Billboard: What was your mind-set when you began working on "Stronger?"
Mary J. Blige: I always say that whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger. I honestly believe that. And I'm the type of celebrity who can't not talk about the trials I've been through. No matter how successful you become, you always end up finding out there's something in you that needs to be purged. You hit a valley, another trial. It hurts so bad that you have to go through something like this again.
But people are people, and you will have to go through things as long as you live on planet Earth. When you go through these situations, it's what you learn about yourself that gets you out of them as well as the responsibility you take about that particular lesson. And once you come out of that, you're definitely a stronger individual than you were before. The strength in that is learning how to forgive and move on. That's a serious lesson. As is learning how to love yourself even more to another level, where you don't expect or need anybody to make you feel good about yourself. That's why I named the album "Stronger." That's what I had to learn from this trial I was in, another self-love trial.
Billboard: Was there anything in particular that set this trial in motion?
Blige: I don't want to go into any details about that. But I do have days when I'll run around like my life is over. And what makes me happy is when I can come out of those situations feeling like I've learned something.
Read the full interview here:
Billboard - Singer Blige feels "Stronger" with each challenge
