Posted on Thursday, March 3, 2016

WE TV’S Original Reality Series Mary Mary Returns For the Fifth Season TONIGHT! (See Exclusive Pics!)

Will You Be Watching?

Hello World,

Last season left audiences in limbo with Erica and Tina Campbell focusing on their individual careers…forcing Mary Mary into an indefinite hiatus. The sisters, now in direct competition with each other, are also feeling pressure to keep Mary Mary in the game…even if that means replacing a Mary! Tune in to season 5 of WE tv’s MARY MARY reality show, premiering Thursday, March 3 at 9PM ET/PT.

This season, Erica Campbell is at the top of her game having won a Grammy, Dove and Soul Train Award; meanwhile Tina’s solo career is on the rise. These, now, solo sisters have become accustomed to being at the top as part of the dynamic duo that is Mary Mary; however for the first time ever, they are competing for the same spot on the charts.

In the premiere episode, Warryn Campbell begins to feel pressure from Sony Records to deliver the next, long awaited, Mary Mary album. He immediately enlists Erica to help convince Tina that this is the right time to resurrect Mary Mary. Erica believes she has the perfect plan to get Tina on board; however, it may not be foolproof as Tina is solely focused on her solo effort and is finally seeing her hard work pay off. With success come countless responsibilities, leaving Tina feeling a bit overwhelmed. Her husband Teddy’s task of keeping her from breaking under the pressure proves to be more challenging than expected.

Former Mary Mary manager, Mitchell Solarek, has finally moved on from his tumultuous relationship with the Mary’s (If you missed my interview with Tina Campbell earlier this year, check out “Mitchell Solarek is NOT Tina Campbell’s Manager & More: My Interview With Mary Mary’s Tina Campbell”; and just when he thinks he made a clean break, his new client will only work with one producer…Warryn Campbell. With Warryn on the hook for a Mary Mary album will do everything he can to stay in Sony’s good graces; even if the result is making a deal with the devil and possibly recasting Mary Mary.

Can Mary Mary survive the pressures of Erica and Tina’s individual ventures and personal lives, or will their success be the demise of Mary Mary? Tune in to season 5 of WE tv’s MARY MARY, premiering TONIGHT at 9PM ET/PT.

WATCH A SNEAK PEEK OF SEASON 5!

Also, below are a few photos from the season five premiere of WE tv’s “Mary Mary,” at New Life Church in Decatur, GA.

Tina Campbell

Erica Campbell

Mary Mary

Also, Erica and Tina (Mary Mary) teased a snippet of new music titled, “Say A Prayer.”

Will you be watching tonight?

Any thoughts?

Posted on Friday, May 8, 2015

Tongues, Tears & Tina: Mary Mary Season 4 Finale Recap…

Hello World,

It’s time for your weekly recap of the Mary Mary reality show, but I’m sad to say that as of tonight, this will be my last recap as this episode was the FINALE of Season 4…And what a finale it was y’all…Last week was all about Erica and her 1,2,3, 4 Dove Award nominations (see last week’s recap for the explanation of 1,2,3,4 instead of four or 4) and ended with Tina basically ignoring all of Erica’s accolades and asking her sister to sing background on HER solo project…

Erica’s Awards…

Well, if 1,2,3,4 Dove Award nominations wasn’t enough (she won one of the 1,2,3,4), this week’s episode begins with Erica finding out she is also up for a two Grammy Awards!!! I’ve got to admit that securing 1,2,3,4 Dove Award nominations and two Grammy Award nominations for a debut album is awesome!!! But before we find out if she won anything, we discover that Tina has to take care of some business…

Snitching On Mitch…

Now that Tina’s sisters have snitched on Mitch about his shenanigans at Tina’s wedding, she confronts Mitch during a lunch meeting at a restaurant…Mitch doesn’t lie about nor downplay his actions…”It was not one of my prouder moments,” he explains. He admits that he “spun around and lost it like a crazy man.” Tina shares that she, too, used to be controlled by her emotions, but she finally learned that doing the same things and expecting different results is the ultimate in crazy…Those are some of the wisest words ever said…Please believe them…We don’t get to see the end of the conversation so there is no telling what else transpired…Will Mitch manage Tina’s solo career? From the snippet we saw from the lunch meeting, I could not make any conclusions…

