Some of her directors came to her rescue and Jennifer herself sent letters of apology to those she had insulted, but the damage was already done. In such a short time, her image became tarnished. Words such as “difficult,””self-absorbed and “diva” were used to refer to her. To make matters worse, Jennifer was an hour late for a Today interview. A Newsweek interview was also scrapped after Jennifer canceled it thrice.
By then, she was aware that some people were calling her a diva. Jennifer took offense, saying that the word “means that you are mean to people, that you look down on people, and I’m not that type of person.”
On the 6
Finally, in 1999, Jennifer’s dream of making her own album was realized with her debut album On the 6, a reference to the subway line she took in Castle Hill. Sony had assigned Puffy Combs and Emilio Estefan, husband of Gloria Estefan, to be Jennifer’s producers.
Jennifer’s debut album, On the 6, was an instant hit
On the 6 made history when it hit number one on the Hot 100, Hot 100 Singles Sales, and R&B Singles Sales charts. The album’s lead single, If You Had My Love, reached the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed on the chart for 25 weeks.
Another single from the album, Waiting for Tonight, was a relative success after it climbed the charts and reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100. No Me Ames, a duet with Marc Anthony, became a number-one hit on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs. It received two nominations at the 2000 Latin Grammy Awards for Best Pop Duo/Group with Vocal Performance and Best Music Video.
The track Feelin’ So Good, which Jennifer collaborated with Big Pun and at Joe, enjoyed moderate success on the Hot 100 but failed to reach the top 50. The single Let’s Get Loud was nominated at the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording.
However, some critics gave the album negative reviews. In a critique for Entertainment Weekly, David Browne wrote, “Despite an all-star cast, Jennifer Lopez’s singing isn’t out-of-sight.” He also observed that her singing voice is “higher and thinner than expected – not embarrassing, but sadly ordinary…” He also added, “For all the wads of money spent on her fledgling musical career, Lopez comes across as little more than a Mild Spice Girl.”
In early 2000, Jennifer stirred some buzz when she appeared at the 42nd Grammy Awards with Combs wearing a dress that would become synonymous to her name. That night she wore a plunging green Versace silk chiffon dress that had a low cut that extended before her navel and showed her back. Later on it would be dubbed the Green Versace Jungle Dress.
Jennifer recalled, “When I came out [to present an award] they were all shocked and appalled.” Her copresenter, David Duchovny, stated, “Jennifer, this is the first time in five or six years I’m sure nobody is looking at me.”
The dress garnered so much media attention that images of Jennifer on that dress were downloaded from the Grammy website more than 600,000 times within 24 hours after the event. Jennifer was surprised by this interest in her dress, saying in one interview, “It was a nice dress. I had no idea it was going to become such a big deal.”
After the release of On the 6, fans began referring to Jennifer as “J. Lo.”
While her album was still in promotion, Jennifer began filming for the psychological thriller film The Cell opposite Vincent D’Onofrio. In the movie, she portrayed the role of Catherine Deane, a child psychologist who enters the minds of her patients to try to coax them out of their comas. The film was a success, opening at number one in the box office.
J. Lo
In August 2000, Jennifer began working on her second album. J. Lo was released in January 2001 and quickly debuted to number one on the Billboard 200, dethroning The Beatles from the top spot, and stayed in that position for 6 weeks and sold more than 270,000 copies in its initial week. It also topped the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
J. Lo, Jennifer’s sophomore album, was also a commercial success as it debuted at number one on the Billboard 200
J. Lo was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in February 2001. That same day, the certification was raised to platinum for 1,000,000 units shipped. In August, the album was certified multi-platinum, and then triple platinum in November of that year. Two years later, the album was certified 4x Multi-Platinum in October 2003. In the United Kingdom, J. Lo reached number two on the UK Albums Chart. The album was Jennifer’s most commercially successful album with around 8 million copies sold worldwide and became the 87th best-selling album of the 2000s decade.
