As Mary J. Blige and the world celebrate her 51st birthday on Tuesday (Jan. 11), she decided to selflessly take a moment to celebrate Black women and her latest single all at once.
Mary is known for singing through her pain and “Good Morning Gorgeous” is no exception. On the lead single from her forthcoming album of the same name, the New York songbird reflects on feeling empty and lonely. Then, she remembers the greatest love—love of self.
In the official compilation from TikTok (above), a plethora of Black women—ranging in skin complexion, weight, age, and style—show up to love on themselves as Mary sings, “I’m just tryna to move along / Sometimes I do and then I don’t / You tell me what I’m doing wrong / Tell myself that it ain’t healthy / Second guessing, it don’t help me […] / Sometimes you gotta look in the mirror and say, ‘Good morning gorgeous’ / No one else can make me feel this way.”
Some of the women rock fresh faces and silk bonnets, while others are fully dressed from head to toe with a complete glam look. They all sing along as they get ready for their day, highlight their skincare regimen, and affirm themselves in the mirror and others through mantras. One woman winks at herself in the clip captioned, “despite the day, hour, what u think or may be feeling, u have to motivate yourself. [Because] u are responsible for YOU!” Another woman even sings along through sign language.
Mary herself is nowhere to be found in the TikTok video, but you can see her celebrate her own self-love journey in the “Good Morning Gorgeous” music video below.