Jennifer Lopez Gets Real

While the song is undeniably catchy, especially that sample of “The Lambada,” how much credit do you give to your American Idol platform for making it a hit?
The song was doing so great, but when we debuted the video on Idol it just took it over the top. I think everything happens for a reason. We didn’t even plan to put the single out while I was on Idol. We didn’t know when it was going to be ready because I’ve been working on this album for a couple of years now. So things just happen when they’re supposed to happen. It was awesome.

What can we expect to hear on the rest of Love?
There are going to be more dance cuts. I really want this album to very much be me and who I am today. Not me from my first album. I’m a Puerto Rican girl who grew up in the Bronx listening to hip-hop and freestyle music. Those are my major influences. When you listen to any of my albums you hear that. But the new album is me today, in 2011. There’s dance, there’s an urban feel, a pop feel, there’re my Latin influences, as you can hear in the first single.

After Adam Lambert, a predicted Idol winner, came in second place a couple of years ago, a lot of people blamed conservative voters. Do you think America is finally ready to elect an openly gay idol?
I feel they would be. I really do think so. I think they vote for whom they like and who touches them the most. All different types of people are embraced on the show. We have gospel singers and country singers and rock guys. I think they’re open to vote for whoever performs something that touches the most people. There’s certainly a tendency toward a commercial, safer taste, but it could really be anybody. I think they would.