When US singer Jennifer Lopez last week performed her first concert ever in her hometown of the Bronx, she also got back to her musical roots, performing some classic songs from her early albums. Lopez seems to be looking back fondly on the beginning of her career, and on the songs like If You Had My Love and Let’s Get Loud that gave her the breakthrough. Lopez will perform at the World Cup opening ceremony, Fifa said yesterday, two days after it announced “production issues” would prevent her travelling to Brazil. Lopez, who recorded the official World Cup song, “We Are One,” with rapper Pitbull and Brazilian singer Claudia Leitte, will perform it with them and Brazilian drumming collective Olodum as originally planned at today’s kick-off, Fifa said.
“Fifa and the Local Organising Committee are delighted to announce that we will have the full line-up of stars,” it said in a statement. “The performance by Pitbull, Claudia Leitte, Jennifer Lopez and Olodum will be the climax of the ceremony.” Lopez came out with her first album 15 years ago. Since then the US singer has turned 44, been divorced three times and become the mother of school-age twins. Today she is widely known as Jennifer Lopez rather than J Lo. With her new album AKA, which comes out today, she hopes to get back to the good old times. The album is “a return to my roots,” Lopez said. She went back and listened to her old albums when she was working on AKA. On the one hand, everything is as it used to be. “I like to think I’m pretty much the same,” she said.
On the other hand, the experiences she has accumulated over her years in the music business did have an influence on the album. “I wanted to have a snapshot of where I was right now in my life,” said Lopez. “This album is different from all the other ones, because I have grown and because I have been through so much stuff, and all of that strength that I have come through, now is reflected in this album.” Musically, AKA sounds strongly like the old J Lo, with its unique mixture of slow R&B ballads (Never Satisfied), pop pieces (First Love) and Hip Hop (I Luh Ya Papi). Her heart really lies with mid-tempo R&B, said Lopez. “And a little bit of hip hop, a little bit of pop mixed in there, a little bit of Latin flavour. I don’t want to put myself in a box.
I want to do everything, to be all the things that I am, that meant musically and emotionally.” She received prominent support from rappers French Montana, Chris Brown, Nas and Pitbull. The production of the album took more than a year — longer than any other album before, said Lopez. Altogether, 14 songs made it onto the final list. AKA is a feel-good summer album with catchy melodies, light-hearted lyrics and rhythmic dance beats. Fans of the old J Lo days will definitely like the album. Lopez hopes fans will happily look back to those old times. “I am really excited for people to hear it,” she said. — DPA
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