I feel as though somehow words cannot even begin to describe
what I just experienced tonight! After more than 10 years of waiting (well,
about 13 to be exact) I got to see my love, my idol, Jennifer Lopez in concert!
This, as you all are well-aware, was a HUGE deal! You see, every gay man has
that one woman that they admire and look up to. For some it may be Celine, or
Judy, or Cher, Madonna, GaGa, Britney, or Liza. But then there’s me who claims
Jennifer Lopez for that special place in my heart!
I was a wee little lad when I first saw this beautiful woman
in a little film called Mi Familia. She was in it for less than 10 minutes, but
it was at the age of 4 when I knew this woman was special to me. And following
her through the years since then, my admiration and respect for her as grown
tremendously.
From Selena, to On the 6, to every relationship, every breakdown,
every movie, song, commercial, I’ve supported her 100%! And while she may have
critics who say she can’t perform, she’s not a true entertainer, whatever! She
proved herself the entire night!!!
But first let’s start from the beginning of the night. We
had the smooth and sophisticated Frankie J as the opener. He even made fun of
himself, pointing out that people probably barely remember who he was. He
opened with “Obsession (No Es Amor)”. Afterwards it was time for the
bittersweet “Don’t Wanna Try” and then to the sweet “More Than Words”. It’s
clear this guy has one hell of a voice!
Now a couple weeks ago, we got to witness Kelly Clarkson and
The Fray in action. As the promotion would have you believe, Kelly Clarkson
should have closed the show being the headliner and all. But we were all
surprised and a little disappointed that she went first and The Fray had the
glory of closing the show instead.
Not to say that The Fray was bad (because
they were incredible!), but when you had your heart set on Kelly Clarkson to
end the whole show with a bang, it was a little bit of a letdown. Having done
all my research since purchasing my tickets earlier this year, I heard that
Jennifer would do her set list first and Enrique would close the show with his
set right after. I had gotten myself ready for this. But much to my surprise,
Enrique burst onto the stage and blew us all away!
I have always respected Enrique Iglesias. I’ve listened and
enjoyed a majority of his songs. But after his set, I have come to not only
love this man even more, but to truly respect just how down to earth he is,
especially when it comes to interacting with his fans. And there was the fact
that his songs had everyone dancing and singing along. From “Tonight I’ve Lovin’
You”, to “Be With You”, to “Bailamos”, and then closing with “Escape”, “Hero”,
and “I Like It”, he kept the energy coming and made all of us swoon.
Then it was time to adjust the entire stage and get ready
for J.LO. We were all in for quite the show as we see her emerge to the rhythm
of a classic musical spectacle before ripping off her accessories and busting
right into “Get Right”.
As soon as those horns started, everyone leaped up onto
their feet and never sat back down after that. From that first number and
throughout the rest of the show, it was easy to see just why I looked (and
continue to look) up to her all these years!
From the energy, to the high entertainment level, to the
intense dance sequences, and all the while proving that she CAN sing live, she
stormed that stage song after song! Whether it was taking it back in the day
with songs like “Love Don’t Cost a Thing”, “Waiting For Tonight”, her
impressive medley of “I’m Real (Remix)”/ “All I Have”/ “Ain’t It Funny (Remix)”,
“Jenny From the Block” and “Let’s Get Loud”, showcasing her newer repertoire with
songs like “I’m Into You”, “Goin’ In”, “Hold It Don’t Drop It”, “Papi”, and “On
the Floor”, slowing things down with gems like “If You Had My Love” and “Until
It Beats No More”, or ending the show on an amazing note with “Dance Again” and
“Follow the Leader”, it’s clear that Miss Lopez still has it going on in all
the right places!
The best moment though was her singing “Until It Beats No
More”, a song that when first performed on SNL back in 2010 wasn’t a strong
indication that Jennifer was capable of a comeback.
But tonight, it was the
moment when she belted out every note right on the dot, she sang her heart out,
and gave me chills (and yes, she even made me cry). She’s worked hard for so
many years to get to where she is now in her career, and all of that hard work
has paid off.
Think what you may, but she IS a true entertainer. With
every little kick, every shake, every thrust and what not, she was fierce and
in control. She let everyone have a good time and got everyone up on their feet
throughout the night.
Overall, it was an experience that I have been waiting for
for years. The little gay boy who used to act out scenes from Selena and
perform dances to her songs in school talent shows was jumping up and down for
joy all night from the first song until her last. It was truly a memorable
night, one that I will never EVER forget!
A LOVER FOREVER!
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