Grammy Awards…

At first Erica tries to be just happy that she was even nominated but a short while later, she starts begging Jesus again to win an award…And she does! She wins Best Gospel Album for her album “Help.” “To have your music acknowledged this way is priceless,” Erica says…

One-Woman Show…

Teddy and Tina discuss what Tina is going to do next in her solo career. Tina explains her vision to her husband….”I don’t want to do a regular concert. I don’t want it to be all about music or storytelling.” She proposes an “Evening With Tina Campbell” to be held at their church In His Presence Church (pretty name) in Woodland Hills, California. “It will be the most ‘truest,’ honest version of me the world is going to get.”

But as we found out in last’s week episode’s Tina’s vision for her one-woman show includes her sister’s background vocals. So Tina goes over to sister’s house to convince her sister to sing for the show…When she shows up at Erica’s house, she finds Erica in the kitchen shining her Grammy Award…Tina shares her joy, at least initially. When she found out that her sister won a Grammy, Tina says she “screamed for five minutes straight.” After she congratulates her sister again, Tina tells her sister about her one-woman show idea which will incorporate her music as well as excerpts of her book.

However, Erica, especially now that she is a Dove Award and Grammy Award -winning solo artist, says that her schedule is full and doesn’t know if she can fit in her sister’s show. She concludes by saying that she will do the best she can to make time to be her sister’s background singer…Tina may be a less fiery version of her former self, but she aine trying to keep her feelings to herself. ” Why don’t you stop the spit-shining and come sing?” Tina says to Erica.

Meanwhile at My Block…

So Warryn is feeling pretty good about his award-winning wife until he gets a call from Sony….He has been summoned to meet at its location but the reason for the meeting is not revealed…He concludes that it can’t be good. “Why does this feel like I’m going to principal’s office?” Warryn says…

However, in the next scene, we see that some potentially bad news is tempered by some good news…He calls his wife to tell her what’s going on…He briefly tells her about the Sony call, but then he shares the good news…Erica has been asked to perform at Lakewood Church….”They want you for the whole weekend,” Warryn says…It is the SAME DAY as Tina’s one-woman show…Sister or not, she decides this is too good of an opportunity to let slip by…

In the next scene Erica is at My Block studios with her husband…I’m no fashionista by anyone’s definition, but the first thing I notice is an old school Gucci purse…The one with black “G”s and the red stripe down the middle…Also, Erica is wearing black cat-eye framed glasses and has a top knot…The whole look is fabulous…While she is at the studio, she won’t be there for long as she prepares to leave to fly to Texas…Tina and more of the Atkins’ sisters are expected to arrive at the studio shortly, but Erica asks her husband to explain what had happened was…

All My Sisters Except Me…

But before she gets away without having to explain to Tina face to face, she runs into her sisters in the parking lot…Erica has to explain about her performance at Lakewood and the fact that she is getting ready to fly out of town…Tina tries to convince her sister to stay…”I aine asking you to cancel. I’m asking you to delay.” But when Erica is not convinced to stay or delay, Tina raises her hand in the air and states, “Daddy, this is the kind of child you raised.” Deep. Now, that’s a guilt trip to from Heaven to hell… “Me and the rest of my sisters gon get the job done,” Tina concludes. Erica is a little upset too. “I’ve got 172 sisters and ain’t none of them can be on my side?”

Showdown at Sony…

The student aka Warryn arrives at the Principal’s Office aka Sony…And just as Warryn thought, it’s not good. The last Mary Mary album came out in 2012 and Sony wants another one…yesterday…Warryn tries to explain how the sisters are pursing solo projects, but Sony is not having it…In fact, he is told that if there is no Mary Mary album, then Tina can forget about a solo album….”I spent weeks breaking them up and now I’ve got to get them back together again,” Warryn says….

