Thanks to Dlisted for the heads up on this monstrosity. Below is a recording that will send chills down your spine. Apparently, someone at Jennifer Lopez’s old studio Epic released an un-engineered, un-bedazzled clip of Jennifer Lopez’s real singing voice as she tries to record “Enough is Enough” for her last album. Seriously, this is not good:
Now, I don’t pretend I have the best singing voice ever. My singing voice isn’t even moderately “good”. I can’t “hold a tune” or “sing in key”. But I don’t pass myself off as a singer, either. I just don’t understand how someone with this voice can honestly go into a recording studio and try to tell people, “No really, I’m a singer.” I just played this at normal volume, and my dog started crying, no joke. He came to check on me and nuzzled me, which is puppy-speak for “Please make the evil stop.”
This comes at a very bad time for Jennifer – allegedly, she just signed on to a new contract at Def Jam, but there are some rumors that everything isn’t quite signed, sealed and delivered. Many music industry sources are openly questioning Def Jam and Lopez:
Jennifer Lopez has a new home at Def Jam according to her longtime manager, Benny Medina. While the deal is good news for the entertainer, sources are questioning the deal and just why Def Jam would sign a Lopez said to be “past her prime”.
“People are saying that Jennifer is past her prime and her best work is behind her,” a source told the NY Daily News this week.
Adding fuel to those claims is Lopez’s recent track record with music. Namely, the last two singles “Fresh Out The Oven” and “Louboutins,” which struggled on the charts (although “Louboutins” has topped the Dance/Club play chart).
Nonetheless insiders say “At this point, she just isn’t going to have another “Waiting For Tonight”…. signing with a new label isn’t going to change that.”
Lopez is also facing heat from music fans thanks to audio leaked by an engineer. That audio, first reported Wednesday, features Lopez trying to record Barbra Streisand’s “Enough Is Enough” — with less than stellar results.
Lopez parted ways with Epic earlier this year. It is unclear when she will make her Def Jam debut.
[From Singers Room]
Ouch. Under other circumstances, this might be the point where I defended Jennifer and claimed that if Def Jam wanted to sign her, they should, and that Jennifer is still capable of being a profitable recording artist. But after listening to that hauntingly bad singing, I’m hoping that Def Jam pulls the plug on Jennifer’s singing dreams.
How can you be past a prime you never had?
meh who cares how bad she is- i’m sure she doesn’t, she’s loaded. besides these are outtakes. even good singer have bad moments. trust me i’m a hell of a lot worse than she is.
I always wondered why the no-talent “Jenny from the suburbs” was a “star” anyway. A big ass doesn’t make you a star.
She was past her prime in 2001.
It is good decisions that got her here and bad decisions that will be the end of her career. She needs to take a step back and be more selective over her projects.
I’m getting kleenex for my bleeding ears.
I never really comment, and I’m not a fan of JLo as an actress or singer, but this seems like some one at Epic is being really vindictive, who cares if DefJam signed her. If her crap music doesn’t sell it only would hurt DefJam.
And releasing this track is beyond unprofessional and I bet Britney and Madonna sound just as “bad” before their music is tweaked. That said, my eardrums are still ringing…
Sadly, her earrings failed to transform her into Jem.
(re: top pic)
@Statler: Nice one! a Jem reference, Michael K would be proud!
Personally I don’t think this proves she’s a bad singer. In the beginning she’s just really off key and more importantly knows it. It’s not as if they used that take for the cd. There are singers who sound bad who don’t know and still get record deals. For the last 20-30 seconds Jennifer sounds okay. She’s obviously not a great singer but Britney Spears and Miley Cyrus sound a whole lot worse.
It actually wasn’t nearly as bad as I anticipated. For the first 45 sec it just sounds like She has the giggles & can’t hold them in. THAT being said YES I do think she past her prime… I think she jumped the shark after the whole Gigli Bennifer fiasco. If not THEN certainly when she had her twins with Monsieur Skeletor. Kids always seem to have a way of sucking the youth/life outta women. That’s y I have my tubes tied 😉
Busted me, I do love Michael K.
Seriously? The woman is seriously trying to remake a song made famous by La Streisand and Donna Summer? Give it up now before someone gets hurt. Put the microphone dooooowwwwn…
She is so famously not-nice, I can take pleasure in her downfall.
