ET chats with the singer ahead of the premiere of her second song-turned-Lifetime film, 'Strength of a Woman.'
Mary J. Blige has made her mark by baring her soul and taking her fans along her journey to happiness, and with her latest project, she's taking that to a whole new level. Thirty-one years after winning over the world with her hit single, "Real Love," the 52-year-old songstress has turned her first top-10 hit into a Lifetime original movie two-parter!
Attributing her inspiration to the timing of it all, Blige tells ET that she was influenced by the message behind "Real Love" that has stayed true all these years.
"That's been the strongest song in my journey. That's what I've been searching for all my life, for real love and people. But then I've finally been working on myself and found it in myself," she shares. The singer has always been candid about her struggles with drug and alcohol addiction and has been sober for several years. "And now I'm able to see that love matters and that relationship matters. Real love is important, and the strength of a woman is important; real love for myself has given me strength. So those are the inspirations."
According to the official description, Real Love follows 18-year-old Kendra (Ajiona Alexus) as she sets off on her own for the first time at an HBCU in North Carolina. Attending the university on a scholarship, Kendra is determined to focus on school while balancing her work-study duties. But things go awry when she and her photo class partner, Ben (Da'Vinchi), develop a relationship beyond the lesson plan.
Despite disapproving parents, financial hardship, and even an unexpected pregnancy, Kendra and Ben find themselves falling hard for each other and ultimately learning the meaning of "Real Love."
But Kendra realizes that in order to pursue her dreams, she must leave Ben behind. Their story continues in Strength of a Woman, part 2 of the film series inspired by Blige's 12th studio album of the same name.
The story jumps ahead more than 15 years, reintroducing Kendra as a successful photographer who finds herself in a failing marriage and must reckon with the decisions she made for the life she thought she wanted. When Ben unexpectedly comes back into her life, she is forced to a crisis point and must dig deep to find the strength to take control of her life and accept the love Ben may be offering again.
Princess Davis, Austin Anozie, Millan Tesfazgi, Shiraine Haas, Garfield Wilson and Hamza Fouad star in the films alongside Alexus and Da'Vinchi.
Camrus Johnson directs Real Love from a script written by Sonja Warfield and Rachel Ingram, and Shari Lynette Carpenter directs Strength of a Woman from a script written by Ingram.
Blige -- who serves as an executive producer on both original films under her production banner, Blue Butterfly, with Ashaunna K. Ayars and Q. Nicole Jackson as co-producers -- reveals that after seeing Alexus and Da'Vinchi in their respective roles on BMF, she had to get them in the films.
"When I saw them both in BMF, I was just blown. I mean, I was a BMF fan and when I saw them I was just blown away at how strong and believable and passionate they are about the craft," she gushes about her leading stars. "So, I was like, 'I want them to be in 100 percent,' because [I know] they are going to be [amazing]."
Portraying lovers was a decidedly new experience for the co-stars, whose BMF characters weren't nearly as close to one another as their Real Love roles.
Alexus notes that their previous experience was helpful in aiding them chemistry-wise. "It definitely helped, especially with us filming two films back to back so quickly in a short period of time," she explains. "It was good that we already had that chemistry going on and that friendship before. But I think the hard part was that we have a friendship, and we had to turn that into a love thing... So, on our first day on set, when we had to kiss... we just couldn't stop laughing. I was like, 'OK, promise we're gonna get it together.'"
But the duo knows when to draw the line, Alexus adds. "I think we both have this sense of wanting to be great and, you know, wanting it to just come off and do what it needs to be, so it showed in the film."
Da'Vinchi shares that they wanted to do right by Blige's legacy and her fans, saying, "As you know, Mary has a crazy fanbase and I know when they tap in it, [if] I'm not doing my thing and I'm not being elite, they're gonna troll me online! So I definitely felt like [I had to] lock into the character and play it the best that I can."
"But I definitely felt so good and at peace with it. It was great that I had a relationship with Mary outside of this project, so it allowed me to really understand her spirit and more going into it, and know her authenticity, her realness," he adds, of his friendship with the singer.
Reflecting on how different her life was when she released "Real Love," Blige muses on how getting to her current success is a momentous accomplishment.
"I just remember having to sing for my life. I remember how hard it was, I was straight out of projects and I already had two songs [out, so] I was kind of hood famous, but I was still living in the projects," she recalls. "And then, when "Real Love" exploded, I was still in a place where I couldn't receive my success. I was scared of success, and I hated myself. It was a lot [of] bad s**t going on and so, I didn't know."
In that mindset, she says she was searching for real love "in someone else and always a relationship."
"Always a man, always someone that helped me prop myself up and feel better about myself. So, it was a real heavy self-hatred," she adds. "That's what I remember, and [that's] why this is such a glorious, amazing, rejoicing moment. Because the head place I'm in is beyond where I was. And I found that real love and real love is myself."
Blige is happily in a place where she can say she's proud of her hard work throughout the years. "The good, the bad, the ugly mistakes I've made, the trying stuff -- every single thing. I'm proud of it because if I didn't have those things, I wouldn't be this person. I wouldn't have this strength," she says. "I still got a lot to go, a lot to learn. I wouldn't be so comfortable in my skin as I am right now if I wasn't proud of everything that happened."
Strength of a Woman premieres on Lifetime on June 17.
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