Mary J. Blige’s ‘Breathing’ Lands Top 10 Debut on Billboard’s R&B Digital Song Sales Chart

Mary J. Blige’s new single “Breathing,” featuring Fabolous, is proving to be off to a strong start on the Billboard charts. 

The S.Dot-produced track bows at No. 6 on the R&B Digital Song Sales chart, which is led by Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar’s “Freedom.” 

“Breathing” is Blige’s ninth top 10 hit on the R&B Digital Song Sales chart. Her last top 10 visit was with “Still Believe In Love” featuring Vado, which peaked at No. 8 in November 2023. 

In 2022, Blige scored her first No. 1  with her 2001 hit “Family Affair,” which spent four weeks atop the chart. The Dr. Dre-produced bop saw a sales and streaming boost following Blige’s Emmy-winning performance at the Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show. 

Here is a breakdown of Mary J. Blige’s top 10s on the R&B Digital Song Sales chart:

• “Family Affair,” No. 1 for four weeks (2022)
• “Work That,” No. 2 peak (2020)
• “Good Morning Gorgeous,” No. 2 peak (2022)
• “No More Drama,” No. 3 peak (2022)
• “Real Love,” No. 5 peak (2022)
• “Breathing” featuring Fabolous, No. 6 peak so far (2024)
• “Thick of It,” No. 7 peak (2016)
• “Thriving” with Nas, No. 8 peak (2019)
• “Still Believe in Love” featuring Vado, No. 8 peak (2023)

“Breathing” is Fabolous’ second top 10 hit since Omarion’s “Know You Better,” also featuring Pusha T, which was released in 2013.

As we reported earlier, the whimsical track debuted at No. 17 on the Adult R&B Airplay chart this week, tallying Blige’s 62nd entry. 

Her previous single “Still Believe in Love” spent eight weeks at No. 1 on the aforementioned chart. 

Circling back to “Breathing,” it’s said to be the lead single from Blige’s upcoming 15th album, coming this fall. 

Speaking on “Breathing,” Blige explained, “The story behind the track is what I’m doing finally, which is living, breathing, enjoying my life and celebrating the happiness and freedom I have that life brings. I finally get to exhale and inhale and then exhale and enjoy life, enjoy love.”

Blige’s upcoming album will follow 2022’s Good Morning Gorgeous.

Speaking on the untitled project, Blige explained, “The overall theme is enjoying life and understanding that, again, life is what inspires me, whether I take the good with the bad.”

She added, “So, the album is going to be fun in that perspective. There’ll be things that are real and serious, but you’ll be able to dance to it or sing to it. There’s a bunch of different things — ballads, world music. There’s some good sh*t on here.”

Blige will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on Oct. 19. The ceremony will be held at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio.

Check out Mary J. Blige’s “Breathing” featuing Fabolous below.