Last night Mary J. Blige, bonafide queen of R&B, held a star-studded fundraiser event for her non-profit organization FFAWN, Foundation For The Advancement Of Women Now.
The annual event opened up with Queen Latifah, a board member of FFAWN and later, co-founder Steve Stoute and ELLE magazine’s Editor-in-Chief Robbie Myers shared the stage with the inimitable Mary J. Blige. The trio acknowledged corporate sponsorships such as Gucci, Donna Karan’s Urban Zen and Belvedere, while various video clips depicted the struggles of young women and the importance of education. “Don’t give up on you!” Mary J. proclaimed, as she presented various video clips which depicted how much she personally struggled to get where she is now.
A few scholarship recipients gave their personal testimony with a shaky voice, thanking Mary J. Blige and FAAWN supporters and explaining how much of a difference the scholarship has made in their lives. But Mary was the one in complete gratitude, gracefully stating: “This is what I always wanted to do. Give back…We all have a story. Every performer on this stage tonight has a story.”
The first performance of the evening was by the lovely English songstress Corinne Bailey Rae, followed by a fiery performance by Jill Scott who sang the uplifting lyrics, “I am taking my freedom…I am living my life like it’s golden.”
Multi-talented Jennifer Hudson, who got the audience jumping up and down with a cover of “I Am Every Women,” while Christina Aguilera reminded us that beauty is skin deep with her emotional performance of “Beautiful.”
Mary explained that her very own inspiration came from Anita Baker. Together the duo sang “Rapture,” a song Mary believes helped her secure her first record deal. After a powerful rendition of “No More Drama,” she closed the event with the song “Just Fine” singing, “You see I wouldn’t change my life, my life’s just fine, fine, fine, fine, fine, fine…”
For more information on FFAWN and how you can get involved, please visit their website.
[pagebreak]
Mary J. Blige with ELLE magazine’s Editor-in-Chief Robbie Myers.
[pagebreak]
Mary J. Blige with Donna Karen.
[pagebreak]
Christina Aguillera.
[pagebreak]
Corinne Bailey Rae.
[pagebreak]
Jill Scott.