Years ago before she had some high profile appearance, it was noted she had never before performed live. Thus I knew she was a completely manufactured “singer.” Comparing her to Britney & Smiley is meaningless, it’s only a question of who has the best material and the best engineers.
well i do not think its horrible, she is not getting it in the beginning but this song is hard to sing anyway. she is not the worst actress and not the worst singer, and her voice is recognizeable hers. she is said to be an uber perfectionist maybe thats where her bad reputation comes from?
but with a little singing experience myself i can say id be glad to be able to sing like that. and i am not a fan of her work at all!
CDAN had a blind gossip item awhile back about a singer who was so bad (but had enough of the “look” to make it as a performer) she was using someone to do all her voice work but the relationship ended. Could this be JLO?
You would have to be an “uber perfectionist” to fix your no talent voice. LOL
I still plan to see her movie though. Can’t help myself.
Jenny is an entertainer, not a singer. As long as she can still whip her fans into a frenzy, sell albums, and bring it at the box office, it doesn’t matter what non-fans think. Prime schmime!
this really is not that bad. i mean, for J.Lo. i bet brit and many others sound a hell of a lot worse. im not a huge fan or anything, but im becoming a J.Lo defender. she can act reasonably well in the right circumstances, she can sing reasonably well (altho it seems she has to try really hard to get to “reasonably well”, but ok), and the woman is smoking hot and still has her best talents – her dancing and her diva. she was on SNL and did 2 songs, live, acoustic, etc. and she did pretty well. she’s never going to be accused of being meryl streep or celine dion, but she does have some talent there and she is a great “celebrity”. Team J.Lo.
p.s. anyone saying she’s “past her prime” is an ageist asshole. to say she wont have much of a recording career b/c she lacks sufficient talent is one thing, to suggest it’s because she’s “past her prime”, which translates to “too old”, is b.s. having divas like J.Lo around makes the world a much more entertaining place, IMO. she’s got her own unique personality/”thing”, does what she wants to do, works hard (for a celeb), tries different things, has ideas, etc i like that about her – she’s the anti-aniston.
I will say my voice teacher, God rest his soul, probably rolled in his grave when I played that. Sounds like someone doesn’t do her warm ups and practice every day like she should. Until she does, she can go by entertainer, but never singer. She doesn’t have the chops.
J. Lo is almost certainly the artist mentioned in an infamous blind item a few years back, about an R&B singer who had never sang a note on any of her albums. When the demo singer who DID sing on the records started demanding more money, the artist backed way off of the American market, only doing foreign-language albums so people wouldn’t hear the obvious difference in the voices.
these positive comments are obviously by her relatives, we all heard the same thing, the entire world have been saying she can’t sing for years, she’s all hype. I’m not a fan, but i know talent , and she has none, zero, take your millions and run, and thank god you made it this far.
I like JLo but she reminds of Jennifer ANiston. Trying to stay relevant so popping up everywhere and they both have romcom baby movies coming out. If JLo’s movie is good maybe she will be back on track. But again if Aniston is any indication see ya later JLo.
I was trained to sing from the age of 8 to 18. I can read music and play the piano. I can hold a note but I know that my voice isn’t solid enough to sing professionally. I don’t understand how anyone who sounds like her thinks people should pay to hear them howl.
Oh and I’m not sure if anyone remembers a couple years back when Ashanti sued JLo. Ashanti’s producers sent JLo a demo track to see if she would consider a song. JLo’s producers used Ashani’s voice on the song instead of JLo. Can’t remember the song but this was early on in both Ashanti and JLo’s singing careers.
I’m surprised she sounded as good as she did for a few seconds at the end! She’s terrible, always has been, and always been a singer who never performs live.
“Past her prime”.
That pisses me off. She is hot! Screw ageism. I don’t want people telling me I’m “past my prime” when I’m her age. It isn’t how old you are, it’s how you look/feel. So forget the haterz Jenny-from-the-block! Do yer thing.
She never had singing talent— that isn’t anything new. However, she’s a great dancer and certainly has some sort of charisma. She’s also a good actress–she just picks cheesy roles. Plus, I usually like her style.
Remember when she sang the duet with Skeletor a few years ago? His voice was lovely, hers…not so much. I agree with the comment she is entertaining, I think she should stick to acting. Saw Maid in Manhatten today-she’s good in brain candy movies.
