Good Morning Gorgeous is the fourteenth studio album by American singer Mary J. Blige, released on February 11, 2022, through 300 Entertainment and her Mary Jane Productions imprint.[1] Her first album in nearly five years, it marked her first release for 300 Entertainment and her first album that was not released by a subsidiary of Universal Music.[2]
Blige released the first two singles, "Good Morning Gorgeous", which peaked at number 83 on the Billboard Hot 100, and "Amazing" featuring DJ Khaled, on December 5, 2021.[6] On January 31, 2022, she released the third single, "Rent Money" featuring Dave East.[3] On June 30, she released the fourth single, "Come See About Me" featuring Fabolous.[7] On January 10, 2024, on the eve of her 53rd birthday, Blige released the video for the fifth single from the album, "Gone Forever", featuring Remy Ma and DJ Khaled.[8]
Good Morning Gorgeous was met with generally favorable reviews from music critic. On review aggregator Metacritic, the album received a score of 75 out of 100 based on 7 reviews.[9]
Leah Greenblatt, reviewing the album for Entertainment Weekly, points out that "with her 15th studio album, the queen of hip-hop/soul dives into life as a single woman" because "if 2017's Strength of a Woman was her record about divorce rovisonos, [...] Gorgeous is the sound of an artist slowly re-emerging." Greenblatt writes that "as a songwriter, Blige's gift has never been so much specificity as sincerity, and the songs on Gorgeous deal with topics so familiar that they have worn out like the grooves on a vinyl record: hope, pain, learning to love and let go; [...] in the freedom that comes from no longer having privileged consideration in the pop market."[14]
Clash's Robin Murray calls the singer "a phenomenon" as "her graceful touch defies time and trends, with her vivid approach pushing toward a more universal sense of connection." Murray, at the end of the review, writes that one hears "a record that exudes charm and grace."[13] Mosi Reeves of Rolling Stone writes that "almost all of Blige's 15 albums have a conceptual structure; [...] but Good Morning Gorgeous seems looser than others" in which "the artist carefully avoids the deep melancholy of her past. The music is mostly hopeful and lively, even when the sentiments belie that."[16]
Less enthusiastic Pitchfork's Eric Torres review, who although finds that the album "a celebratory record that mixes uplifting, soulful affirmations with exercises in contemporary rap and R&B", it has collaboration which "come across as scattered, an unfortunate side effect that hinders the album’s invigorating self-empowerment; [...] The album's assorted collaborations range from solid to baffling".[15]
In the United States, Good Morning Gorgeous debuted at number 14 on the US Billboard 200 chart, earning 25,000 album-equivalent units in its first week.[19] This became Mary's first album to miss the top-ten on the chart. It also entered at number nine on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, becoming Blige's 19th top-ten entry and surpassing Mariah Carey for the second most top-ten titles on the chart.[20] On January 4, 2024, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales and album-equivalent units of over 500,000 units in the United States.[21]
