In a certain part of X, the social media network formerly known as Twitter, there is a running joke that Jennifer Lopez – pop star, actor, source code for Google Images – has been doing something like karaoke all along. Lopez’s I’m Real (remix) and Ain’t It Funny (remix) rank among the most indelible radio hits of the 2000s, but the supple, seductive vocals you hear are by Ashanti, whose demo recordings were mysteriously left intact on the final tracks. “The Little Mermaid is really based on how Jennifer Lopez stole Ashanti’s voice,” joked one fan.
When it comes to the real thing, the real thing being karaoke, Lopez can hold her own. This past weekend, a video emerged of Lopez smashing I Will Survive at a restaurant in Capri, Italy, belting out the lyrics like a diva raised on the gospel of Sylvester and Donna Summer. She also performed a favourite from her own catalogue, proving that, if Let’s Get Loud belongs at the 2021 presidential inauguration, then it certainly also has a place at the Taverna Anema e Core. In the clips posted online, Lopez sounds better than she has in ages, almost as if she would like to remind everyone that her recent box office duds never happened and she possesses a good voice in fine shape. Incidentally, Lopez’s new album is due this fall.
