Quick question: if you were making a list of singers with the best voices, would Jennifer Lopez be on it? If your answer is a hard no, you’re definitely not alone.
When it comes to singing, it’s not like with JLo where everything is put together by a team. We’re talking about genuine, raw talent. And don’t get me wrong, I love JLo, I really do. But have you ever really listened to her sing? Like, really listened?
I don’t want to sound harsh. Oh, sorry! I didn’t mean to offend anyone. That was a bit much, even for me.
JLo is aware that people say she can barely sing. She even talked about it in her Netflix documentary, which I loved. But if she really believes she can sing, why didn’t she showcase her voice in the documentary? I heard her songs, but not her live voice. Throughout the whole documentary, she’s practically begging to be taken seriously as a singer, yet she never actually shows the talent she wants to be recognized for. She spends a lot of time addressing the criticism about her singing without ever proving that she’s truly a great singer.
You know, it’s not just that JLo doesn’t put in much effort in her songs; she’s also faced criticism for allegedly swiping tracks from other artists, especially Black artists. One person who got the short end of the stick from JLo is Ashanti. Turns out, “I’m Real,” one of JLo’s major hits, was originally meant for Ashanti. It’s a bit of a sore spot because the track was already recorded with Ashanti’s vocals when Irv Gotti, who signed Ashanti to Murder Inc., handed it over to JLo.
“It was a mix of excitement and frustration because, hey, it’s JLo, you know? But I was pretty peeved at Irv because I had my heart set on that record,” Ashanti explained. That’s why you can still hear Ashanti’s background vocals in JLo’s version. “I actually laid down the reference vocals for her, which is pretty common in the industry, and they ended up keeping my background vocals on there.”
And if that wasn’t enough, JLo also made a play for Ashanti’s hit “What’s Luv?” Fat Joe spilled the beans.
“I got a call at like three in the morning saying, ‘Hey, come down, we’ve got a track for you.’ This was right after Pun passed away, so it was around four in the morning when I hit the studio. They played me ‘What’s Luv?’ and mentioned they wanted it for JLo too, to get the Latino vibe going. But Fat Joe insisted on keeping it with me, and that’s how it stayed.”
Besides Ashanti, there’s another artist worth mentioning—Amerie. You might have heard the speculation that Beyoncé borrowed from her Go-Go sound, but did you know Jennifer Lopez also tried to emulate Amerie? Turns out, JLo had her eye on Amerie’s biggest hit, “One Thing,” which still gets buzz on Twitter even after two decades.
“Yeah, it seems like everyone’s talking about ‘One Thing’ lately, calling it the song of the decade. It’s funny because it’s not even from this decade, but hey, I’ll take it. It’s been one of the best songs in the last 20 years, so I’m grateful.”
When Amerie was pushing her record label to drop “One Thing,” facing setbacks, rumors swirled that Columbia Records tried to bury the single because JLo was gearing up to record her album, “Rebirth.” Columbia even wanted JLo to take on “One Thing” instead of Amerie, prompting Amerie to leak the song to radio stations. JLo’s interest in capturing Amerie’s unique DC-influenced Go-Go sound is evident in tracks like “Get Right,” which bears a striking resemblance to “One Thing.”
Then there’s the saga of how JLo allegedly impacted Mariah Carey’s career. During Mariah’s public clashes with ex-husband Tommy Mottola, she was working on the film “Glitter” and secured a sample from Yellow Magic Orchestra’s 1978 song “Firecracker” for her single “Loverboy.” But Mariah was taken aback when she heard a similar melody on JLo’s album shortly after, which she thought was exclusive to her project. It was a confusing situation that really bothered her.
Mariah Carey shared in her memoir, “The Meaning of Mariah Carey,” her disappointment over how things went down with her movie “Glitter.” She pointed fingers at Tommy Mottola, suggesting that his anger over their divorce and her leaving Sony played a role in hindering her success. According to Mariah, Tommy allegedly used his influence to block her from achieving big wins post-Sony. She also claimed Sony rushed to release a similar song by another female artist on their label after hearing her latest track with a shared sample.
Fun fact: Mariah famously claimed not to know Jennifer Lopez in an interview, which stems from this rivalry. Mariah has a reputation for her subtle digs and quick wit.
In another instance, Mariah threw shade at JLo’s alleged lip-syncing in a ‘Talk’ magazine article. She humorously compared their sleep schedules, implying JLo had the luxury of not needing to sing her own songs. Mariah jokingly said, “If I could get away with not singing my own songs, darling, I’d do that too.”
But despite my admiration for JLo, controversies aren’t new to her either. For example, the vocals on “Jenny From the Block,” famously JLo’s anthem, were actually sung by Natasha Ramos. Natasha’s voice sounds so much like JLo’s that if her demo hadn’t leaked, most people wouldn’t have known it wasn’t Jennifer singing the chorus and bridge. Natasha also lent her vocals to “I’m Glad” and “Loving You.”
“You know, ‘Ride or Die’ was actually written and originally sung by Brandy. It was meant for her album ‘Aphrodisiac’ but ended up on JLo’s ‘Rebirth’ album because Brandy’s project got delayed. Since JLo couldn’t find the time to record the whole song, you can hear Brandy’s voice in the chorus and backing vocals. Some say maybe JLo couldn’t quite nail it like Brandy did, but who knows?
And did you know most of the chorus in JLo’s ‘All I Have’ is actually a sample from Deborah Laws’ song ‘Very Special’? Sony got the rights sorted out, but Deborah apparently took them to court over it, claiming she didn’t know they were using her stuff. The voice you hear in the chorus isn’t even Deborah’s; it’s Makeba Riddick’s! JLo doesn’t sing much on that track either; seems like she lets others take the lead.
Then there’s ‘Get Right,’ which was originally meant for Usher’s album ‘Confessions’ as ‘Ride.’ When it didn’t make the cut, it supposedly landed in JLo’s lap as an apology from Usher. But Usher wasn’t happy about it and had issues with the publishing rights. Turns out, most of the vocals were done by Usher’s background singer, not JLo!
Oh, and ‘Play’? The entire chorus is sung by Christina Milian, who also wrote the song. And there’s this rumor that Canela Cox might be the voice behind ‘Love Don’t Cost a Thing,’ even though she’s not credited. And isn’t it weird that no one’s listed as a background vocalist for ‘I’m Gonna Be Alright,’ but you can tell it’s definitely not JLo singing the chorus there either.”
How’s that?
If it were just one or two songs, I could understand because artists often collaborate, like how Stevie Wonder had Michael Jackson sing background vocals on “All I Do” from his 1980 album “Hotter Than July”. But when it comes to JLo, isn’t it a bit much? It makes you wonder about authenticity, sorry to say.
But despite the controversies, JLo, aka Jenny From the Block, has definitely become a superstar. Maybe not just because of her singing, but her success is undeniable and you can’t take that away from her. Despite people questioning her singing abilities and accusing her of copying others, she’s still here.
What do you think about the criticism JLo gets for her singing and being accused of copying other artists? How do you think she’s managed to stay on top despite all this? Let me know in the comments below