Jennifer has always been a terrible singer and an even worse actress. Her only real talent is dancing. However, someone made her into a good entertainer that people wanted to see and wanted to hear. She’s not the only untalented performer out there. Her career is mostly over and the people she stepped on when she was on her way up are now kicking her while she’s down. That’s the way it is in showbusiness!!!
Also, saying someone is “past their prime” is not ageism, it just telling the truth. A performer can be past their prime when they are 25. Jennifer has been past her prime for years now but people in the industry are only now beginning to speak out. Guess that’s what happens when your records tank, your movies tank and you can’t sell tickets to your shows!!
I don’t think many of the commenters on here are “ageist. It’s just that JLo’s time of fraud has come and gone and we know it. And that she reeks of desperation. Many women in their 40’s can and do look smoking hot in sexy outfits and I don’t deny that JLo, or JHo, as I like to call her, has a smoking hot body, but when she makes public appearances many of her outfits reek of desperation. There is too my try going on. And she is not classy. But, I did comment above, I like some of her chick flicks and plan to see her upcoming one.
“Past her prime” – they do this to all women in Hollywood at about 40. Really sad. Never to the men – however. I have no problem with saying that she can’t sing if that is what you believe – however i really find it annoying that women are always treated this way on blogs. And to make it worse it is women doing it to other women. I challenge this site to post one post this week about a man who is past his prime.
I’ve done a fair amount of work in recording studios, and the truth is that you could find taped snippets like this of almost any contemporary pop singer. Most require a good deal of piecing takes together to come up with something suitable for release. I think the real issue here is why someone ‘on the inside’ was attempting to make her look bad, since the public isn’t generally aware of how technically deficient the average pop singer is, and wouldn’t have a proper perspective on this brief recording. Mind you, I’m not attempting to defend her or her talent, just trying to point out that this isn’t all that meaningful.
@Mistral
I think they mean “past her prime” as in she was super hot for her acting and could get a pass on her looks enough to get a record deal.
She’s past that prime.
OOh, I bet she is fuming that this got out there!
This is what bothers me about her – she’s a good dancer and an OK (in some roles) actress, but that wasn’t enough, and she just HAD to have a music career. But she’s not a good singer! Or a good musician or a good songwriter. It’s such a shame that there are really talented people out there who never catch a break, but because she’s famous, she gets record deals, TV performances, etc.
@Mistral and Andrea
I think the issue that many have with her in regards to her being “past her prime” is that she traipses around like a twenty year old desperately clinging to a bygone era while still trying to manipulate an image that she’s outgrown. It’s not even the clothes; it’s her image. The whole hip-hop/pop ingenue image ages very quickly. Jennifer Lopez looks hopelessly pathetic prancing the stage singing the same shit she sang at 30. The same thing is happening to Mariah Carey, who incidentally has just had her album shelved by Def Jam because of this same issue. Now, if she reworked her image in a manner that befit her maturity as 40-something (Cher did it), I think people would have less to say. I don’t care what lies the media likes to sell. We’ve got a generation of post-baby boomers who don’t know how to grow up. 40 is not 25! Just ask Demi Moore.
As for her singing….it’s shit. Pure and simple. But so is that of most assembly line pop stars these days. Her breath support is shallow and virtually absent, and she’s compensating with her throat which is why she’s straining and out of tune in places. She would know this and be able to fix it if she would just train with a competent voice teacher.
JLo has been past her prime for awhile now. Once she hooked up with the Prince of Darkness her career has been on a downward spiral. I have never liked her because of her ego and fabricated persona. She makes the most outrageously delusional statements in interviews that while hilarious also turn me off.
The fact that she thinks she can tackle a Donna Summer/Babs Streisand song shows just how loco this fraud is.
Between her voice and those godforsaken pants I think I will skip dinner and just go to bed and hope these memories go away by morning.
I don’t think she is the subject of the blind. The little parts that aren’t so bad sound like her earlier music. Although I do think they use Auto-tune and whatnot.
@ e, No & Ana:
I think the collective agreement at CDAN was that JLo was indeed the singer from the blind. We went all out and were quite obsessed with it during the week Enty brought the MV blind back. (I post there often, just with a different name.)
