Why Jennifer Lopez Deserves The VMA Video Vanguard Award

Jennifer Lopez is being honoured with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards.

A superstar considered a legend not only in the music industry but the entertainment industry at large, as a rare celebrity who never had to choose between music and film - or perhaps she refused to - as she has thrived as both a singer and actress for three decades.

A woman who owned her worth from the get go, refusing to let her personality be diminished to insert-name-here’s girlfriend or wife, despite the media’s incessant attempts to do so. A Latino woman who never gave into societal pressures of ‘how a woman should look’, instead redefining what bodies can be considered the most beautiful, birthing a whole generation of body positivity.

A businesswoman who was one of the first to go beyond her primary job title to launch clothing lines, perfumes and tons of other merchandise - not only inspiring future pop stars but also completely changing the meaning of celebrity, and the opportunities for their wallets.

Jennifer Lopez’s influence has been evident since the beginning of her career as she determined trends in popular music and fashion style, and is quite literally the reason Google Images exists (see the infamous Versace dress below), however the extent of her impact is only now being felt 20 years in.

From Fenty Beauty to the perfume ranges of everyone including Nicki Minaj, Ariana Grande, Britney Spears and Justin Bieber; the welcomed movie careers of musicians like Beyoncé and Rihanna, and even the brief trend of pop superstars becoming talent show judges at the peak of their chart careers earlier this decade. Everything Jennifer Lopez has ever done, her peers and the next generation have followed.

These are just some of the reasons why J-Lo deserves to be honoured with the award, and we’ve not even talked about the music videos yet. Let’s dive in.

She Has Hits For Days

Nobody gets to where Jennifer Lopez on a fluke hit, and that's exactly why her discography is jam-packed with classic anthems that carry a legacy and still get spun on the regular. She is the ultimate tastemaker, consistently evolving her sound throughout her career as she trusts her ear to know when she's got something great, seamlessly shifting between genres to push pop to new places.

Slick pop-laced R&B defined the sound of her debut album then she opted for a more straight-up pop sound on its follow-up, before switching it up completely for a hip-hop-heavy remix album that broke records, and later continuing to experiment with upcoming musical trends.

Somehow, though, with every album she has provided at least one massive club-ready dance banger, whether it be the trance-infused 'Waiting For Tonight' or EDM-lite 'On The Floor' that took over the world at the beginning of the decade, and now sits as one of the best-selling songs of all time.

J-Lo made a moment of each and every single via the art of the music video, where she has served up dance breaks in times where they're nonexistent, narratives, iconic looks, characters - even playing nine (!!) in the one 'Get Right' visual - and much more. Like a true '90s pop icon, she understands the power that the medium has to elevate a song beyond its sonic limits to become something larger than life by creating a vibe and lifestyle around those few minutes of music.

She Revolutionised The Remix

In 2001, Jennifer did something unprecedented when she released 'I'm Real'. Alongside the original album version, she dropped a remix that is essentially an entirely different song that shares the same title, dubbed the 'Murder Remix' and featuring Ja Rule. The risk paid off when the hip-hop-leaning remix topped the US charts for six weeks, and inspired her to record a full remix album.

Despite only being two albums deep into her career, she already had enough major hits that could merit a remix, while she also made more brand new songs that simply shared the title with one of her previous singles, like lead single 'Ain't It Funny', whose remix also topped the Billboard charts. The album set a record as the first remix album to top the US albums chart and currently reigns as the fourth biggest-selling remix album of all time, behind Madonna and Michael Jackson. What a legendary group, right?

The success of 'I'm Real', 'Ain't It Funny' and third remix 'I'm Gonna Be Alright' proved the power of Jennifer Lopez very early on in her career, as she was making moves nobody else was brave enough to or would probably even think of doing.

She Serves Narratives

Already an established actress by the time she kicked off her music career, Lopez has never been shy of blending the two together to make for more interesting visuals. From the utterly iconic 'Love Don't Cost A Thing' video - that is how you launch a second album - to the bittersweet winter romance of 'All I Have', a lush R&B duet with LL Cool J, she has often whipped out her acting chops for narrative-based music videos.

She took things to a new level with the still-amazing 'Get Right' video that saw her act as nine different characters, something she then emulated for her next album's lead single 'Do It Well', while the massive 2016 single 'Ain't Your Mama' saw her exemplify the treatment of women in the video to express the feminist sentiment behind the song.

While she's striking enough to simply sit and stare into the camera, and such a remarkable entertainer that we would happily watch her perform choreography in every video, she always switches things up to best suit the song and, in turn, often turns in a finished product that utilises all of her talents. Dancing, acting, her Goddess-given beauty; she's got it all.

She's The Dance Break Queen

Getty Images

The braids and crop top breakdown in 'Love Don't Cost A Thing'; the sudden switch from chill pop midtempo to Latin drums in 'I'm Into You'; the literally-iconic 'Get Right' choreography with the poles. There are too many classic Jennifer Lopez dance breaks to count. We struggle to think of one artist who has shown such dedication over two decades to keep dance alive in visuals, so much so that she continues to record mini remixes to include in said breakdowns.

Beyond the forgotten art of dance breaks, J-Lo's natural talent as a phenomenal dancer hasn't disappeared as her career has progressed and she still outperforms many of her peers - no shade, all tea. Her rhythm lends itself to hip-hop, salsa, interpretive, freestyle - all styles that she's taken on in her videography.

She has never downplayed this talent, though, as her debut music video 'If You Had My Love' showed her switch up dance routines based on the genre chosen in the virtual doll-themed video. It's the reason why she's been nominated for 10 (!) VMAs for Best Dance Video and Best Choreography, winning it in 2000 for 'Waiting For Tonight'.

We'd still like a recount for 'Get Right' and 'I'm Glad' but we'll save those arguments for another day. Basically, to sum up, Jenny never lets us down on the dance front.

Genuinely Iconic Looks

Just quickly, can we please discuss this pink fur-lined coat?

She's Part of the TRL Generation

One of the most duh! reasons to explain Jennifer Lopez's deserving honour at the 2018 MTV VMAs is the fact that she was quite literally one of the most prominent figures of the TRL days. Accompanied by Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake (and *NSYNC, bless them), P!nk and Destiny's Child, J-Lo's videos were on heavy rotation as they made headlines for one reason or another.

Whether she was pushing the limit with her topless scene in 'Love Don't Cost A Thing' or playing on the media's obsession with her relationship in 'Jenny From The Block', the best thing about Jennifer's videography is that she has always tried something new and was never too scared about what people might say.

That's why she's a legend, after all.

She's Jenny From The Block

From where? The Bronx! Congratulations, J-Lo. Jenny. Jennifer. Miss Lopez. We love you forever!

Words: Ross McNeilage