From Test to Testimony…

It’s the day of Tina’s one-woman show “An Evening With Tina Campbell,” and Tina is coughing in spasms it seems…”I’m losing my voice of the worst possible time,” Tina shares…She prays…”God, you’ve got to heal me tonight because I need my voice tonight.” But it’s not just Tina’s voice that is wavering…Her faith is wavering…She feels emotionally drained…She doesn’t want to be a hypocrite…She is unsure about her songs because they are a departure from her Mary Mary music…She alternates between crying and praying…

She finally begins speaking in tongues…Even though she feels she may look weird, she explains, “When you are struggling in your faith, you pray in your Heavenly language.” Teddy also tries to comfort his wife…”God responds to faith,” he declares. “Look what you birthed out of being in pain.” As all of this was happening, I thought of two things…Maybe God was allowing Tina to go through all of those emotions so she could sing out of a place of total reliance on God and that was what she was supposed to be ministering about in the first place…The second thought I had came a result of Teddy’s statement about birth…Maybe was what was going on backstage was like the labor process because she was about to literally share new life…

Babeee, in spite of Tina’s nerves, her hoarseness, lack of faith, etc., her voice combined with her testimony of feeling schizophrenic and homicidal and turning to the Bible for comfort ministered to the audience…Teddy says, “She’s shining and I can’t believe she’s mine.” Sweet…Shoot, he has more of a testimony that Tina in my opinion…The two of them even performed together….

Tina is euphoric after her performance and thanks her sister who called to encourage her. “Thank you for pushing me out,” Tina says to Erica…More pregnancy imagery…Erica’s performance at Lakewood, by the way, seemed to go well from the little bit of the performance that was included in the episode…

Mitch, however, was there to see Tina’s performance…”Maybe the fact that I’m here and Erica is not speaks volumes.” I don’t know how good of a manager he is, but Mitch always comes through with the drama…

Sony or Solo?

Although Erica & Tina were high after their respective solo performances, a crash had to come…Warryn meets with his wife and sister-in-law aka Mary Mary to tell them about Sony’s ultimatum….But neither one of them bows down to Sony’s demands…Warryn finally realizes that his original plan worked too well…”Dear Jesus, I’ve created a two-headed solo monster.” And he can’t be mad about it because he did it…

So that concludes Season 4…No Mary Mary album on the horizon, but there is more solo news to share…Yesterday, on the National Day of Prayer, Tina released her new book I Need A Day To Pray and her album “It’s Personal.” Another “Evening With Tina Campbell” will be held at her church In His Presence in California on May 30. Go to eventbrite.com for ticket information.

In addition, according to Billboard Magazine, Erica has started a 20-city national tour entitled “Help 2.0,” which is the name of her latest album…She has also created “More Than Pretty,” which is a “female empowerment movement” that will begin at Los Angeles’ Faithful Central Bible Church on May 23.

So there you have it…For now, at least Mary Mary is now Erica & Tina…

Any thoughts?

Posted on Friday, April 24, 2015

Tina’s Destiny : Mary Mary Season 4, Episode 8 Recap…

Hello World,

In last week’s episode of Mary Mary’s reality show, Tina was still tripping about Erica wanting to do her own thang but unlike in previous episodes none of Tina’s huffing and puffing could blow Erica’s solo plans… and the Marys couldn’t really avoid each other because they were confined to a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean…

Warryn’s Birthday Bash

This week’s episode begins with the final preparations being made for a birthday party for Warryn, Erica’s husband…As the party was being set up outside, the wind knocked the cake that had been placed on a table to the ground, leaving Erica’s sister Goo to find another cake just an hour before the party…But a while later, everything is set up, Goo was able to find an even better cake that than the first one and people are enjoying themselves, eating, laughing and all of that. Warryn and Erica’s daughter Krista sings a sweet song to her father for his birthday. In the midst of this, Erica and Warryn suddenly realize that Tina & Teddy are M.I.A. (Missing In Action).

Tina & Teddy

Guess where Tina & Teddy are? They are in the studio with Grammy Award-winning producer Aaron Lindsey. Although Tina is grumbling about being forced to embark on a solo career, she starts to move forward and decides to meet with Lindsey to help her with a new song. Erica calls her sister during the session and asks her why she and Teddy are not at the party. It is only then that Tina realizes that she scheduled her studio session on the same day as her brother-in-law’s birthday party. Instead of dropping everything and heading to the party, Tina tells her sister she is going to stay in the studio and learned to be that way from Erica as Erica missed other family events in the past due to her career. “You pushed me out of Mary Mary,” she declares.