The album’s lead single, Love Don’t Cost a Thing, topped the charts in the UK, Canada and New Zealand and reached the top ten in many countries. In the United States, the single reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100.
The second single, Play, wasn’t as successful as the first single. It only reached number 18 on the Hot 100 but it was well received in many countries. Another single, I’m Real, reached the top on the Hot 100 and reached the top ten in Australia, Canada and the UK.
Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer starred in the romantic comedy film The Wedding Planner
Jennifer also began filming the romantic comedy film The Wedding Planner after filming for The Cell wrapped up. In her new movie, Jennifer starred opposite Matthew McConaughey and played the character of a wedding planner who doesn’t seem to have much luck in the love department. Jennifer’s single from her J. Lo album was included in the soundtrack of the film. The movie was a box office hit, opening at number one, thus making Jennifer the first actress and singer in history to have an album and a film at number one in the same week.
A single from the album, Ain’t It Funny, was ineligible for charting on the Hot 100 for lack of proper commercial promotion in the US. Jennifer capitalized on this by asking The Inc. Records to remix the single plus I’m Real, which featured Ja Rule (on both) and Cadillac Tah (on the remix of Ain’t It Funny). The remix of Ain’t It Funny reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for some weeks and also topped Radio Airplay and Pop Songs charts.
In July 2001, Jennifer re-released her J. Lo album on her 32nd birthday with the addition of the remix of I’m Real.
After her J. Lo album, Jennifer starred in the supernatural romance film, Angel Eyes. The film opened at number four and grossed over $24 million domestically. Over all, the movie grossed over $29 million, well below its $53 million budget. The movie was nominated at the 2002 ALMA Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture and Outstanding Director in a Motion Picture. It was also nominated at the 2003 ASCAP award and won the Most Performed Song from a Motion Picture for “Good Morning Beautiful”.
J to tha L-O! The Remixes
With the success of J. Lo., Jennifer decided to create an album to the remix effort. Her album, J to tha L-O! The Remixes was released in February 2002 and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. Thus, it became the first remix album in history to debut at the top of the chart, and sold more than 150,000 copies in its first week.
For the album, Jennifer worked with P. Diddy, Fat Joe and Nas. Over all, the album was the third all-time best-selling remix album in history, behind Michael Jackson’s Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix, The Beatles’ Love and Madonna’s You Can Dance. By October 2010, the album has sold 1.5 million copies. Additionally, the album dethroned Alan Jackson’s Drive from three consecutive weeks at the number-one spot on the chart.
J to tha L-O! The Remixes was the only album to debut at number one in the United States for almost 10 years, until Justin Bieber’s remix effort in 2011 debuted at the top of the chart.
Jennifer once again starred in a film, the thriller Enough where she portrayed the character of a woman abused by her husband and tried to flee from him with their daughter. It wasn’t a success, but the fight scene at the end of the movie was praised.
Her remix album was quickly followed by another album, This Is Me… Then, released in November 2002. This album was different from the previous ones because it was more R&B oriented and the lyrical structu
re tells the story of her relationship with her new man, Ben Affleck. The album sold more than 310,000 copies in its first week, becoming Jennifer’s highest first-week sales to date. It reached number two on the charts in the US and remained there for 40 weeks.
The album’s lead single, Jenny from the Block, was released prior to the album and peaked at number 3 on the Hot 100. Another single, All I Have, was a duet with LL Cool J and became Jennifer’s fifth song to top the Hot 100 charts. The singles I’m Glad and Baby I love U! were both commercially disappointing but the music video for I’m Glad received four nominations at the MTV Music Awards the following year.
After This Is Me… Then, Jennifer decided to take a break from music so that she could focus on films. Her movies Enough and Angel Eyes were commercial failures, but she bounced back with the box office hit Maid in Manhattan where she played the character of Marisa Ventura. The movie opened at number one.
