Mary J. Blige: Why I love Sam Smith

Mary J. Blige declares Sam Smith is a "gift to all generations".

The American songstress has been working in England's capital with an array of artists for her new album The London Sessions.

The record is Mary's 13th and features the talents of Sam, Disclosure and Naughty Boy and hits shelves later this month.

"I am so proud of Sam, I'm so happy to know him. He's amazing, he's a gift to his generation - he's a gift to all the generations," Mary gushed to BBC Radio 1. "He's doing what, you know, Frank Sinatras and Sam Cookes and Otis Reddings and all the people... the great singers and soul singers from the past. He's doing songs, he's singing ballads. Men haven't done that in a while and he's doing it and he's doing it well. And he's amazing and his voice is just a gift."

For the recordings, Mary had to uproot and relocate to London. While many would be daunted by a move across the pond, Mary said the only thing she felt was excitement - especially as it meant she could tuck into her favourite British dish of fish and chips.

"I gained so much weight, I had to go home and run," she laughed.

"I was just over here as Mary J. Blige the artist and working with some amazing people that made it fun for me. Sam made it fun for me because he's just beautiful and fun, just great to work with. Naughty Boy made it fun. Everyone made it fun! But at the same time we got so much amazing work done because our chemistries were great together. I did three weeks and the album was done."