Daily News from New York, New York • 2

2 Friday, November 25, 201 1 DAILY NEWS NYDailyNews.com Holiday cheer afloat Thousands of fans gather in Times Square yesterday for good vantage point for Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Photo by David HandschuhDaily News O-Bliging parade fans love Mary J. on Daily News float "Wow! New York has love for Mary J. Blige." Her Thanksgiving message for New Yorkers: "Every day is Thanksgiving. Be thankful for your life," she said.

Blige said she was buoyed by the affection of fans liningthe streets. "How can I describe it? It was epic," she said of her sunny morning spent with the throngs of paradegoers. "Itwas fun and uplifting." Wakeup time at her upper West Side home was 5 a.m., so Blige could be on the float, out in the chilly air, by 7 a.m. "It was worth it," she said. "As cold as it was, it didn't even matter because there was so much love.

"You wanted to give it back, and make sure that people felt just what they were sending to you, make sure you were sending it back to them. 'Cause they were just sending so much love. "You wanted to make sure they saw you smiling and just whatever you could do to brighten their day," she said. LoreCroghan MARY J. BLIGE wowed the crowd all the way down Sixth Ave.

Thursday, singing and dancing atop the Daily News Big Apple float. Dressed in a gray Michael Kors coat, gray suede Miu Miu boots with sky-high heels and a smile, she radiated star power and the crowd ate it up "M-J-B! M-J-B!" they chanted, asshewavedto fans hanging out of the windows of office buildings overhead. When the float rounded the corner of W. 34th her fans in the grandstand went wild. Further down the street, she sang her song "258" from her new album, "My Life 2 The Journey Continues," for atelevisionbroadcast.

"This was amazing," Blige said after stepping off the float. "It was so much fun. There was so much energy, and everybody was so very happy." She had watched the famed Thanksgiving Day parade many times, but Thursday marked the first time she had performed in it. "I felt the love, big-time," Blige said of the warm reception she received from the crowd. Mary J.

Blige rides Daily News Big Apple holiday parade float Photo by Kevin Hagen.