Share My World
Studio album by
Mary J. Blige
ReleasedApril 22, 1997 (1997-04-22)
Recorded1996–97
StudioThe Hit Factory
(New York City)
Battery Studios
Chicago Trax
The Chicago Recording Company
(Chicago, Illinois)
Flyte Tyme Studios
(Edina, Minnesota)
The Record Plant
(Los Angeles, California)
GenreR&B[1]
Length65:15
Label
Producer
Mary J. Blige chronology
My Life
(1994) 		Share My World
(1997) 		The Tour
(1998)
Singles from Share My World
  1. "Love Is All We Need"
    Released: March 18, 1997
  2. "I Can Love You"
    Released: May 6, 1997
  3. "Everything"
    Released: August 4, 1997
  4. "Missing You"
    Released: October 2, 1997
  5. "Seven Days"
    Released: March 20, 1998

Share My World is the third studio album by American R&B singer Mary J. Blige, released by MCA on April 22, 1997. The album became Blige's first to open at number one on the US Billboard 200 album chart. Moreover, it is her first album where she serves as an executive producer, alongside Steve Stoute, who also shared executive producer credits on the album.

Guest appearances are made by hip hop and R&B stars such as Lil' Kim, Nas, The LOX, George Benson, Roy Ayers and R. Kelly. The album was released to generally positive reviews from most music critics, and earned Blige numerous accolades and nominations, including a Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Album in 1998. The album became her first to chart in the top ten internationally, including Canada, Sweden and the UK, while it entered the top forty in countries such as New Zealand, Germany and France.

It is certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for excess of three million copies shipped in the US.[2]

Background

Share My World marked several personal and professional changes in Blige’s life and career. Following the departure of label head Andre Harrell the year before, Blige defected from Uptown Records in favor of its MCA parent. Meanwhile, she severed professional ties with long-time producer, manager and mentor Sean "Puffy" Combs shortly before the production of Share My World began. His absence was filled with a bevy of high-profile producers, such as: Rodney Jerkins, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Babyface, Bryce Wilson and R. Kelly. The end result produced an album that was less entrenched in the hip hop soul of her first two albums, and replaced with a style that was more aligned with R&B.

During the making and run of her second album My Life (1994), Blige had reportedly experienced clinical depression, while also battling drug and alcohol addiction, and enduring an often turbulent relationship with K-Ci Hailey — all of which heavily influenced the dark mood of that album.[3][4] In late 1996, however, Blige reportedly made a concerted effort to clean up her life and subsequently found herself in more positive frame of mind while recording Share My World, which influenced the albums noticeably lighter mood.

Release and reception

Commercial performance

For the Billboard issue dated May 10, 1997, Share My World debuted at number one on both the US Billboard 200 and R&B Albums chart with sales of 240,000 copies, marking Blige's first official number-one album on the Billboard 200 chart.[5] The album had ended the four-week stint of Life After Death by The Notorious B.I.G., which was released posthumously five weeks earlier.

In addition to debuting number one in the US, the album also debuted in the top ten in countries such as Canada, Sweden and the UK. The album also reached the top forty in France, Germany and New Zealand.

Share My World was certified triple Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for shipments of three million copies in the US. As of December 2009, the album has since sold 2.8 million copies domestically.[6]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
Chicago Tribune[8]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[9]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[10]
Music Week[11]
Rolling Stone[12]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[13]
Spin8/10[14]
USA Today[15]
The Village VoiceA−[16]

Alex Henderson of AllMusic wrote in his review, "Her strongest and most confident effort up to that point, Share had much more character, personality, and honesty than most of the assembly line fare dominating urban radio in 1997. For all their slickness, emotive cuts like "Get to Know You Better," "Love Is All We Need," and "Keep Your Head" left no doubt that Blige was indeed a singer of depth and substance. Although high tech, the production of everyone from R. Kelly (with whom she duets on the inviting "It's On") and Babyface to Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis doesn't come across as forced or robotic, but, in fact, is impressively organic."[17] Ernest Hardy of Rolling Stone commended Blige's transition from sound to singing, writing that "On Share My World even Blige's harshest critics will have to concede that she's moved beyond sound to real singing. Listen to "Seven Days," "Missing You" and the already-classic "Not Gon' Cry" (also on the Waiting to Exhale soundtrack), and you hear Blige's signature ache married to newfound technique. There's shading, depth and control in her vocals now."[18] Steve Jones of USA Today said the songs "run the usual gamut of love themes, but it's Blige's powerful, emotional deliveries and street sensibility that separate her from the competition."[15] Village Voice critic Robert Christgau said "Blige is a diva for her own time. As befits her hip hop ethos, she's never soft if often vulnerable, and as befits her hip hop aesthetic, she plays her natural vocal cadences for melodic signature and sometimes hook. She redefines the New York accent for the '90s. And she's taken two straight follow-ups to the next level."[16]

Jonathan Bernstein from Entertainment Weekly was more critical, finding Share My World "uneven" and the songwriting "meandering and half finished."[19] Tom Moon later wrote in The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004) that the record displayed "Blige's hit-song savvy but fewer memorable performances" than previous albums.[13]

Awards and nominations

Ceremony Category Result
25th Annual American Music Awards Favorite Soul/R&B Album Won
25th Annual American Music Awards Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist Nominated
40th Grammy Awards Best R&B Album Nominated
Soul Train Music Awards Best R&B/Soul Album - Female Nominated
Soul Train Music Awards Best R&B/Soul Single - Female (for "Everything") Nominated
Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards Best R&B/Soul Album Won
NAACP Image Awards Outstanding Female Artist Nominated

