interview2

Q: What do you know career-wise that you didn't know before?
Well, career-wise, the thing that I learned is that this is a business and I have to treat it as such. It is a business. It's about punctuality. And it's definitely about respecting other people's jobs if you want them to respect yours.

Q: Who are the people who help keep on this positive course?
MJB: The people that keep me the most positive right now would have to be my family -- my family, my personal family, and my business family -- my "glam squad," really. They keep me understanding that I'm doing something good and great, even when, you know, I feel, most of the time, gosh, you know, I'm not really doing anything.

They, you know, kind of remind me that I'm doing well, you know. And it's a family, business family, and my blood family.

Q: Professionally, who do you look up to most in the industry?
MJB: Professionally, I greatly admire Oprah Winfrey. I greatly admire her. And anyone else that is doing something great.

Q: You're looking fantastic. Tell me about this new work-out.
MJB: I work out about three times out of a week, when I'm not real busy, like, doing all this stuff. I guess I work out three times out of a week. And no-carbs diet. And that's it.

Q: Do you go to the gym?
MJB: Yes, I go to the gym. I do cardio. I do arms. When I go to the gym, I do cardio, I do legs, I do arms, I do back. And I'll do one each day, like, arms one day, legs each day, back each day.

Q: How does your new fitness level affect your confidence and your life?
MJB: My new fitness level affected my confidence in a major -- major way because it made me feel good, even better about myself, and made me very pleased at the fact that I can even get results like I've gotten.

My new fitness look, or whatever you want to call it, my healthy look -- [she laughs] my work-out look -- it's boosted my confidence in my performance, and it's made me want to give my fans more.

Q: You have so many different hairstyles. Do you have a hairstylist who always travels with you?
MJB: I have a hairstylist that travels when we need him, you know, for really, really big events. And he'll give me something that'll -- that I'll make last, you know, I'll have to maintain it, and wrap it, and take care of it, you know, until the next time I see him.

But, other than that, he's there, you know, to make sure I'm okay.

Q: Which charities are you involved in right now?
MJB: The charities that I'm involved in now are the McAIDS Fund and the
Battered Women's Home in Yonkers.

The reason why I wanted to get involved in these charities is because, I mean, these are the most common, you know, things that are going on, that nobody -- these are the things that go on every single day, every minute of the hour in the world, that, you know, people just look over.

You know, people look over the fact that AIDS is a real situation. And people look over the fact that there are women being abused, and children being abused, and there's just a lot of abuse going on. And people look over that. And there's a lot of women who don't have homes because of abuse, they don't have jobs because of abuse, and they need to let their confidence build up. They need a place to be able to speak and express themselves, so they can, I guess, get it out of them.

Q: How do you feel you can make a difference in young people's lives?
MJB: The way I feel I can make a difference in the young people's lives, in the generations to come, is to be an example, you know. I'm not perfect, but to, you know, kind of walk my talk, you know, the things I speak about, the things I sing about. I try to make sure that they really have taken place, or they will take place.

And I make sure they understand that I understand your struggle. I understand – I’ve been there. I know how it feels to want to say something, and everybody makes you feel like you can't, and how it feels for people to -- you know, just to make sure they understand their self-worth, and that life is not terrible, you know, it's not terrible, but it could get better.

Q: Is Never Been about a relationship that you're in right now?
MJB: No, Never Been is about the love that I have for myself, that I've never experienced before, never loved -- never knew a love like this before, never knew that anything in this world could love me the way God loves me, and giving me the love to be able to say, "Mary, I love you." That's what Never Been is about.

Q: What is Dance with Me about?
MJB: The track Dance with Me is, like -- basically, you know, what the first single is about, just having a good time, and celebrating. And, you know, I'm really just asking people to just dance, like, instead of crying, this time, dance, you know, and we'll cry later, on songs like Destiny we'll cry.