Aurora Starchild
J.Lo’s new Netflix documentary, Halftime, reveals that American Idol was the catalyst that changed her life in a big way after going through a bit of a funk. Yes, the 52-yr-old superstar has gone through a lot. American Idol helped her get through it all.
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A single mom of two [toddler] twins from her previous marriage to Marc Anthony, Jennifer Lopez says that there weren’t many job opportunities waiting for her a decade ago.
“At 42, movie roles were not knocking down my door,” she reveals. “As I was getting back to work, I really felt like I didn’t know what my value was anymore. I was doing American Idol. That was the first big job I did after I had the babies. And it was good for me at that time. People could see me for who I was and that changed everything.”
After becoming a judge on Idol for what would be five seasons, J.Lo embarked on her Dance Again World Tour. She then landed a Las Vegas residency at the Zappo’s Theater at Planet Hollywood.
J.Lo’s career was renewed, and she found her groove again, eventually performing a stunning duo performance with Shakira at the 2020 Super Bowl Halftime Show. The Super Bowl LVI was estimated to have 112.3 million live viewers and the Halftime Show has garnered over 239 Million views on one YouTube video alone.
Halftime is all about J.Lo’s journey not just through life but as a human. In the documentary, the singer/dancer/actress supernova talks about her struggles with her mom as well as being a single mom herself. She also reveals that she received a ton of pushback from the NFL regarding her creative ideas for the Halftime Show.
J.Lo Felt Insulted By the Idea of Sharing the Stage
To start, J.Lo didn’t like the idea of performing onstage alongside Shakira due to time constraints.
“We have six fucking minutes,” she says. “We have to have our singing moments. It’s not going to be a dance fucking revue. We have to sing our message… This is the worst idea in the world to have two people do the Super Bowl.”
Benny Medina, J.Lo’s manager, also emphasized how the idea of having both stars on stage was insulting.
“It was an insult to say you needed two Latinas to do the job that one artist historically has done,” he says in the documentary.
This all comes on the heels of J.Lo’s dealing with what she refers to as a “dysfunctional” and “abusive” relationship with the media, marred by sexism, sexual objectification, and racism.
The NFL Pushed Back on J.Lo’s Creativity
J.Lo’s idea to show kids in cages was also nearly axed by the NFL last-minute, according to the Netflix documentary. They reportedly tried to cancel the cage choreography the night before the Super Bowl.
(Towards the end of the epic Halftime Show, her daughter, Emme, appears with a slew of other child dancers, each sitting in a cage. The point was to make artistic social commentary on the reports of inhumane conditions towards migrants at the border, including sightings of children in cages.)
J.Lo won that battle, though, and the Halftime Show made waves around the world. Check out the last part below.
Halftime was released June 8 and is now streaming on Netflix. Take a peek at the trailer below.
