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Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Jennifer Lopez, The #38 Female Artist of the Rock Era

Jennifer Muniz (Lopez) was born in the Bronx, New York.  She began taking singing and dancing lessons at the age of five.  She graduated from Preston High School, a member of the gymnastics, track and softball teams.  She became interested in a career in the entertainment industry after a minor role in the 1986 movie My Little Girl.  She enrolled briefly in Baruch College, but dropped out after one semester and got an apartment in Manhattan.   

Lopez performed in regional productions of Jesus Christ, Superstar! and Oklahoma.  She was then hired to be in the chorus of Golden Musicals of Broadway, which toured Europe for five months.  Jennifer got a job on the show Synchronicity in Japan, where she was a singer, dancer and choreographer. 

Jennifer was selected as a backup dancer for New Kids on the Block in 1991.  Soon, she got a job as a Fly Girl dancer on the television show In Living Color.  Jennifer moved to Los Angeles to film the series and was a regular cast member until 1993.  During this time, Jennifer briefly was a backup dancer for Janet Jackson, before Jennifer set out to become a full-time actress. 

Jennifer starred in the movie Lost in the Wild in 1993 and the television show Second Chances.  In 1995, Jennifer landed a role in the movie My Family and starred in Money Train later in the year.  

In 1997, Jennifer starred with Jack Nicholson in the movie Blood and Wine, which sank at the box office, but she received critical claim for her role in the movie Selena.

Jennifer's performance in Selena attracted considerable attention--she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress.  She recorded a music demo in Spanish, and sent it to Sony Music.  Sony was interested in signing Lopez, but Tommy Mottola, head of the label, suggested she sing the song in English instead.

Lopez continued to star in movies such as Anaconda, U Turn, Out of Sight, and she provided the voice for a character in the animated Antz.  She became the first Latina actress to earn over $1 million for a role in the 1998 movie Out of Sight.

In 1999, Lopez sought to become one of the few movie stars in history to have a successful career in music.  She released the single "If You Had My Love", which hit #1 in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, #4 in the U.K. and France and #5 in Germany and Switzerland--not bad for a debut single.

"If You Had My Love" won a Billboard Music Award for Best Pop Video Clip.  The video garnered four nominations at the MTV Video Music Awards:  Best Pop Video, Best Female Video, Best New Artist in a Video and Best Dance Video.  

As the single took off, Lopez released her debut album On the 6.  "Waiting For Tonight", although a Top 10 song in most countries, was still a bit underrated at #4 in Australia, #5 in the U.K. and New Zealand, #8 in the U.S. and #10 in France.  It too won a Billboard Award for Best Pop Video Clip, was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording, and won an MTV Video Music Award for Best Dance Video.
  

The singles "Feelin' So Good" and "Let's Get Loud" did well in selected countries.  Lopez won the Billboard Music Award for Top Pop Artist--Female, and she was nominated for Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist at the American Music Awards.  Jennifer wore a Green Versace "Jungle Dress" to the ceremony for the Grammy Awards.  The dress has since been voted the fifth-most iconic dress of all-time in a poll conducted by The Daily Telegraph.

While recording her second album, Lopez changed her stage name to J. Lo, a nickname given to her by her fans.  She named the album after her acquired stage name, and released it in 2001.  The opening single, "Love Don't Cost A Thing", topped the charts in the U.K., Canada and New Zealand, and reached #2 in Switzerland and #3 in the United States and Sweden.  The video was nominated for Best Female Video and Best Dance Video at the MTV Video Music Awards.  

The album was a huge success, and Lopez became the first person in history to simultaneously own the #1 album (J. Lo) and the #1 movie The Wedding Planner.  Lopez accomplished the rare and remarkable feat of being nominated for both Favorite Female Musical Performer and Favorite Motion Picture Actress in the same year at the People's Choice Awards.
In April, Jennifer launched J. Lo by Jennifer Lopez, her own clothing and accessory company.  In 2002, Lopez opened the restaurant Madre's, and later in the year, she released her first fragrance, Glow by J. Lo, which became the top-selling fragrance in America. 


J. Lo sold over four million copies in the U.S. alone.  "Play" reached #3 in the U.K. and #5 in Canada, and was a top 10 song in two other countries as well.






