Mary J. Blige is a music legend, and Billboard knows it!
At the 2022 Billboard Music Awards, the singer will join the list of only eleven artists that have been honored with the ICON Award.
The ICON Award recognizes artists who have "achieved excellence on the Billboard Charts and have made a lasting mark on the music industry." With ten Billboard Music Awards already under her belt, Blige has done just that.
In a statement to Billboard, reflecting on how far her career has taken her. She said,
"My career has been such an incredible and unexpected journey that has included many turns into avenues I never could have imagined like acting, producing, launching businesses and now even my own music festival. Through it all, I always one way or another gravitated back to my first love, music."
Blige expressed how "humbled" she was to be honored, continuing,
"To be recognized in this way at this moment, with the Icon Award at the Billboard Music Awards, is an incredible honor and one that I am truly humbled by.”
BBMA finalists are determined by performance on the Billboard Charts. Since its conception in 2011, the others to receive the ICON award have been Neil Diamond, Stevie Wonder, Prince, Jennifer Lopez, Celine Dion, Cher, Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Garth Brooks and, most recently, Pink.
The Billboard Music Awards air Sunday, May 15 at 8p.m. EST on NBC, and will be streamed live on Peacock. More information about the ceremony's additional performers, host, and presenters will be announced in the coming weeks.
