a residency?” Robin Roberts asks Blige in the clip.
“It’s just time, you know?” Blige replies. “I’m where I’m supposed to be. And I’m doing what I’m supposed to do. I didn’t give up.”
“My fans have seen me go through so much… good, bad, the whole thing. But what they love most — the true fans — is that I’m not bitter, I’m better,” Blige added.
Bilge has overcome much in her life. In an interview with Self, Blige said that “her sobriety journey required her to confront her past in order to move forward. “
“I’ve seen visions of what I would look like if I kept doing drugs,” Blige said at the time. If I saw myself almost dying, or if I almost died, or almost O.D.’d, why would I do that again?”
Blige also shared how therapy became her saving grace. She shared that while working with a therapist provided her with valuable insights, she eventually ended the sessions out of fear that her private disclosures might be weaponized against her.
“As public as I am, I’m really private…. I’ll give you the juice and the truth, but not the stuff that’s going to kill me…. I grew up in a neighborhood where we couldn’t tell everything. It would kill us. So you ‘know, but you don’t [know]. You know?”