Jennifer Lopez: “I have matured”
- Jennifer Lopez, 37, released on March 27 2007 “Como ama una mujer”, her first Spanish album.
- The.point.is. met with the superstar from the Bronx in Miami.
Miami.
How long did it take to produce your album?
It took about three years to complete, which probably sounds like a long time. But it did not feel like a long time. I never went to the record company to tell them I wanted to make an album. Or they never asked me to make a Spanish album. It wasn’t that type of deal. It was just that we started making music. 2 1/2 years later, we realized we had this beautiful album.
You work with your husband, live with him. Some people say it is safer to separate professional life from private life. What do you feel about it?
For us, it is kind of very organic because Marc and I met working. So it is not something that was new to us. It is not something that was ever like: we got together so let’s do something together. The first day I met him, we were working together on a song. He asked me to do a video after that and we kind of went from there. So we always knew each other in that sense and we have a lot of respect for each other as artists.
Is it hard to draw a line between profession and private life?
We don’t draw a line. That is our lives. One of the great things about our relationship is that we create beautiful things together. It’s not something that we plan to do. We never sit down together and say “you know what we should do?”. “We should make this album. We should go to a movie together. No. Things have happened naturally. Five years ago when I had the Hector Lavoe script for El Cantante, which Marc and I did together, he was in another relationship. So was I. I knew he was the guy to play the part and nobody could do it the way he could do it. So I called him to tell him about the script. And he was: “Oh my God, he is my idol. Of course I want to do it”. We never expected to be married at the time we filmed the movie four years later. The thing we plan never materialize.
You have got two movies and an album coming out in 2007. Is it one of the most important years of your career?
Yes. I have been trying to build my production company for about 6 years now. Finally this year, we have kind of hit our stride. A couple of movies we filmed are coming out this year. We have been working on TV shows. The MTV one – Dance Life – just came out. We have a couple of pilots coming out. We have found the right projects for our company. I have a great producing partner, otherwise I couldn’t have done all the other stuff that I do.
From a US point of view, there is the rising of the “Latino identity” of this country. You are coming out with a couple of projects designed for the Hispanic market. You are a successful businesswoman. Did you know it was time to target this market?
Hold on. First of all, I am an artist. I do not think from a commercial point of view. That is not the way my mind works. I follow my inspiration of the moment. I did not say to myself two years ago : they‘re paying attention to the Latinos, let’s make some bucks! That actually started happening ten years ago in the US. In the film industry, people realized then that Latinos are a big part of our country. They have been trying to tap into it since then but they have not found the right way to do it. There is actually no right way to do it. You have to create great products for them. You have got to make products they can identify with. I am just at a point of my career , where I can choose different projects I really love. I can take certain risks because I have been around for a while and I have had some success. Now the things I choose to do happen to be close to my heart. What is close to my heart is Hector Lavoe, Border Town, this Spanish album. Some people might consider these projects as risks but for me it was the perfect time. It was an artistic decision, not a commercial one.
But can we speak of a journey going back to your roots?
Not in a conscious way. It just so happened. I did not think I had to go back to my roots. I thought about what is important to me and what really matters to me. I really wanted to produce this Hector Lavoe movie and I made sure it happened. Even if it kills me, I thought we were going to film that movie. And we did. But it took years. Same thing with the Spanish album, it was three years in the making.
Did the success of your perfume give you the financial freedom to do all these projects?
No. The perfume has been a success. But it is part of my clothing company. And it’s a separate business. That business takes money to run. So it makes kind of a circle. Right back in. What gives me the freedom is a state of mind of not worrying about if I have the money. I am at a point in my career, where I can make those choices.
Do you mean a kind of inner freedom?
I have matured a little bit in the past few years. I have grown as a person and as an artist too. Certain things hold you back. You deal with your uncertainties. There is a point where you have to push yourself beyond that. You have to get rid of all of that stuff to really see, how high you can go. You have to see how it feels, you have to take some risks and do what you have to do without worrying what tomorrow is going to be like. This that kind o freedom I have.
Is there something you are afraid of right now?
No. I am in a good place right now. It feels good. On year’s eve, I thought 2007 would be a good year. I can feel it my bone.
You album is called “The way a woman loves”. What is your way of loving?
My way is very intense, very passionate and 100%.There is no half way with me. That can be good and that can be bad (laughs).
Does it go back to your Hispanic roots?
Yes sure. We are very expressive.
There is a strong women trend your family.
The Latino society is a very matriarchal one. Women are the center of the household. The man is the king but women are the heart of the house.
What about you? Does Marc Anthony rule the house?
We are partners. We understand that we are both very strong people. Like in any creative partnership, we sometimes disagree. But it is true that he was the boss on the album. He knew what he wanted to do with this album from a producer standpoint. I knew what I wanted to but I let him tell the musicians what to do.
Is your album influenced by classical music?
Absolutely. When I was a kid, watching my mother sing classic Hispanic songs, inspired me to do something. It was always in my head. Doing my English music was great and fulfilling. There was always that part of me that wanted to do a classic Spanish album. It was just about being able to express myself in that way. It was a big part of me. And working with Marc, who knows me very well, he was able to tap to that side of me. He knows my vulnerable side, he knows how passionate I am.
Is it hard to be you right now in the US? One of your shows was interrupted by animal rights defenders because you wore fur at an award ceremony. You were criticzed by human rights groups for wearing diamonds…
I don’t like to give more press to these people by talking about them because that is what they want. They use people like me for that and I don’t want them to use me by talking about them.
How did you manage to disappear from the spotlight when you got married to Marc Anthony?
You can do it. It is easier than you think. All you need to do is not go out so much. That’s what we did. It was a choice. We got married. We decided to concentrate on this for a little while. We pulled back from all this craziness. It was a good thing.
Were the paparazzis chasing you?
They have to find you to chase you. Once Marc and I got married, they did not know where he lived. We were able to do things and disappear. I know where the paparazzis are. Everybody does. People, who are in magazines all the time, go to those places all the time. Then they pick you up and follow you to the city all day. So don’t go to those places.
You said you can protect yourself from the rumors of the paparazzis. How can you do that?
It is not that you can protect yourself because people are going to write what they want to. But I do let it affect me. Because I have faith and I really believe that the truth will come out. I have been in the business for a while now and I have been through tons of rumors. It does not matter.
There were claims in the New York press that you are now a scientology follower. Is that true?
No, it is not. I am a catholic, I was baptized and I will always be a catholic.
What about your role in the Latino community? Do you see yourself as an example?
I do not like to get involved in politics. But otherwise, there is no way I could not represent my community. That is, who I am. That comes with being in the public eye. I try to set the best example I can with my work and how I live my life. I am absolutely aware that there are responsibilities although I do not carry it as a pressure on my shoulders.
Besides being an artist, do you consider yourself as a businesswoman ?
Yes I do but more on the creative side though.
What is the most difficult business decision you ever made ?
There has been a lot. Probably changing the people I am working with. When you have to do that, it is tough. I had to do that a few years ago because I felt it was time to move on. Things were not working the way I wanted them to be. That happens sometimes. It sucks.
Where do you go next ?
I do not know. This is a pretty big year for me so I will stay focused on that. My English album will come out later this year. It will be completely different from the Spanish one. It is going to be a dance album.
Miami / Jean-Cosme Delaloye
Jennifer Lopez, “Como ama una mujer”, Epic Records.
A French version of this interview was published on March 18 2007 in Teletop, a magazine in Switzerland.
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