Career Biography: Does Jennifer Lopez Have The Dance Credentials To Judge “World Of Dance”?

What did you think of Jennifer Lopez when she judged American Idol? I loved American Idol. When Jennifer first started judging on the show, I was ecstatic. Just like I thought she might do, she judged with sincerity, class, and sweetness. She also judged truthfully, but, not to the point of demeaning a contestant. However, she was a tough judge and expected the contestants to work hard, listen, and improve as well. If they didn’t, she wasn’t afraid to say so. In the end of her time on American Idol, I think I’d rate her judging with an “A”. She was one of the best of all the judges (even though I always loved Simon Cowell the most). However, what about Jennifer’s dance experience and is she qualified to do judge “World Of Dance” like she is of singing on American Idol? Let’s take a look back on Jennifer’s life and then you decide…..

Jennifer Lynn Lopez was born in the South Bronx, New York on July 24, 1969. She is the middle child of three musically-inclined sisters. Her parents encouraged all of them to dream big and to accomplish their dreams. Jennifer always dreamed of being a superstar. As a child, she enjoyed a variety of musical genres, mainly Afro-Caribbean rhythms like salsa, merengue and bachata, and mainstream music like pop, hip-hop and R&B. Although she loved music, the film industry also intrigued Jennifer. Her biggest influence was the musical, “West Side Story”.

At age five, Jennifer began taking singing and dancing lessons. Aside from being a budding entertainer, Jennifer was an amazing athlete and participated in track and tennis. At age eighteen, Lopez moved out of her parent’s home. It was during this time she worked at a law firm while she took dancing jobs at night. When she was 21, Jennifer won a national dance competition and earned a spot dancing on the popular Fox comedy television series, “In Living Color”. Jennifer also briefly worked as a backup dancer for Janet Jackson. Though she was set to tour with Janet on her Janet World Tour in late 1993, Jennifer decided to strike out on her own.

A series of small acting jobs followed including parts in two more series and a TV movie, “Nurses on the Line: The Crash of Flight 7” in 1993. Lopez’s first feature film was the critically acclaimed “Mi Familia, or My Family” in 1995. Jennifer also appeared in “Money Train” (1995) and “Jack” (1996). Afterwards, Jennifer turned to music spinning out hit songs on the pop and dance charts like “Get Right” and “Play” while continuing to garnish Hollywood film work. Jennifer’s first big break came in 1997 when she was chosen to play the title role in “Selena” (on of my all time favorite movies). Jennifer earned widespread praise for her performance including a Golden Globe nomination.

Lopez’s musical career also began to take off. She released her debut Latin pop album, “On the 6” in June 1999. The album rose to the top of the charts fueled by the success of her hit single, “If You Had My Love”. Early in 2000, Jennifer was nominated for Best Dance Performance for her second hit single “Waiting for Tonight”. She went on to make great movies like the science fiction-thriller “The Cell” and “Enough”. In 2001, her album “J. Lo” debuted at No. 1 on the pop charts, while her film, “The Wedding Planner” (I loved this movie too), shot to Read more..