All of the Unforgettable Moments I Witnessed at Mary J. Blige's Strength of a Woman Festival

The official announcement for Blige's festival already teased some surprise guests, but no one at Glasper's first show on Thursday was prepared to see Luke James pop up on stage for an impromptu performance. (Though the audience certainly didn't mind the handsome singer showing off his mesmerizing vocals.)

The Grammy-nominated "To Feel Love/d" artist and actor treated the crowd to tracks like his 2013 song "Oh God" and Glasper's "Ah Yeah," originally sung by Musiq Soulchild and Chrisette Michele.

Talk about back-to-back sets of certified bangers. As DJ Drama said during his set, "I have a lot of friends," and that plethora of musical pals consisted of Atlanta faves like T.I., K Camp, Young Dro, Bobby V, Lloyd, and Dem Franchize Boyz. Each act offered up showstopping performances of some of their biggest hits.

The queen of hip-hop soul brought out her first surprise on Friday night, Ciara, who treated the roaring Atlanta crowd to a brief greatest-hits performance that consisted of her early-2000s classics like "Ride," "Goodies," and "Oh." The R&B singer then doubled down on the surprise by welcoming rising New York rapper Lola Brooke to the stage to perform her big hit song "Don't Play With It." The two also performed their new collaboration "Da Girls (Girls Mix)," which features fellow New York artist Lady London.

During her headlining set, Blige returned to the stage to join her good friend, "Power Book II: Ghost" costar, and collaborator Method Man to perform their undisputed classic duet, "All I Need." The two ended their performance with a hug, and Method Man even joked to the audience, "Y'all ain't think y'all was going to get Monet Tejada and Davis MacLean up this motherf*cker did you?" — referring to their TV characters. The Wu-Tang Clan rapper then performed a medley of his solo tracks, like his 1993 self-titled song and hit single "Bring the Pain."

During Blige's set, Busta Rhymes and his Flipmode Squad partner Spliff Star hit the stage together to perform hits like "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See," "I Know What You Want," "Pass the Courvoisier, Part 1," A Tribe Called Quest's "Scenario," and, of course, Rhymes's famous fast-paced verse from Chris Brown's "Look at Me Now." The two had so much fun on stage, they even sprayed the front row with bottles of Champagne. Afterward, they were joined on stage by fellow Flipmode Squad member Rah Digga, who received the highest praise from them, as Rhymes instructed the audience to give the hip-hop legend a round of applause.

Blige helped Rhymes and Star finish out their set by hitting the stage again, after a quick outfit change, to perform her iconic rap verse from the hit 2006 song "Touch It (Remix)."

For Blige's final surprise of the night, she tapped Missy Elliott to close out her hip-hop concert with a special pop-up performance — which featured everything from impromptu audience interactions to another exciting appearance from Ciara. After opening with "Get Ur Freak On," Elliott complained about not being able to hear her music on stage, threatening to go through the entire crowd until the sound was fixed. Though it seemed to be a ploy to cue up her next song, "Lose Control," a performance that, of course, featured Ciara and some of the choreography from the track's iconic music video.

Jones, who's experiencing a major moment as a rising R&B artist, dedicated her entire set to performing her seven-track 2022 debut EP, "What I Didn't Tell You," concluding with a tearful performance of her Billboard Hot 100-charting ballad "ICU." Speaking to POPSUGAR backstage, the "Bel-Air" star said "it's been amazing" to perform alongside all the other incredible R&B artists on the festival lineup. "Last year, I was here speaking on a panel, so it just shows how much my life has changed and how grateful I am to my team," she added. "And, man, when it's really your time, it's your time! It's kind of surreal to be here."

Walker, though an undeniable powerhouse singer, has garnered a reputation for giving lackluster live performances throughout the years. However, she used her set at the Strength of a Woman festival to address her haters with some subtle shade and, of course, her knockout vocals. While screens behind her projected a collage of news headlines and quotes like "We don't need you" and "Summer Walker is doing it her way," the "Still Over It" artist sang tracks like "No Love," "Unloyal," "Insane," "Come Thru," Usher's "You Make Me Wanna...," and many more.

FX's "Pose" may have introduced ballroom culture to the masses, but Sunday's Purpose Ball, hosted by Miss Lawrence, reminded everyone in Atlanta where it all comes from — from the legendary houses to iconic mothers. The all-night affair was filled with lots of voguing, posing, viral shade, and competitive categories, judged by celebrities like Blige, stylist Law Roach, "P-Valley"'s Brandee Evans, and more. The evening also featured a high-energy performance from Saucy Santana, as well as an appearance from MC, performer, and choreographer Dashaun Wesley.