It was a superstar twin bill that lived up to its hype.

Mary J. Blige and Jay-Z pretty much tore the roof off Amway Arena on Monday, pumping life into the "Heart of the City Tour" with a transfusion of compelling music, lighting and effects.

"The fact that we can do this is what I want people to walk away with," Blige said in a videotaped opening interview beamed on the jumbo screens to an audience that almost filled the arena — except for the sections on the far end of the upper bowl blocked by a black curtain.

Oh, yeah. They can definitely do it.

Blige and Jay-Z did it together in an opening duet on "Can’t Knock the Hustle," before she remained to churn through almost 90 minutes of songs that reference the best parts of old-school soul and hook them together with hip-hop and contemporary R&B.

Backed by a massive ensemble that included two drummers, a trio of backup singers, horns and a string ensemble, Blige came equipped to do justice to the cinematic scope of the material on her exceptional recent albums, The Breakthrough and Growing Pains as well as other songs encompassing her career.

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