Mary J. Blige given Icon Award at Billboard Music Awards 2022

Mary J. Blige took home the Icon Award at last night’s (15th May) Billboard Music Awards 2022 in Las Vegas.

The R&B megastar was presented with the award by last year’s winner of the same category, Janet Jackson, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. She is the seventh woman to receive the accolade, which honours the careers of artists who have made a sizeable impact on music and on the Billboard charts.

During her acceptance speech, Blige highlighted the hard work she has put into her career. “The way the world is now, I think people think icons are born that way,” she said. “They become a legend overnight. But that’s definitely not the case.” 

Blige also gave thanks to a raft of friends and family, including BBMAs host Diddy, Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine, before commenting, “The message of my music has always been we are not alone in our struggles. I finally found my real love, and that real love is me.” Back in February, she performed at the Super Bowl halftime show alongside Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, Dr. Dre and Eminem. Watch her acceptance speech in full below.

Elsewhere at this year’s awards, Olivia Rodrigo and Kanye West stole the show by scooping six awards each.

Mary J. Blige dropped her 14th studio album, ‘Good Morning Gorgeous’, earlier this year.