On The 6 sold over three million copies in the United States and over eight million worldwide, and Lopez again was nominated for Favorite Female Musical Performer at the People's Choice Awards.  "Ain't It Funny" was a Top 10 smash nearly everywhere in the world.







J. Lo was nominated for Favorite Hip-Hop/R&B Female Artist at the American Music Awards.  The next single, "I'm Real", hit #1 in the United States and was #3 in Australia, New Zealand and France.  It won the Pop Award from ASCAP and the video captured Best Hip-Hop Video at the MTV Video Music Awards.

Lopez released an album of remixes later in the year, J to the L-Lo! The Remixes. A remix of "Ain't It Funny" shot up to #1 in the U.S., and the album contained another hit--"I'm Gonna' Be Alright", which peaked at #3 in the U.K., #4 in Switzerland, #6 in Germany and #10 in the U.S.







Lopez released the album This Is Me...Then in 2002.  The first single "Jenny From The Block" was lined up, and hit #1 in Canada, was #3 in the U.S. and the U.K., and reached the Top 10 in every major country in the world.  The song also received Award-Winning Song recognition from BMI.





Lopez won the American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist, and was was nominated for Favorite Hip-Hop/R&B Female Artist for the second straight year.  The album has now sold over two million copies in the U.S. alone.  Jennifer released the single "All I Have" with LL Cool J.  The song did extremely well, topping the charts in the United States and New Zealand and reaching #2 in the U.K. and Australia.  It also won the Pop Award from ASCAP and it too received Award-Winning Song honors from BMI.  

Jennifer continued to star in movies such as Maid in Manhattan, Gigli, and Shall We Dance? (with Richard Gere).
    

In 2004, Lopez released her fourth album Rebirth, which went Platinum.  "Get Right" was the only big worldwide hit from the album, peaking at #1 in the U.K., and reaching # 2 in New Zealand and France and #3 in Australia, Canada and Switzerland.  The video was nominated for Best Dance Video at the MTV Video Music Awards.

Jennifer was nominated for World's Best Selling Pop Female Artist at the World Music Awards.  Later in the year, J. Lo starred in one of her greatest roles, receiving $15 million to star alongside Jane Fonda in the romantic comedy Monster-in-Law.  

In 2006, Lopez joined LL Cool J for the song "Control Myself", which landed at #2 in the U.K. and #4 in the U.S. and Canada.

In 2007, Lopez released the album Como Ama una Mujer, which set a record for first-week sales in the United States for a Spanish album.  But the subsequent release, Brave, was her lowest-charting album. 

Us Weekly named Lopez  "Style Icon" of the 2000's.  In 2010, Lopez was presented with the Legend Award at the World Music Awards for "her outstanding contribution to the arts".  

In 2010, Lopez left Epic Records and signed with Island Records to work on a new album.  She landed a spot as a judge on the television show American Idol, and in October, released her fourteenth fragrance, Love and Glamour

In 2011, Jennifer released the album Love? and comeback single "On The Floor".  The song hit #1 in every country in the world except New Zealand (#2) and the United States (#3), and according to Guinness Book of World Records, is the Highest-Viewed Female Music Video of All-Time.  Lopez received the Special Achievement Award at the World Music Awards for Most Popular Female Video of All-Time.  


Jennifer is also nominated for four other World Music Awards later this year:  World's Best Song ("On The Floor"), World's Best Live Act, and she has two videos in the running for World's Best Video--"On The Floor" and "Follow The Leader".  Lopez released the fragrance Love and Light, which became her most successful fragrance launch to date, making over $2.9 million.  In September, J. Lo introduced the Jennifer Lopez Collection, a clothing and accessories line for Kohl's department store, as well as the Jennifer Lopez Home Collection, featuring bedding, towels and luggage.  

Lopez embarked on a world tour in 2012.  She became the chief creative officer of nuvoTV in May of 2013 and founded the mobile phone brand Viva Móvil.  Lopez was nominated for Favorite Pop Artist and Favorite Female Artist at the People's Choice Awards.  Jennifer was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame later in the year.  She is working on a new album on Capitol Records.  

Lopez sports record sales of 75 million and a cumulative film gross of over $2 billion--a rare combination of dual talents.  J. Lo has won three American Music Awards and three Billboard Music Awards.  She has recorded 24 hits, with 10 of those going Top 10 and four #1's.  

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