She's back, and she's sexier than ever. Unfortunately for Jennifer Lopez, however, this does not necessarily translate into sophomore success. In her second album "J. Lo," Lopez once again displays solid vocal skills, but other than a few quality tracks, this album is rather uninspiring and falls short of the hype that has transformed her into the new sex kitten of the adult pop world.
Nonetheless, in it's first week of release, "J. Lo" skyrocketed to the top of the charts and currently sits second on the list. Hands-down, the hit of the album is "Love Don't Cost a Thing," despite the apparent influence of Destiny's Child on the song's sound.
Lopez's increase in stardom and entertainment media focus begin to qualify her to be considered among the most recognized female celebrities -- the highly exclusive Madonna echelon.
The fact that Lopez seems to be on MTV every other hour, the recent success of her romantic comedy "The Wedding Planner" and the hot release of "J. Lo," Lopez seems to be on her way towards challenging Madonna to the latter's illustrious title of entertainment queen.
Yet while the cameras may be rolling all over Lopez, artistically the younger and far less developed diva has a long way to go before she reckons with the proven veteran Madonna.
The track "Play" comes disturbingly close to Madonna's recent hit "Music." The beat is choppy, Lopez's voice is whiney and electronic pulses resonate in the background. Even the chorus practically copies that of Madonna: "Play, come on DJ/Play that song/You know that it turns me on/Just turn it up/And turn me on."
Yet the two diverge in the area of musical styles. While Madonna peppers her pop songs with elements of techno and dance, Lopez inserts R&B and Latin pop beats as she did on her first alum.
Such style is best represented in "Carino" and "Dame." The former track features Lopez alternating her solos in English with male voices chanting "Carino." While this is just about the only Spanish word in the song, the effect is overwhelmingly Latin as a result of the steady beat produced by the blaring trumpets and mariachi-like sounds.
In contrast, "Dame" and "Si Ya Se Acabo" are written mostly in Spanish and have catchy Latin pop beats, the genre of song that is the strongest on the album.
The only other decent non-Latin pop song is "That's Not Me," which starts off with deep sighs accentuated by short but heavy bass beats like a song off a Lauryn Hill album. The appeal of this decidedly R&B song lies in the rhythmic, fast-paced thumping interludes that suddenly give way to trembling, high-pitched vocals from Lopez. Within a span of a few seconds the listener hears a solid range of vocals that once again reinforce the strength and flexibility of her voice.
Lopez's vocal versatility is especially apparent in "Ain't it Funny" where her voice overshadows the bland background instruments to produce an uplifting beat that reconciles the conflicting heart-felt emotions of frustration and hope in first encountering the perfect match that destiny will not permit to be realized.
"Walking on Sunshine" boasts a different dance-pop beat by meshing a catchy beat with well-placed, varied vocal inflections that underscore the choral paradox: "We're walking on sunshine/In the middle of the night/And it feels like I'm somewhere above the sky, I, I, I."
Nonetheless, several of Lopez's songs try too hard to be smooth, romantic R&B ballads. The result is uninspiring, generic songs like "Come Over" and "Secretly" that even Lopez's vocal skills cannot salvage. While the subject matter of the album is romantically oriented, these awful songs do not measure up and narcotize rather than place the listener in the romantic frame of mind.
