Lopez’s rise has been long, but even today, three decades after her career began, she’s still fighting to get her due
Twenty years after her defining single, the Jenifer Lopez she remains the ultimate “triple threat” as an actress, singer and dancer. So why is he still not getting what he is owed?
Jennifer Lopez’s song ‘Jenny from the Block’ is still as catchy as ever, and has amassed 162 million views on YouTube.
It is considered one of her most famous pieces and arguably her most defining, embodying her carefully crafted brand and appeal. Yes, she was a striking and successful Hollywood star, but, as she was keen to remind us, she was also the girl next door.
Lopez’s rise has been long, but even today, three decades after her career began, having sold 80 million records, recorded eight albums and appeared in more than 40 films, she’s still fighting to get her due.
This was shown in the recent Netflix documentary ‘Halftime’, which followed her during a busy period in 2019 and 2020, when she appeared in a role in the film ‘Hustlers’ and performed at the 2020 Super Bowl.
However, at the same time that she was celebrating both of these achievements, Hollywood wasn’t particularly interested… Accordingly, we see how she fails to receive an Oscar nomination for “Hustlers” and how she is forced to share the Super Bowl stage with another Latina performer, Shakira, a decision that Lopez comments without hesitation: “It was the worst idea in the world to put two people on the Super Bowl!” he says to the camera. Through a mixture of luck and design, the documentary seems to beg the question: Is Jennifer Lopez the most underrated star in Hollywood?
From a young age, Lopez has always struggled with a peculiar skepticism. She has spoken of how as a teenager she was strongly criticized by her parents when she decided to drop out of college, after originally envisioning becoming a lawyer, to pursue her dreams of becoming a performer.
But a stint as a dancer in the early 1990s for MC Hammer and New Kids on the Block secured her a spot as one of the Fly Girls, a dance group on the TV show ‘In Living Colour’.
In 1997 came the role that undoubtedly made her a star. This is the movie “Selena”. Nevertheless, the foundations for her multi-dimensional success were laid and in June 1999 her debut album ‘On the 6’ was released, with the song ‘If You Had My Love’ becoming number one in the US.
The album cover showed a relaxed Lopez, dressed in underwear and a long-sleeved T-shirt, sitting on a couch. It indicated a picture of the girl next door.
And while Lopez became more and more famous, what was great was the pride she had in her culture and the fact that she was not willing to compromise or “wash away” her cultural and ethnic heritage for what was popular or mainstream at the time.
However, there were also failures in her career, the worst of which was the choice of the film ‘Gigli’. The film’s worldwide rejection came at a time when the media coverage of Lopez was at the point of absolute saturation, in addition to films and albums, she had by then launched a clothing line, perfume and a restaurant.
There are many who argue that Jennifer Lopez is the wronged star of Hollywood. Maybe they are not wrong…
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With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
