[3] In February 2014, amid the production for the soundtrack album, Blige recorded vocals for a remix version of "F for You", a song by British electronic garage-house duo Disclosure.
[4] The remix, while retaining most of the original track from their album Settle, was re-recorded for release as a single and became a top ten hit on the UK Dance Chart.
[6] Blige spent a month in London recording her album in RAK studios with a host of young British acts, including Disclosure, Naughty Boy, Emeli Sandé and Sam Smith.
"[10] Tom Horan of The Observer spoke on the Naughty Boy produced and Emeli Sandé co-written track "Pick Me Up" stating, "[it] mixes sub-bass with clarinet and a percussion sound that recalls early 00s UK garage".
[14] It was announced on October 23, 2014 Blige would be a performer on the American Music Awards singing a rendition of "Therapy" airing live on November 23, 2014.
[15] During an episode of Grey's Anatomy on October 23, 2014, a snippet of lead single "Therapy" was played and on November 6, 2014 "Not Loving You" and "Long Hard Look" were also included in scenes of the show.
[16][17] On October 29, 2014 Blige invited critics and media outlets to a private screening of the Sam Wrench directed documentary for the album at New York City's SoHo House.
[24] The first single, "Therapy", was co-written by Sam Smith and borrows from doo-wop with its simple beat, minimal instrumentation, and backing harmonies.
MTV.com stated, "Mary J. Blige may be a music industry veteran, but lately she’s been in the habit of teaming up with some of the scene’s newest artists—and it’s paying off in a major way.
Disclosure also produced the song, so it veers away from the traditional R&B and soul tones that inhabit most of Blige’s work, and the title of the track alone evokes its own of-the-moment feeling.
He found that "Blige’s presence confers regal honour on a new wave of British talent" with the "impressive results channeling the cool understatement and spacy melodiousness you find in such class Brit acts as Jessie Ware and Katy B.
"[38] Noting "self-conscious nods towards Amy Winehouse", The Guardian writer Tim Jonze found that "Blige has the vocal charisma to lift up several piano ballads, and when genuine infusions of the current London scene occur it neatly refreshes her sound.
"[40] Jamieson Cox, writing for Time magazine, found that The London Sessions is "proof positive that [Blige] is still a creative force with great instincts" and called the album a "thrilling [...] record that somehow straddles the line between a comforting, casual experience and a foray into uncharted, dynamic terrain".
He felt that "the album’s most exciting and lingering tracks are the ones where Blige cedes control and morphs into one of the world’s most skilled dance vocalists".