Israel Zavala

After nearly a 4 year hiatus, record label shifts and delayed release dates "Love?" arrives as a grand reintroduction to one of Pop music's most versatile Diva's. With shiny glossy production there isn't a single moment on this record feeling out of place. "On The Floor" (One of the best selling singles of all time) catapulted J.Lo back into the #3 position on the Billboard Hot 100 bringing her back into chart relevance. "Good Hit" an electronic base bumping track reminding us Lopez is as fun as she's ever been. "I'm Into You" despite the Rihanna comparison (The Album is full of Na Na Na's and La La La's) Lopez makes the song her own. "(What Is) Love?" the title track is the full of soaring vocals and high hitting notes worthy of praise, "Run The World" a hip pop track gives us a throwback to her urban roots (Think "I'm Real" meets Chris Brown's "Run It") and should have been sent over to radio. The ballad work here is also spectacular its hard to think J.Lo was once one of those artists who's ballads were not anything to boast about, On "Until It Beats No More" and "Starting Over" she sounds confident in her own voice, she finally reaches the point where she lets go and the results are groundbreaking "Papi" "Invading My Mind" "Villain" and "Hypnotico" are dancefloor platinum the beats are heavy the hooks are infectious and by the end of the record leave you wondering how we went so long without a J.Lo Album. Score: 4.5/5

After the tumultuous period in Jennifer Lopez's personal life that was 2004 the artist once onto of the charts decided to take a step back and recreate herself in Latin markets with her first full length Spanish album. However the albums blueprint is unlike anything she had released up to this point. Every track with the exception of the opening number "Que Hiceste" ,"Me Haces Falta" "Te Voy a Querer" and "Tu" are the only times the album picks up any steam and enters mid-temp territory. Every other track are lukewarm at best. J.Lo was never a ballad singer much less one in spanish. Score: 3.0/5 Standout Tracks: Que, Hiceste, Me Haces Falta, Te Voy a Querer, Tu

With a title like "Rebirth" casual music listeners would interpret Jennifer Lopez's 5th studio album as some sort of Reinvention or change in course for her discography and for the most part it is, The album opens like your standard J.Lo (Although she dropped the moniker by this point) album "Get Right" the infectiously funky lead single gives the listeners a taste of what is to come, tracks like "Whatever You Want" , "Cherry Pie" give us stylish groovy tracks to jam out too meanwhile marinating well with 60's and 70's inspired "I Got U" and "Still Around". Despite this Lopez still keeps her thigh high boots firmly planted in Pop territory "Ryde or Die" an urban hip hop mid tempo worthy of radio airplay and "Step Into My World" a sultry should have been strong single contenders and gives us Timbaland-esque production and play well with the actual Timbaland contribution "He'll Be Back" only reminding us this record is meant to reset more then just her music career but her personal life as well following that tumultuous Bennifer era which embodies "Can't Believe (This Is Me)" the only track on the album which is worthy of any negativity on yet another otherwise stellar album. Score: 4.5/5

Like many debut albums an artists sophomore effort is the crucial make or break point for an artist career luckily for "J.Lo" as she firmly stamps the moniker on the album sticks to many of the same tropes that made her debut so strong there just are not nearly as many on its sequel. Much like her previous album she opens with "Love Don't Cost A Thing" the chart topping lead single which at the time was a staple on MTV, VH1 and BET. "I'm Real" a pretty little pop song which ignited the feud between fellow chart topper Mariah Carey is up next and with its catchy melody keeps the uptempo momentum going into "Play" & "Walking On Sunshine" which crosses over into Dance/Club territory (A Chart Lopez would later come to conquer in her later years) and Latin flavor with "Ain't It Funny" & "Carino" both with efficient hooks. But only midway through the album it looses steam and wanders into weak and meandering ballad territory in which not even J.Lo's presence can save. Once the filler tracks have passed the album does close on the last two high notes "Dame (Touch Me)" and "Si Ya Se Acabo" Ultimately "J.Lo" is more of the same we got on her debut just not as cohesive and lacking some of the enthusiasm of her grand entrance. Standout Tracks: Love Don't Cost A Thing, I'm Real, Play, Carino, Walking on Sunshine, Dame (Touch Me), Si Ya Se Acabo. Score: 3.9/5

When it comes to 2007's "Brave" many regard this era as a complete flop which is unfair considering Lopez is as independent and confident as ever on this record. There is no crossing genres or even a single collaboration (excluding the Do It Well remix with Ludacris) but still Lopez showcases herself as a class act not needing any of that to feel empowered or assert her artistic prowess. "Stay Together" opens the feel good set list with ease surfing through some of her best pop work "Forever" "Gotta Be There" "Be Mine" and keeping the funky grooves of "Rebirth" Alive with "Hold It, Don't Drop It" and "Do It Well". The albums only second rate tracks "I Need Love" & "The Way It Is" Dont ruin an otherwise perfectly constructed pop album. Score: 4.5/5 Standout Tracks: Stay Together, Do It Well, Be Mine, Brave,

"The Beginnings of an Icon" The album opens with Lopez's first ever Billboard Hot 100 number 1 single "If You Had My Love" the track still is one of Lopez's signature songs and was a guaranteed hit from the moment it was created (Michael Jackson himself expressed interest in the song.) "Should've Never" the following track although slightly overlong uses Lopez's light but consistent vocals to create soothing melody on the confessional ballad, its soft its effortless and really sets the tone for the album."Too Late" gives us more of that same charm only slightly less memorable. Her first collaboration on the album "Feelin' So Good" delegates Lopez to the hook on her own song but still manages to keep a fresh and fun Feeling hens the title. "Let's Get Loud" Lets her unleash her inner Tina Turner/Gloria Estefan (Who co-wrote the track). Like any album the debut isn't without its filler "Could This Be Love" "Promise Me You'll Try" , "It's Not That Serious" but even then Lopez doesn't come off overly obvious. As the album comes to a close Lopez offers another version of her Marc Anthony duet and a Spanish version of "Waiting for Tonight" which are just bonus tracks to an otherwise strong debut album. Standouts: If You Had My Love, Should've Never, Let's Get Loud, Feelin' So Good, Waiting For Tonight, Open Off My Love, Talk About Us Score: 4.0/5

By 2002 Jennifer Lopez had fully embraced her Hollywood Diva persona and was no longer just an Actress/Singer but a full blown Icon in every sense of the word. It only made sense for Lopez to give us a totally personal and authentic album to give us a glimpse into what made her unique and that's exactly what "This is me... Then" delivers. Opening the album with "Still" a sleek sexy seductive introduction of whats to come following up with "Loving You" which samples the classic "Juicy Fruit" J.Lo bring us into her urban roots making every track seem effortless. "I'm Glad" arguably her most underrated single is perfectly produced (Its a shame she never performs it live) Her LL Cool J collaboration "All I Have" which reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and "Jenny From the Block" are obvious standouts but its on the R&B ballads which at this point Lopez had yet to master where the album comes full circle. "Again" and "I''ve Been Thinking" are complementary to Lopez's vocals and are smooth and beautify performed only showing how well Lopez has grown as an artist at mastering her craft. There are only two moments on the album which distract from an otherwise stellar collection. "Dear Ben" the Ben Affleck confessional does nothing to add any substance to the album but still didn't stop todays artists from committing this same mistake (See "Pete Davidson" on Ariana Grande's "Sweetener Album") and her cover of "You Belong To Me" just feels out of place. Score: 4.8/5