Album Review: Jennifer Lopez "Love?"

It's been a long time coming for Jennifer Lopez's new album Love? After releasing her underrated album Brave four years ago, J.Lo took a break to start a family & when she returned to the music scene, a failed single led to her getting dropped from her label. Never one to stay down, Jennifer signed a new deal, landed a judging gig on none other than American Idol, & before she knew it, she was back on top! The delay may have been a blessing in disguise though because the extra polishing time allowed for Jenny to find a sound that really works for her on Love?

1. "On The Floor" (ft. Pitbull): This one may have been an instant smash, but it was a grower for me. Either way, I love it now! The louder, the better. :) 5/5

2. "Good Hit": Now THIS one I've always loved! The attitude is straight fire. 5/5

3. "I'm Into You" (ft. Lil' Wayne): Another one I've gone from liking to loving. This album will do that to you! (Of course, the video for this song in particular didn't hurt either...) 4.5/5

4. "(What Is) Love?": I've been a big fan of this Wynter Gordon-penned track since it was featured on the soundtrack to "The Back-Up Plan" last year. The slower the tempo, the lower the quality always seems like it's been for Jennifer, but this is one solid midtempo! 5/5

5. "Run The World": I don't remember liking this song so much when it leaked featuring a verse from Rick Ross back when. I'm still not in love with the chorus, but the rest of the song makes up for it plenty. 4.5/5

6. "Papi": Jenny's got a hit waiting to happen right here. RedOne really knows how to make her sound good! 4.5/5

7. "Until It Beats No More": The studio version of this song is much better than it had any business being. She sounds great..! 4.5/5

8. "One Love": Even though this one's been leaked for quite a while now, I didn't actually listen to the lyrics until I got the album &, well, This Is Me... Then needs to take notes cause this is how you do a personal song that people actually wanna listen to. 4.5/5

9. "Invading My Mind": In my mind, undoubtably her best collabo with RedOne. It's retro goodness that had me groovin' from the first listen! 5/5

10. "Villain": Blame my Tricky Stewart obsession for this one if you wish, but to quote one of her fellow Idol judges, "we got a hot one right here!" 4.5/5

11. "Starting Over": Danja did his thing on this track! I actually didn't much care for the leaked version of this, but the album version is on-point. 4.5/5

12. "Hypnotico": Considering this has been released as a single by someone else already, it's understandable that it's a bonus track. Don't think that takes away from its quality though because Jennifer is in her (new) element here. 4.5/5

The party continues on the deluxe edition with the Wynter Gordon composition "Everybody's Girl", the RedOne production "Charge Me Up", the Tricky Stewart-produced final version of "Take Care", & "Ven A Bailar", the Spanish version of "On The Floor" that will NOT get out of your head! I can't really express enough how well the RedOne sound works for J.Lo. A lot of people may have jumped on the bandwagon, but their tracks do end up sounding re-done... meanwhile, Jennifer brings something fresh to his production, making them the perfect match! Plus, Tricky & Dream stepped up their game from "Louboutins" for the material that made the final cut of Love? J.Lo really delivered with Love?, creating a collection of songs--all solid--that are just alike enough, but not too much so, that you instantly become addicted. In fact, I don't ever remember liking an entire album from her as much as this one.

Rating: 4.5/5 Stars