Mary J. Blige performs 'Why' live on 'American Idol'.

Mary J. Blige stumbled with her rendition of the US national anthem, ‘The Star Spangled Banner’, at the 2012 NBA All-Star Game but she soared last evening on ‘American Idol’. Performing the song ‘Why’ for the first time on television, the R&B diva was in her own element rocked the crowd.

‘Why’ is featured on Blige’s latest album, ‘My Life II: The Journey Continues (Act 1)‘. The LP has thus far sold just over 540K copies in the US since being released on November 21st 2011.

Watch Blige’s ‘Idol’ performance below:

This performance is exactly why – no pun intended – Blige became a superstar! She dominated the ‘Idol’ stage yet was completely relatable and sounded excellent. There is nothing wrong with experimenting with her voice but Blige really does her best work when she makes music her own instead of trying to go beyond her limitations.

Thoughts?