Maxwell and Mary J. Blige teaming up for King and Queen of Hearts tour

BALTIMORE, Sept. 7 (UPI) -- Maxwell and Mary J. Blige announced Wednesday they are teaming up for a winter tour which kicks off in Baltimore on Nov. 5 and travels to 24 cities.

The King and Queen of Hearts Tour makes stops in New York, Detroit, Atlanta, Miami, and ends Dec. 14 in Chicago.

The pair also take on an international leg from Oct. 15 to Oct. 30, and will swing through Paris, Amsterdam, and London.

"Maxwell is a man that we need as women," Blige said of her tour partner. "He sings from his heart and soul with an amazing voice. When you hear him, you feel comforted, good, sexy, sly. You feel like you want to go out with your girls and then you also feel like you want to lay up with your man. He just gives you that freedom as a woman to be all those sexy, empowering and beautiful things. Women need to feel like there's some man out there that really cares and will speak to them through song."

Coming off a tour for his blackSUMMERS'night album, Maxwell said "anything can happen" on the King and Queen tour.

"This is a bucket list situation for me," he said. "Something we've been trying to bring together because our audiences are each other's. Mary's soulful voice and the way she connects with the audience; her warmth and giving nature in an industry that can make you cold, stale and jaded: I've learned a lot from her in that regard. And this isn't just a love fest for people who have followed our music. This is a celebration of New York, R&B/soul music and the '90s."

Also coming up for Blige is a guest starring stint on How to Get Away With Murder.