“Oh and I’m not sure if anyone remembers a couple years back when Ashanti sued JLo. Ashanti’s producers sent JLo a demo track to see if she would consider a song. JLo’s producers used Ashani’s voice on the song instead of JLo. Can’t remember the song but this was early on in both Ashanti and JLo’s singing careers.”
This is incorrect…Ashanti started unofficially as a songwriter before she put out her own debut album.
“Ain’t It Funny” and I think “I’m Real” were written by her and meant to go to Mariah Carey. Murder Inc producers (Ja Rule and Irv Gotti) choose to give the songs to Jennifer instead.
Personally, I think those are some of her best songs (if not very best) and bring back fond memories for me.
They also fit her best, really. There was no lawsuit, however, Mariah Carey was pissed about losing “I’m Real.”
Honestly, I don’t think its that bad. After reading the comments and all I thought it would be much worse. Anyway, if Ashley Simpson can sell records, J. Lo sounds much better than Asslee.
Eh, like anyone these days really can sing – taylor swift anyone? – i’ve long accepted that music isn’t just music, but magic.
Just go to a Celine Dion concert if you want to hear talent…that is if you have the the $$ for her tixs.
I don’t know how old JLO is, but she looks great, and happy. I can’t wait for ‘the back-up plan’ to come out though.
I think she’s fierce.
I’m only in my twenties but fear aging because of reading crap like that. I hate ageist critics. JLO is not “”past her prime,”. She still looks great and I can’t wait until her movie, “The Back up Plan.” comes out.
I do think singing is her weakest skill though. As Laura above pointed out, Taylor Swift can’t sing either, but unlike Lopez, Swift at least writes her own music and plays guitar. She’s a singer/songwriter type.
I consider J Lo a more all around entertainer. She’s semi talented at a lot of things. I enjoy her acting the most.
She sounds alot better than I would have thought, and this doesn’t change anything. I don’t think the people who buy her music buy it to appreciate her vocal ability. They buy it because they don’t have the initiative/need to find better music. The worst of the Dancey-clubby-people I’d say!
Ouch! She’d probably be fine if she got some vocal training, she’s just lazy…
I was trained and had a contract at 9 to sing and was also in a choir for a number of years in boarding school even I would not dare call myself a singer,some people are just pushy and some record companies are also pushy they give them the song’s the singing lessons and the image then use them into the ground and the use by date is 25 it’s the norm.They don’t have a education some cannot even spell or read, J Lopez alway’s seemed fake to me.
I 100% agree with the critics. She cannot sing at all. Her voice was always synthesized, so of course, she sounded good. Anyone would sound good then! She needs to give it up. Nobody would miss her. Her main priority should be her babies.
@CeeCee12 I couldnt have said it any better but to add my 2 cents P Diddy was the reason J-Lo’s singing career took off. After their relationship ended so didnt her career.
I don’t believe she’s the singer from the blind item. All of her material sounds like it was originally her voice, just manipulated almost to the point of being unrecognizable.
She was such an amazing lip syncher in SELENA that I think people were fooled into thinking she could actually sing. What a disappointment when her own voice turned out to be so thin and weak.
J Lo has ambition to spare, she just lacks taste and brains.
I don’t think Britney and Madonna really ever considered themselves singers. They’re performers, and there’s a difference. Well, Madonna, maybe, but she’s a delusional old prune. I’d include Gaga, but she actually has a decent voice under all that stuff she wears.
It was a shame Christina Aguilera came out at the same time Britney did and got all the “cute blonde girl” comparisons, because they were always light years away in talent.
Jennifer Lopez is so mean and nasty to anyone that can’t get her anything, she deserves to not have success handed to her if she can’t make it without being engineered to death. If she has no natural talent, her personality sucks enough that I say screw her. She can’t dance anymore, her clothes line is fugly, her perfume reeks. She was sort of funny in some of her romcoms, so have her take some acting lessons and see if she can be nice enough to go make some movies so skeletor can continue to eat a lettuce leaf or two a day.
She wants to do so many things, but she’s burned a few too many bridges.
I’m not an ageist, as I thought she sucked years ago.
It’s not that terrible. She has nice tone and when she gets into it, her voice is lovely in parts (I can’t believe I’m actually saying this about JLo but there you go). I do know music and I know voices and as they go, hers in this raw state is not awful. She just seemed to be struggling to find the pitch. Recording in a studio isn’t always easy and since her voice itself has a nice tone and timbre, I’m willing to give her a pass on this. Not a fan but to say she is ‘past her prime’ is a little cruel. Like Mimi, she needs to stop dressing like a hoochie but she is still very beautiful.
