

A song called "Anything You Want" featuring Busta Rhymes and Gyptian leaked on line in August 2010. First reports claimed the album would be titled LovHer and was due for release in the first quarter of 2011, thought Blige later revealed during her Music Saved My Life Tour, that she was in no rush to release the album and she had not given it a title yet. League, Johnta Austin, Eric Hudson, Q-Tip, Sean Garrett, DJ Premier, Gorilla Tek, Don Pooh, Ne-Yo, and Drumma Boy. By August 2010, Blige had already begun work on her tenth studio album with Swizz Beatz, Kanye West, The Underdogs, Jerry Wonda, Arden Altino, Lil Ronnie, Jay-Z, Timbaland, Salaam Remi, Maxwell, Alicia Keys, Raphael Saadiq, Ester Dean, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. It became her ninth consecutive studio album to have debuted at the top of the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and won Blige the award for Outstanding Female Artist and Outstanding Album at the 41st NAACP Image Awards. In December 2009, Blige's ninth studio album, Stronger with Each Tear, was released, debuting at number two on the Billboard 200 and at number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, selling 332,000 units in its first week of release. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and became the best-selling R&B album of 2012. The album debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200 chart with first week sales of 156,000 copies.

Upon its release, My Life II received generally positive reviews from music critics. Production for the album took place during 2010 to 2011 at several recording studios in New York City and Los Angeles and was handled by Danja, Eric Hudson, Rodney Jerkins, Jim Jonsin, Rico Love, Harmony Samuels, StarGate, Tricky Stewart, The Underdogs, and Jerry Wonda. Titled as the sequel and serving as a thematical extension to her 1994 breakthrough album My Life, which portrayed a dark period in Blige's personal life, it talks about the themes of struggle, heartbreak, and strength while reflecting the growth and evolution she had experienced since the release of its predecessor. Blige, released on November 21, 2011, by Geffen Records and Matriarch Records. The Journey Continues (Act 1) is the tenth studio album by American singer and songwriter Mary J.