Jennifer’s next films, Gigli and Jersey Girl, where she starred alongside her real-life boyfriend Ben Affleck, were both box office failures and received poor reviews.
Again bouncing back, Jennifer starred in the 2003 film Shall We Dance? alongside Richard Gere and Susan Sarandon. The movie reached the third spot at the Box Office and grossed over $112 million at the international box office.
At around this time, Jennifer has already established herself as one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood and the highest-paid Latin actress in Hollywood history.
Chapter 6 – J. Lo’s Rebirth
Rebirth
Jennifer’s fourth studio album, Rebirth, was released in March 2005. Its lead single, Get Right, reached number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was a successful dance hit. The single topped the charts in the UK. The track Hold You Down wasn’t as successful for it only managed to reach number 64 on the Hot 100 although it peaked at number 6 in the UK.
The Rebirth album
All in all, Rebirth debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and sold 261,000 copies in its first week. However, it didn’t maintain that position and quickly fell off the charts. It was certified platinum by the RIAA and enjoyed international success.
Jennifer was cast in the 2005 film Monster-in-Law where she was reportedly paid $15 million. She starred alongside Jane Fonda. The film debuted at number one and earned $83 million in the summer of 2005.
Jennifer followed this with another movie, Borderline, based on a series of unsolved murders in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua. Although the film wasn’t a success, it earned Jennifer the Artists for Amnesty award.
First Spanish Album
Following her English albums, Jennifer decided to release an album in Spanish, partly because she wanted to “prove critics wrong” and to prove that she has a voice. Her first Spanish album, Como Ama una Mujer was released in March 2007. It debuted at number ten on the Billboard 200, making Jennifer one of the few who reached the top ten with a Spanish album.
In the Latin community, the album was a large success peaking at number one on Billboard Top Latin Albums and remained in that position for 7 weeks. But worldwide, the album was just a moderate success.
While the album may not have been a worldwide success, it marked the highest debut sales in the US for a Spanish album as well as the highest digital sales for a Spanish album. To promote her album, Jennifer returned to the Bronx where she met fans and signed copies of her album in her old neighborhood.
In 2007, Jennifer starred in the film El Cantante alongside her then-husband, Marc Anthony. It would be their first film together. It opened at number 12 at the box office and grossed more than $3 million on its opening weekend.
Brave
In the same year, Jennifer began working on a new English album, titled Brave. She had collaborated with J. R. Rotem, Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic, Midi Mafia, and Lynn and Wade. The album debuted at number 12 on the Billboard 200 and became her least successful album to date.
One of the singles was Do It Well which reached number one on the Hot Dance Club Play chart. Hold It, Don’t Drop It, also reached the top on the Hot Dance Club Play chart. Brave became Jennifer’s album which failed to produce a top twenty song. Some critics noted that Brave “was not daring.”
* * *
While Jennifer was pregnant with her twins, she had been writing material for her next album, Love? She said about the album, “Once you get past the party on the album, and you listen to some of the words, you will see that I really talk about the power of love but also the devastation of it and everything in between.”
The album’s lead single, Louboutins, debuted in November 2009 after Jennifer performed the song at the 2009 American Music Awards. The single entered the Hot Dance Club Play six weeks after its release and reached number one but failed to enter the Billboard Hot 100.
In February 2010, Jennifer parted ways with her record label of ten years, Epic Records. Her manager, Benny Medina, said, “Jennifer had a wonderful relationship with the Sony Music Group, and they have shared many successes together, but the time was right to make a change that best serves the direction of her career as an actress and recording artist… She is grateful and appreciative to everyone at Sony for all that they accomplished together.”
Jennifer also released a statement saying that she had already completed her obligations with Sony Music Entertainment and Epic Records. In March 2010, it was confirmed that Jennifer had signed with Island Def Jam and was working on her album Love? with RedZone Entertainment.
