Mary J Blige and Maxwell set for double-header at Birmingham's Genting Arena

They will feature as part of their King and Queen of Hearts tour, supported by Ro James.

Both will play a set and fans can look forward to all the hits as the legendary performers tour together for the first time.

Maxwell's blackSUMMERS'night was released on July 1 - his fourth record - and has become one of the most acclaimed albums of 2016. His present shows are the two-time Grammy winner's first in Europe in seven years.

Blige, meanwhile, has sold more than 50 million albums worldwide while winning nine Grammy Awards and five American Music Awards.

Her highly anticipated new album Thick Of It was produced by DJ Camper.

She recently met US Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on her Apple Music show where she raised the issue of police killings during the interview.

Blige said: "I want to share something with you I haven't shared with anyone."

She then started singing Springsteen's 41 Shots, which was written about Amadou Diallo in 1999, an unarmed black man who was killed by four NYPD officers.

Blige said: "It means a lot to me just because of everything that's taking place now. I just want to share it with you because believe that so many women, African American women, feel like this when they're sending their children off to school in the morning."

Clinton was moved by the song and said: "I have been so heartbroken over what's been going on because it's fundamentally wrong that African American parents have to sit their children down and deliver the message you just sang."

Maxwell is looking forward to airing songs from the latest record during his shows with Blige.

He said: "This album is the continuation of the first BLACKsummers'night record (2009) a little bit. I'm not really a trend guy. So I was just wrestling with trying to make something that was upbeat, but didn't have that element of what was current.

"It's all cyclical, at the end of the day. You don't want to hear yourself sound like more of just the 'new' thing. You know, I like Panda and all the stuff that everybody listens to. But I know my lane. You want to feel hot to people and progressive.

"It's progressive soul - I get inspired by the newest things in life. We stick to the basics and things that will make you move emotionally."