Jennifer Lopez – review
02, London
****
It's surprising to learn that Jennifer Lopez had never headlined her own tour before her current jaunt. Most divas in her glittery league consider an occasional sweep of global arenas essential for keeping fans on side, but then again, J-Lo has always given the impression that her pop career is fairly low on her list of priorities. She's better known as an actor, entrepreneur and emblem of Hispanic America than she is for any of her albums. Banks of empty seats at this show suggest she may have left it too long.
Now that she's finally got around to it, though, she's giving it the 1,000% customarily demanded by talent show judges. The theme of the set is New York, alluded to by a backdrop showing the Statue of Liberty's crown studded with diamonds, and Lopez's every atom is permeated with the city's go-getting confidence. She's not the strongest vocalist in the world, and too many of tonight's 18 or so pop-R&B tracks leave no aftertaste, but Lopez could teach Madonna a thing or two about self-belief. Thundering around the stage, shaking hands with overwhelmed fans ("Don't cry!" she sternly instructs), she's warm, funny and, despite the gloss, very "real".
"I'm just a simple girl from the Bronx," she informs us with a figurative wink and nudge. The show takes the girl-from-the-hood idea and runs with it. Ushered on by a troupe of dancers dressed in Broadway-inspired top hats and tails, she immediately rips off her floor-length skirt, revealing a sequined leotard. Thus dressed for battle, she steams in and roars through Get Right, Love Don't Cost a Thing and I'm Into You. These three summarise her musical breadth as well as anything – skittering hip-pop, bouncy bubblegum and hands-in-the-air club fare – but they would be so much generic dance-pap if Lopez weren't there, giving them life through sheer alpha-female force.
A costume change later, she's in a boxing ring, singing Goin' In; then she clambers into a gold tracksuit to "go back to the Bronx", where she leads the dancers through a quickstep Jenny from the Block. We're transported to an old-school uptown theatre for Hold It Don't Drop It, and to the fictitious Club Babalu during Papi. All these vignettes are executed with such moxie that she can be forgiven a five-minute video montage of her with her four-year-old twins. At the end, it isn't J-Lo the mother or even J-Lo the diva who sticks in the mind, but Jenny from the block, who still knows where she came from.
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012...r-lopez-review
Jennifer Lopez takes the plunge in revealing bodysuit... as she flies the flag for Great Britain at triumphant London O2 Arena show
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
PUBLISHED: 03:48 EST, 23 October 2012 | UPDATED: 09:28 EST, 23 October 2012
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Jennifer Lopez made sure it was a night to remember for the thousands of fans that attended the triumphant London 02 Arena show on Monday night.
The 43-year-old singer pulled out all the stops during the dazzling show, including a number of spectacular costume changes.
The most daring was the plunging Zuhair Murad bodysuit that has been a mainstay of her Dance Again world tour.
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Daring: Jennifer Lopez took the plunge at her triumphant London 02 Arena gig
Lopez wowed the thousands of people that attended her latest leg of her tour - thanks to countless uptempo dance routines, gyrating choreography and the costume changes.
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The singer dominated the arena, and covered almost every inch of the huge stage as she danced the night away.
Backed by her dancers, she also received able support from a giant big screen, which featured archive footage from past rap collaborators Ja Rule, LL Cool J, Fat Joe, Lil Wayne and Pitbull - and touching home footage of the singer's children.
Cheeky side: Glamorous gowns, hits songs and THAT bum - J-Lo pulled out all the stops
Ravishing in red: J-Lo got down to her knees as she passionately sung a song
What a night: J-Lo put on a spectacular show
Rare-ly amazing: Lopez dazzles the crowd in her London leg of The Dance Again world tour
Glitzy: J-Lo went through several costume changes during the hit packed set
Giving it her all: Lopez thrilled the crown with her high energy performance
Slowing things down: J-Lo took it down a notch during a rare slow moment
At one point the screen showed Lopez and her toyboy lover Casper Smart, 25, on a park bench hugging each other.
With the show threatening to get a little bit emotional, the singer shouted to the adoring crowd: 'Enough of this lovey dovey stuff, gimme some funk.'
Her hit filled set included Love Don't Cost A Thing, Get On The Floor, Waiting For Tonight, Jenny From The Block and a slowed down version of Love Don't Cost A Thing.
Her many, many costume changes includes a princess-style gown, a glittery gold tracksuit with matching bra top, a bright red leotard, a glitzy black suit, a huge feather dress and a short sparkly blue outfit.
