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Mary Mary is an American gospel music duo, consisting of sisters Erica Atkins-Campbell (born April 29, 1972) and Trecina Atkins-Campbell (born May 1, 1974). The duo are often credited along with Kirk Franklin for broadening the fan base of urban contemporary gospel in the 2000s by introducing elements of soul music, hip hop, funk and jazz.Mary Mary broke onto the music scene with their popular song "Shackles (Praise You)" which is considered one of the pioneering songs of urban contemporary gospel music.
Their debut album Thankful (2000) was certified Platinum. The duo has released three Gold albums: Incredible (20
Mary Mary is an American gospel music duo, consisting of sisters Erica Atkins-Campbell (born April 29, 1972) and Trecina Atkins-Campbell (born May 1, 1974). The duo are often credited along with Kirk Franklin for broadening the fan base of urban contemporary gospel in the 2000s by introducing elements of soul music, hip hop, funk and jazz.Mary Mary broke onto the music scene with their popular song "Shackles (Praise You)" which is considered one of the pioneering songs of urban contemporary gospel music.
Their debut album Thankful (2000) was certified Platinum. The duo has released three Gold albums: Incredible (2002), and Mary Mary (2005), which all charted No. 1 on the Billboard Top Gospel Albums. They have also received three Grammys, among other awards.
The duo was subsequently signed to Columbia Records/C2 Records and decided to perform under the name Mary Mary, honoring Mary, the mother of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. They were first gospel act to record for the industry giant Columbia Records since Tramaine Hawkins in the mid-1990s. Their first single, "Shackles (Praise You)" became a crossover hit, being popular with gospel, R&B, and pop audiences. It was a Top 5 R&B and Top 10 pop hit, and peaked at No. 28 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It became the first gospel song in five years to crack the R&B top ten and gained wide exposure on the MTV video cable channel. The album was a huge success because it offered a younger, hipper version of gospel that audiences could relate to. Their debut album, Thankful was released in May 2000. It peaked at No. 1 on the Gospel album chart and at No. 59 of the overall Top 200 chart, and was certified Platinum for shipments of one million copies in the USA. It went on to win the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album. The second single "I Sings" features rapper BB Jay. Both singles were also hits in the UK and Europe, and to this day remain popular with Christian youths in the US, Latin America, and Europe. Their only Top 10 UK hit to date is "Shackles (Praise You)", which reached No. 5 in the UK Singles Chart in June 2000. The follow-up "I Sings" peaked at UK No. 32.
With their second album Incredible, the duo was able to maintain their success. Soon after its July 2002 release it was No. 1 on the Gospel chart and was able to enter the Top 20 of the Top 200 album chart. Incredible was later on certified Gold for 500,000 copies sold in the United States. The album's singles were In The Morning and I Try. While this album charted higher than their debut, sales were lower. The duo attributed the lower sales to less aggressive promotion due to label switchovers and the advent of music piracy.
After taking time off to have children, Mary Mary released their third album, Mary Mary, in July 2005. It became the duo's first album to enter the Top 10 on Billboard and was later on certified Gold for sales of 500,000 copies. The first single "Heaven" contained a sample from seventies soul trio the Honey Cone's "Want Ads". Heaven made history and broke chart records as it had an unprecedented nine week run as the No. 1 record on Billboard's Gospel Radio chart. The second single, "The Real Party" debuted at No. 43 on the Gospel Radio Chart. The third single, "Yesterday", also became a hit, especially on the Adult R&B charts where it peaked at No. 10. On the R&B/Hip Hop chart, the song became their second biggest hit since "Shackles" in 2000, reaching the No. 50. The album's final single, "Believer" indicated testimonies of being a Christian. The song hit No. 33 on the Gospel Radio chart.
On October 10, 2006, the duo released their fourth studio album, a Christmas project entitled A Mary Mary Christmas.
In 2009, Mary Mary commenced recording their sixth studio album. Originally titled OMG, the project was renamed Something Big after R&B singer Usher had a hit single, "OMG" in 2010. The album was released on March 29, 2011. The duo released the lead single, "Walking," in the fall of 2010. A video was shot in January 2011 in Santa Ana, CA. Mary Mary debuted the title track "Something Big" on the BET Celebration of Gospel 2011, while "Something Bigger" served as a B-side to "Walking". The second single from the album was "Survive." The video debuted on July 27, 2011.
On February 13, 2012, Mary Mary debuted their new single, "Go Get It", from the album of the same name, in a special performance in Los Angeles, California. The performance also rounded out the final episode of their upcoming reality TV series. The album is slated for a May 2012 release. This album will feature one other new track, along with remixed and remastered Mary Mary hits.
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