ET also spoke with the singer about her new role on 'Power Book II: Ghost.'
Mary J. Blige is gearing up to put on one of the biggest shows of the year, and she's ready to give her fans what they want! She just has to figure out the specifics first.
The 50-year-old singer chatted with ET's Lauren Zima about being the sole female artist headlining the Feb. 13, 2022 Super Bowl halftime show alongside Dr. Dre, Eminem, Snoop Dogg and Kendrick Lamar, and how she's planning on giving her best "Mary J. Blige performance."
"That's a big stage, that's the whole world really watching," she added, saying that rehearsals won't start until January, and she wants to be herself onstage. "Just be beautiful and strong and courageous, and give the world what they need with that little bit of time I have."
That won't be hard for the iconic songstress! But before fans get excited about the Super Bowl, Blige has another project for them to feast their eyes on. The singer returns to reign as drug queenpin Monet Tejada in the second season of 50 Cent's Power Book II: Ghost. The nine-time GRAMMY Award winner shared that she was able to step into the role of the head of the drug organization thanks to the "Monets" she knew growing up.
"What drew me to her is just all the women I know that are Monets. I witnessed them growing up in the inner cities and in the projects because the queenpins were sheros, and still, some of them are my friends to this day," she explained. "I hung out with them when I was younger. They're more than just queenpins, they're all single parents, they had children they had to provide for, so they had to think on the fly."
"And I look at my mother as kind of, you know, a Monet in that aspect as well, because she was a single parent raising her two children in a rough neighborhood, trying to figure it out by any means necessary," she added. "She's gonna get what she needs for her children. So, that's what drew me to the role, just knowing who this woman is."
Although she couldn't share too much, Blige teased that fans have a lot to look forward to next season. "Monet is really looking for a legit and a safe way to live and protect her children," she said. "She's trying to figure a way out because she knows that if she stays in, it's death or jail, and that's not what she's building this empire for. She's building an empire so it can grow in a more legit way, like a safer way instead of the drug game."
Considering how quickly things can turn around on the series, it's safe to say that Monet's quest for stability won't be an easy one. But Blige is nothing but proud of the empire she's part of, singing nothing but praises for the creator and executive producers, 50 Cent and Courtney Kemp.
"It's amazing! I have to thank 50 and Courtney just for this opportunity to be a part of this whole universe," she said. "I remember sitting down to talk with him about the character and he was telling me about all this stuff that was coming. I knew the stuff was coming and it was a beautiful thing to be a part of this legacy that's he's building."
Power II: Ghost returns for season 2 on Nov. 21 on Starz.
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