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Growing Pains - Mary J. Blige
Growing Pains Image
Metascore
77 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 17 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.8 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 18 Ratings

Your Score
10 out of 10
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  • Summary: The eighth album for the R&B singer was produced with help from The-Dream, Ne-Yo, Stargate, Dre & Vidal, and Timbaland.

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 17
  3. Negative: 0 out of 17
  1. MSN Consumer Guide (Robert Christgau)
    91
    Busta Rhymes and Ludacris get her back to where she once belonged for the duration of their openers. After that, it's an expensive, honorable, credible sampler of the hottest current R&B brands.
  2. The A.V. Club
    83
    Growing Pains sprints out of the gate with a potent double-shot of empowerment anthems.
  3. Blender
    60
    Much of the CD feels as though it could have been made anytime in the last 15 years.

See all 17 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. Fez
    10
    This is the best, let Alicia have a rest with her album with 4 hits, this CD has all the hits to rptate the radio in 2008.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. [Anonymous]
    10
    This album is great from start to finish. I can't take it out of the cd player. the more I listen to it the more I actually listen to the words. A lot of the songs i can relate too.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. PACMusic
    4
    Growing Pains…More like boring pains. This album is one of the worst of the year, in my opinion. It’s promises so much and produces so little. Mary has spent her life being quite contrary and I think that this has finally come back to bite her in her bottom. “Yes, I’m still gonna do things. And that’s what Growing Pains is about, it’s about finally not whining about the pain” Well, good art comes from the tension in a situation. I can imagine Romeo and Juliet if Shakey had this view. “Should we kill ourselves?” “Nah, let’s just not whine about it” Did a test to see how much tension was actually in this album, by putting an elastic band around my mp3 player while I was playing these tunes and it just fell off. Mary J Bilge indeed. Listen to this album: While sitting in a hammock… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes

See all 11 User Reviews

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