After spending the latter half of the noughties garnering more misses than hits on the Billboard Hot 100, Jennifer Lopez‘s musical career hit a homerun in the early ’10s courtesy of the RedOne-produced ‘On the Floor.’ With the assistance of rapper PitBull, Lopez’s return to dominance and prominence spelled of much promise until fans were greeted with a number of rehashes of the J.Lo/Pitbull formula over the four years that followed.
The absence of ‘On the Floor’s catchiness and magical flair proved an impotent punch for its successors as all of them failed to come anywhere near its chart performance. But, while she was hitting a number of sour notes on the Hot 100, Jenny’s star was proving itself hotter than ever thanks to ‘American Idol,’ a hit scripted series ‘Shades of Blue,’ and a hotly-selling Vegas residency.
The reignition of overall public interest in “Jennifer Lopez: the star” may have acted as the catalyst for the triple threat diva to try her hand yet again at her ailing music career. Tapping an unused number from hitmaking newcomer Meghan Trainor and producer extraordinaire Dr. Luke, the trio birthed ‘Ain’t Your Mama’: the first official single from Jenny’s 9th album…
Despite being a soca/dancehall-tinged feminist empowerment anthem, the song was initially greeted with worry as producer Luke was in a firestorm of controversy being anything but an empowering asset to women (see: ongoing legal battle with protege Ke$ha). Undeterred, J.Lo and co. pressed forward with the tune and, dare we say it, a kick-ass music video that played the feminist angle up to its ultimate height. Even throwing in an endorsement for presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in, between the singer’s fierce fashion, fancy footwork, and the radio friendly number itself, it seemed as though Ms. Lo had finally found a footing outside of the EDM/dance-heavy offerings she’d been wielding (pre-‘A.K.A.’). Yet, once again, time would prove even the best of looks are still deceiving.
A promising launch on the streaming front, fueled by the music video and a pit stop on her own platform ‘Idol,’ didn’t pack enough punch to hoist the tune up charts. To date, the highest rung it’s reached on the Hot 100 ladder is #72.
What’s the problem? If J.Lo had afforded the promo push to ‘Mama’ she did to the offerings of ‘A.K.A.,’ would it have fared better? Or, is ‘Mama’ just not hot enough to compete with the wave of trap and EDM-tinged numbers lining the Hot 100’s upper rankings today?
Simply put: what caused the failure of Jennifer Lopez’s ‘Ain’t Your Mama’?