Flying the flag: The singer held the Union Jack flag over her head
The crowd roared as she grabbed a fan's flag and read out the message
Happy to be here: The singer certainly made an impact at the London gig
From The Block: She performed a dance routine while wearing a sparkly tracksuit and bra top
Blue heaven: Lopez in another sizzling dance routine
She bangs: Lopez shows off her musical talent by banging the bongos
Triumph: It was a night to remember for her fans
Not only did she impress with her energized dances, she banged on the bongos for one uptempo track, draped the Union Jack flag over her and even managed to flash THAT derriere.
You would be forgiven for thinking she would need a long rest after that performance, but she seemed remarkably refreshed as she headed back to her hotel with Casper.
The kind hearted singer even took time to sign autographs for her fans.
Relaxed: The singer still looks stunning even after the energetic set
Kindly: Jenny From The Block shows her support to her fans by signing autographs
VIDEO: J-Lo sizzles in her bodysuit as she performs Waiting For Tonight...
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Jennifer Lopez live at The O2, London - Review
Published Tuesday, Oct 23 2012, 7:01am EDT | By Robert Copsey |2 comments
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© WENN / Ratello
It's hard to believe that after 13 years in the music biz, seven albums that were all (well, mostly) successful and countless chart hits, Jennifer Lopez has never played a single concert in the UK. As such, the pressure was on for her first - and only - show at London's O2 Arena last night.
Not that the nerves showed as she entered the stage in a sparkly nude catsuit shaking her infamous booty off to 2005's 'Get Right'; no mean feat for a woman who, now 43 years old and a mother-of-two, looks mind-bogglingly youthful and trim.
© WENN / Ratello
The star had hits to spare as she powered through 'Love Don't Cost A Thing', 'I'm Into You' and recent single 'Goin' In', setting up a boxing ring on the latter that allowed her to display her enviable abs and hi-NRG dance moves.
The mood was fitting for an artist of whom many of her hits punctuated the crowd's teenagehoods; reminding us of the Murder Inc dominance of the early noughties with 'Ain't It Funny' and 'I'm Real' remixes, to her poppier heyday on 'Jenny From The Block' and 'If You Had My Love'.
That said, the unquestionable highlight was her performance of recent chart dominator 'On The Floor', proving that J Lo's brand of old-fashioned wind-machine glamour will never go out of style.
4/5 stars
http://www.digitalspy.com/music/news...on-review.html
J-Lo, O2 Arena, London, review
American pop star Jennifer 'J-Lo' Lopez's career may be fading, but this live extravaganza at the O2 Arena in London showed she's determined to go out with a bang, writes James Lachno.
Razzmatazz: Jennifer Lopez performing at the O2 Arena in London. Photo: Getty Images
By James Lachno2:41PM BST 23 Oct 20122 Comments
Jennifer “J Lo” Lopez must know her golden years in showbusiness are behind her. In the early 2000s the New York-born actress-turned-singer of Puerto Rican descent was everywhere, starring in soggy Hollywood romcoms, stepping out as one half of “Bennifer” with then-beau Ben Affleck, and releasing slick, R&B-leaning pop singles. Last year she had a huge hit with electropop anthem On the Floor, but it felt like one last pop hurrah for the 43-year-old, who has never reinvented herself like, say, Madonna. The London leg of her first headlining world concert tour, being used to promote a greatest hits package, came across as a whirlwind bookend to her singing career.
If her star is descending, this well-oiled live extravaganza was an impressive way to go. She appeared from below the stage wearing the first of a series of glittering gowns and launched into Get Right, a funky number one single from 2005, followed by the zippy urban pop of Love Don’t Cost a Thing and the vivacious light trance of Waiting for Tonight.
The songs sounded glossy and familiar, and were given a meaty push by the pounding bass and drums of a live backing band. Lopez’s singing, on the other hand, was peaky, but seemed to take second place to the stage show, directed by Jamie King, the man behind previous Spice Girls and Britney Spears tours. It featured explosions, smoke plumes, lasers, the hurling of diamanté-encrusted props between chiselled backing dancers, and, at one point, a mock boxing match in a makeshift ring. Lopez’s own dancing, meanwhile, rolled back the years, proving that she’s still in spectacular shape.
Another elaborate set change recreated Lopez’s childhood streets in the Bronx for a medley which culminated in her 2002 hit Jenny from the Block. The sight of a multi-millionaire donning a hoodie and protesting that she’s still at one with the ghetto — in front of 15,000 screaming fans — may have been contrived, but the song itself remained stellar pop.
The weakest moments were when the theatrics were toned down — an acoustic version of If You Had My Love in particular brought Lopez’s shrill vocals into sharp focus — and the constant interludes for costume changes became tiresome.
3/5 stars
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/m...on-review.html
Its an INCREDIBLE show.
hewww else tho QUEEN