Meet Me in St. Louis

Honey Atkins

It is now time for the Marys’ last show in St. Louis. The only problem is that Honey, Erica and Tina’s mother, who happens to be joining them for this performance has no idea what’s been going on with her feuding daughters…Erica, who has gotten sick of Tina’s constant testifying, has some advice for his sister about their final show. “Steer clear of the stabbing and murdering…Stick to the victorious part of your testimony.” And y’all know Tina…She’s not bowing down to anyone. “My life is my life. If you have a problem with that, then you are just going to have a problem.” Prior to the show, Mary Mary is interviewed on “Afternoons on 11” on KPLR in St. Louis about their final show and Erica’s solo album. During the interview, Tina sounds like she is also excited about pursuing a solo career, but Erica wonders if “Interview Tina” is the real Tina…Time will tell…

Cry Together

Back in the hotel room, Erica starts talking about the show and lets it slip that their St. Louis show is Mary Mary’s last show…Honey blurts out, “I didn’t know. Oh my God. You’re about to make me cry.” Erica explains that Tina has a lot going on with her book, a solo album, an R&B album with Teddy, etc. and that she has a lot going on too. “I’ve been overwhelmed and overworked, and I want to focus on me for once.” Shortly after, Tina comes into the room and gets mad at her sister. “Why you got Mommy crying, dummy?” Goo starts tearing up too and admits that she doesn’t like the news either. In spite of the tears and name calling, Erica is not moved. “I know it’s a hard pill to swallow for my family, but I’m not backing down.” Well, she said that!

Solo Sound Check

Although Honey is sad about the news that her daughters are splitting up their group, she comes to the sound check to get a preview of the final performance. Instead of being a sound check for Mary Mary, however, Tina dominates the sound check and Honey gets to hear Tina’s solo music. Tina begins to sing her new song “Destiny.” Although it is just a sound check, Honey stands with one arm in the air, swaying, like she is a member of an audience, instead of nearly standing alone among empty chairs. “If that don’t reach somebody and touch somebody, I don’t know. They wasn’t listening.” After listening to Tina , Honey begins to change her mind about her daughters’ solo music. “What she dealt with, what she overcame, the world needs to know that.” But Goo worries that if Tina and Erica become strictly solo artists, the music industry will cause them to compete with each other…Goo has a point…Prayerfully, that won’t be the case…

The Show

The time for the last Mary Mary show has finally arrived…Although Tina is late, she does up and it’s show time…Before her performance, Tina testifies as you know she would about struggling with unfaithfulness in her marriage and explains how the song “Destiny” came to be….And then she sings…”I’ve got a destination in my view. The road may be bumpy there, but I’m pressing through.” The humbled resolve in her lyrics is so compelling that even Erica realizes that she was wrong to try to censor her sister’s testimony. “I take back everything I said.” Although Honey saw Tina sing the song in the sound check, she is touched again. “Her attitude. Her disposition. She is a new person.”

Cancer Schmancer

During last week’s episode, Erica gets a mammogram and is told that she needs to go back to the doctor’s office for further testing. As her family has a history of cancer, she is justifiably concerned. After she gets home back in L.A. after the St. Louis concert, she finally hears back from the doctor. Her doctor tells her there was a mix up at the lab, and the results of her test were actually negative. Praise God for sure, but what is going on at that lab that allowed test results to be mixed up??!! You can’t play with people’s lives like that…Still Warryn is so relieved and happy, he decides he will check out Erica’s lady lumps for himself now that the doctor is done with them….LOL…

Reunited

No, Mary Mary didn’t decide to reunite but Tina may be reuniting with Mitch. Yes, that Mitch. The Mitch that Mary Mary fired and the Mitch that sued them…She meets him at a restaurant and tells him about her plans about recording a solo album…Apparently, she has already written 12 songs although she wasn’t originally planning to be a solo artist. “All of these songs started coming to me.” Mitch is excited for her and says, “You are one of the biggest stars I’ll ever meet in my life even though you don’t care about being a star.” That is a poignant and incredibly sweet statement. Maybe Tina’s destiny is to be a solo star…And maybe Mitch can be forgiven….Jesus does tell us to forgive seventy times seven times sooo maybe Mitch can be forgiven…Maybe…

Will Mary Mary stay apart? Will Mitch reunite with Tina?

Hopefully, these questons will be answered in next week’s episode because that’s all I’ve got for this week 🙂

Any thoughts?