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Intro"Poke & Tone, Rich NicePoke & Tone, Rich Nice1:24
2."I Can Love You" (featuring Lil' Kim)Blige, Kimberly Jones, Carlos Broady, Nashiem MyrickRodney Jerkins4:46
3."Love Is All We Need" (featuring Nas)Blige, James Harris III, Terry Lewis, Nasir Jones, Rick JamesJimmy Jam & Terry Lewis4:14
4."Round and Round"Blige, Poke, DJ Premier, Shawn CarterPoke & Tone, George “Golden Fingers” Pearson (co)4:24
5."Share My World (Interlude)"Poke & Tone, Rich NicePoke & Tone, Rich Nice0:30
6."Share My World"Blige, R. JerkinsRodney Jerkins5:07
7."Seven Days"Malik PendletonMalik Pendleton5:09
8."It's On" (featuring R. Kelly)R. KellyR. Kelly4:42
9."Thank You Lord (Interlude)"Kelly Price, R. JerkinsRodney Jerkins0:44
10."Missing You"BabyfaceBabyface4:16
11."Everything"J. Harris III, T. Lewis, Hachidai Nakamura, Rokusuke Ei, James Brown, Linda D. Creed, Thomas R. Bell, John Starks, Fred WesleyJimmy Jam & Terry Lewis4:59
12."Keep Your Head"Blige, LaTonya Blige-DaCostaPoke & Tone, George "Golden Fingers" Pearson3:48
13."Can't Get You Off My Mind" (featuring The LOX)Blige, R. Jerkins, Jason Phillips, Sean Jacobs, David StylesRodney Jerkins4:39
14."Get to Know You Better"Bryce Wilson, Stevie Wonder, Henry Cosby, Sylvia MoyBryce Wilson4:32
15."Searching" (featuring Roy Ayers)Blige, LaTonya Blige-DaCosta, Xenos DaCosta, R. Jerkins, Fred Jerkins, Roy AyersRodney Jerkins, Fred Jerkins5:05
16."Our Love"Chuck Jackson, Marvin YancyJames Mtume5:21
17."Not Gon' Cry"BabyfaceBabyface4:54
United Kingdom and Japan bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
18."(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman"Gerry Goffin, Carole King, Jerry WexlerJames Mtume2:57

Sample credits

Personnel

Musicians

Production

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[39] Platinum 100,000^
Japan (RIAJ)[40] Gold 100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[41] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[42] 3× Platinum 3,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

References

  1. ^ Jenkins, Craig (July 10, 2014). "11. Mary J Blige, Share My World - The 50 Best R&B albums of the '90s". Complex. Retrieved October 5, 2017.
  2. ^ "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved 2020-02-16.
  3. ^ Murrell, Morgan (24 June 2021). "Mary J. Blige On Her "My Life" Album: "I Was Depressed, Ready To Die"". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
  4. ^ "A more obliging Blige". CNN. October 12, 1999. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
  5. ^ "Mary J. Blige's Share My World Tops Album Chart". MTV. Viacom International Inc. May 1, 1997. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  6. ^ Mitchell, Gail (December 12, 2009). "Strength of Character". Billboard. Vol. 121, no. 49. p. 19. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved July 26, 2023 – via Google Books.
  7. ^ AllMusic review
  8. ^ Kot, Greg (April 25, 1997). "Share My World (MCA)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
  9. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Mary J. Blige". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0857125958.
  10. ^ "Share My World". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2022-08-14.
  11. ^ "New Releases: Albums" (PDF). Music Week. April 5, 1997. p. 28. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
  12. ^ Hardy, Ernest (April 25, 1997). "Mary J. Blige: Share My World : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on November 14, 2007. Retrieved August 20, 2012.
  13. ^ a b Moon, Tom (2004). "Mary J. Blige". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Simon and Schuster. pp. 83–4. ISBN 0743201698.
  14. ^ Robson, Britt (June 1997). "Records". Spin. p. 118. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
  15. ^ a b USA Today review
  16. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (November 4, 1997). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
  17. ^ "Share My World - Mary J. Blige | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  18. ^ "Mary J. Blige: Share My World : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. November 14, 2007. Archived from the original on November 14, 2007. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  19. ^ "Share My World". EW.com. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
  20. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 33.
  21. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 3202". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
  22. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Mary J Blige – Share My World" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
  23. ^ "Lescharts.com – Mary J Blige – Share My World". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
  24. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Mary J Blige – Share My World" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
  25. ^ "シェア・マイ・ワールド" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on February 3, 2023. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  26. ^ "Charts.nz – Mary J Blige – Share My World". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
  27. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  28. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Mary J Blige – Share My World". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
  29. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Mary J. Blige – Share My World". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
  30. ^ "Mary J. Blige | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
  31. ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
  32. ^ "Mary J. Blige Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
  33. ^ "Mary J. Blige Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
  34. ^ "Albums: Top 100 of 1997". Jam!. Archived from the original on March 20, 2001. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  35. ^ "RnB Albums: Top 25 of 1997". Jam!. Archived from the original on March 6, 2002. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
  36. ^ "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 1997". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  37. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1997". Billboard. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  38. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1997". Billboard. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  39. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Mary J. Blige – Share My World". Music Canada.
  40. ^ "Japanese album certifications – Mary J. Blige – Share My World" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan.
  41. ^ "British album certifications – Mary J. Blige – Share My World". British Phonographic Industry.
  42. ^ "American album certifications – Mary J. Blige – Share My World". Recording Industry Association of America.

External links

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