“First Love" by Jennifer Lopez, Sunday, July 31, 2022

July 31, 2022

Jennifer Lopez A.K.A. J-Lo hasn't released a full record since 2014. However, with singles, acting, activism, business endeavors, and gracing the red carpet, the now fifty-two year old cultural icon is just as relevant as ever. But in the mid-'00s, Lopez did fail to stay relevant. In 2011, she reemerged with her seventh studio record Love? and as a judge on American Idol. In 2014, she divorced singer and father of her twins Marc Antony and released her latest record, A.K.A

AND NOW, YOU'RE ON MY SKIN. In 2021, J-Lo broke off her engagement with New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez (a.k.a. Arod) and later started dating old flame, actor Ben Affleck. Affleck certainly wasn't the singer's "First Love," but the two were engaged in 2002, but following the release of their critically-panned film Gigli and the stress of the ever-present lens of the paparazzi, the two called off their engagement. Lopez said of that the end of that relationship was her "first real heartbreak." Up until this point, Lopez had been married twice, albeit shortly, and had had several high-profile romances. Lopez said of her ten-year marriage with Marc Antony, "a bandaid to the cut" of her breakup with Affleck. But if the goal of learning history is that we don't make the same mistakes as we do in the past, "Bennifer" is back together. And while the tabloids still have their day with the singer and the actor, the two have determined to not let media be a wedge between the two.

MISTAKES, I DON'T WORRY ABOUT THEM NO MORE. "First Love" is one of Max Martin's minor hits, reaching only 87 on the Hot 100. The song comes from a conversation between Lopez, Martin, and producer Cory Rooney had a conversation about relationships and how hard relationships are. Somebody said that they wish "the one" was "the first one" because it would save all parties from a lot of pain. Martin soon after presented Lopez the demo during a lunch break filming American Idol. The result was a catchy song capturing a complex feeling in a simple song. The music video for the single features English model David Gandy as Lopez's love interest. Filmed in the desert, the sweltering black & white video is sexy. Perhaps the stylistic departure for the singer, a electro-pop rather than the usual hip-hop oriented song, is to blame for why "First Love" wasn't huge. The concept behind the song is as interesting as it is flawed. I tend to not believe in "the one," despite having been in a seven-year relationship with someone I want to spend the rest of my life with. I think about how I wasn't ready to meet my current partner when I was younger, still figuring things out. I needed the heartbreak to make me ready to fall in love with the right person. But that's just me. Rather than dithering between first, second, third, or forth loves, let love happen naturally.

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