She next starred in the romantic comedy film, The Back-Up Plan, alongside Alex O’Loughlin. It received negative reviews from critics and was some success at the box office. It managed to make number one at the box office after raking in more than $4 million in its first week. Over all, it grossed over $77 million worldwide and became CBS Films’ highest-grossing film to date.
A scene in the romantic comedy film The BackUp Plan where Jennifer starred as a New York gal who lost hope in finding the man of her dreams and underwent artificial insemination
For her portrayal in the movie, Jennifer was nominated Best Romantic Comedy Actress and Best Romantic Comedy at the Teen Choice Awards.
One of the things that lent Jennifer Lopez popularity in the music industry was the so called “Latin explosion” in the recording business. From the 1990s, several Latin performers have broken into the music industry including Ricky Martin, Enrique Iglesias, Carlos Santana and Shakira. An article in the Los Angeles Times went on to say, “Never before had so many Latinos spent so much time at the top of the pop charts in a single year … suddenly, Latinos were hot and cool at the same time.”
But Jennifer proved herself to be different. While some of the Latin performers passed in and out of popularity, Jennifer was successful in retaining her appeal as a recording artist and as a leading lady in movies.
Yet again, she has set herself apart, not just limiting herself as a singer and as an actress. And it was only a matter of time before Jennifer Lopez reached the pinnacle of her career.
Chapter 7 – The Comeback Queen
American Idol
As early as June 2010, there were talks regarding who would replace Ellen DeGeneres after she departed from American Idol as a judge. Then there were rumors that Jennifer Lopez would replace her to join the other judges for the season ten of the show.
But then it was reported that Jennifer was out of the running because of her “outrageous demands.” Idol producer Nigel Lythgoe responded to this and said, “[Jennifer] is in no way a diva, I’ve worked with her on quite a few occasions and I have never yet seen her be a diva.” Lythgoe did not deny or confirm reports regarding the contract negotiations between Jennifer and the other producers.
Jennifer with co-judges Randy Jackson and Steven Tyler with Idol’s host, Ryan Seacrest
Meanwhile, Jennifer and her then-husband Marc Anthony were being considered to be judges on The X Factor, largely because they appealed to the Latin and international markets. But Jennifer was no longer considered after
reports that she had accepted the offer to become a judge on American Idol’s season ten.
The official announcement came on September 22, 2010, with MTV announcing, “the deal was mutually beneficial to all those involved” while CNN reported that Jennifer viewed her decision as a move to revive her career. Idol producers, on the other hand, believed that Jennifer and co-judge Steven Tyler’s appointments as judges will further strengthen viewing figures. The public was more than overjoyed; they felt that Jennifer was a more suitable replacement for Ellen because she had experience with the music industry.
Jennifer was an Idol judge for two seasons, and performed occasionally on the show. She had performed her single Dance Again and On the Floor, the latter’s music video premiering on an episode on March 3, 2011 and becoming the highest viewed video by a female artist on YouTube, with more than 500 million views. On the Floor, whom Jennifer collaborated with Pitbull and was produced by RedOne, became a commercial success. It debuted at nine on the Hot 100 and reached number three, becoming Jennifer’s highest-charting song in eight years.
In addition, the single sold 8.4 million copies, and became the fourth best-selling digital single of the year. Other singles from Jennifer’s Love? album were I’m Into You and Papi, which became Jennifer’s 10th and 11th chart-toppers on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart.
Love? was finally released in May 2011 and reached number five on the Billboard 200. Although it was a moderate success, it was also viewed as Jennifer’s comeback album because people had assumed that her recording career was over.
On December 13, 2011, Jennifer had the honor of being named the “World’s greatest musical comeback act” by Los Angeles Times. This ranking came from an accuracast, a digital search that analyzes more than a billion Google searches since 2004. Lopez was ahead of comebacks from other artists such as Ricky Martin and Mariah Carey. The Billboard.com Reader’s Poll also named Jennifer the “Best Comeback” ahead of Kelly Clarkson and Evanescence.
Modern Divas Boxed Set Page 22
