J.Lo Should Quit Singing While She's Ahead

There was a time when the three letters “J-L-O” were all you needed to sell a movie, album or magazine, but that era has been over for sometime now. When news hit earlier this week that Jennifer Lopez’s new album, Love, was being shelved just one month before it’s release date, the one reaction no one seemed to have was disappointment.

For the most part, there was just confusion (Jennifer Lopez had a new CD coming out?), curiosity and second-hand embarrassment. Lopez’s representatives insist that the split with Sony Music Records was amicable and mutual and that Love was nowhere near completion Internet reports, however, seem to favor the opinion that she was dropped and the fact that her new movie’s premiere was pushed back to coincide with the album’s April release date suggests that it was close to being, if not already, completed. Reports have speculated the entire album was scratched after the disappointing performance of the lead single, "Louboutins," when it was released last November.

 

If she was dropped, I imagine this is a fairly big disappointment for Jennifer, but in the long run, this may have been the best decision for everyone because things did not look good for Love. Have you heard "Louboutins"? That is a serious question, because I honestly don’t think that I have. In fact, the only time I recall hearing about Jennifer in recent months was when she wore that strange brown bodysuit on New Year’s Eve (and not strange in an intentionally-so-strange-it’s-amazing Gaga way, more in a strange, failed-attempt-to-be-sexy way) and when she fell during a performance at an awards show. So, as I said, things were not looking good for this new album. By shelving it, the world is spared another sub-par pop album, Jennifer is spared the public embarrassment of a big flop, and the record label doesn’t waste any more money promoting an artist who is no longer relevant.

 

Why isn’t she relevant? If we want disposal dance music, we can and will get it from anyone, but J.Lo’s prior appeal as a singer was undeniably a result of her success as an actress. Jennifer is a beautiful woman, but also a mediocre singer who relies on a lot of vocal effects and were she not a famous actress, she never would have had the opportunity to work with top producers, nor would she have had the advantage of an existing, curious audience. While she certainly churned out a few catchy singles, none of them stood out as especially interesting or unique.

Now, things have changed and who can remember the last movie they saw with Jennifer Lopez in it? She’s disappeared from the tabloids as well since she got married and had children. The interest level is just no longer there, which means if she wants to compete in the music industry, she needs to bring something to the table that other musicians aren’t. That is like expecting Beyonce to bring something to an acting role that Meryl Streep couldn’t: not gonna happen! Which is why it’s not surprising that no one seems to be concerned with being denied her latest album.

Despite all this, there are already rumors that Jennifer is already in talks with L.A. Reid to sign with Def Jam. Maybe she will surprise everyone with a hit record from left field, or perhaps, instead, she’ll take this as opportunity to gracefully quit while she’s ahead.