I don’t like her not because she sucks. But how she uses fur in her clothing line. She sounds just as those poor animals skinned alive. She is past her prime. She sucks arse!!! I am first in line to watch her demise.
Can’t stand her nothing cool or hip about a manufactured pop star. Agree with the above so many better talents out there JLO could redeem herself by setting her ego aside and working to develop real talent – oops, that won’t happen as her ego is all that she has.
In order to stay relevent in music–really past the age of thrity five– you have to be on it. You cannot have a huge lapse of time between your albums like she has. It’s not so much ageist as it is reality. Things move so fast now in entertainement, that 3 years out of the limelight in the music world is an eternity. JLo does need to take a page out fo Cher’s book and reinvent herself now. Everything about the songs and her look right now seem stale. As far as the demo tape does, I have heard much worse. So many “artists” are manipulated in studio becasue they posess a “look” If the music industry was all about chops and artistry, kd lang would be a superstar. Unfortuately it’s more about looks now than the actual music.
This is nothing new. I know someone who worked with her in N.Y., who said that she was one of the worst singers he’d ever reconstructed a song over, note-by-note. (Pitch correct, editing, etc…literally, note-by-note.) And he’s a really, really nice guy.
Yes, they all use these things, but this gal straight up cannot sing.
OK #52 i don’t trust you at all now, again, we all have our individual ears, the sky is blue,= jlo. can’t sing, there are also pop singers who really can hold a note, pink, mariah, beyonce, Jennifer Hudson, miley,Leona lewis, so many more, who are not as popular, who can’t sing? Madonna, Britney, j. lo. etc.
Ouch.
(And WTF is she wearing in the first pic?)
I think the ‘past her prime’ could also refer to her image and the genre of music she’s trying to sing. It’s not 1999 anymore, and she’s not in her 20’s/early 30’s, so catering almost exclusively to the club scene really shows that she’s not evolving. I’m really not ageist, but there does seem to be a point where dance/club music should be left to people who actually still go to clubs. There are a lot of musicians to choose from nowadays, and any overly-produced, flash-in-the-pan “musician” that doesn’t evolve, doesn’t seem to last long in the industry.
Hi, long time lurker and first time poster who had to pipe up.
I have enjoyed a few of the movies and songs that JLo has produced in the past but yes I do agree with the commenters about her being past her prime. Her ego prevents her from adapting with the times, IMO. I just hope that all this bad press doesn’t sink her newest movie because Alex O is awesome and is in need of a good break. Yes, I was fond of Moonlight, I confess.
Btw, thanks for a great place to visit CB and thanks to all who post. I have enjoyed the read.
big ego, small talent. stick to raising the kids lady, we’re over you totally. you’ve made enough, let the younger one’s do their thing now. besides, you’ve failed at marriage enough, maybe it’s time you put some effort into this one as a priority and not just yourself.
This is nothing new. When she first hooked up with skeletor, they performed a duet, live, at the grammys and it was just hideous! He sounded magnificent but she sounded like shards of glass. It really showed what little singing ability she has. She had previous success because of Sean Combs and the other brilliant producers who knew how to work with what they had. If she went back to working with them again instead of trying to sing ballads or more “exposed” songs she’d have that success again.
I hate Lopez, but how can you be sure this is even real? I remember over the past few years, there were multiple leaked tapes of famous singers, claiming that’s how the really sounded singing live or un-edited. Every single one of those turned out to be fakes and everyone found out a few days later. Britney and Enrique Iglesias are a few of them.
I’m not convinced this is real, either. It’s too easy to fake tapes like this to make someone look bad and spread it around. And honestly, it does sound fake as hell to me.
Wow, finally had a chance to listen to this and it is bad. I didn’t realize she was atonal. Her voice is pretty, but she does not have an “ear.” She sounds like a piano that hasn’t been tuned in 50 years!!!
I enjoy her movies. She should stick to acting and let Skeletor be the singer in the family.
You buy her finished songs, not her out takes. Oh… wait, you don’t even buy them… most of you steal them with free downloads…same as this recording was stolen.
No recording engineer would have released this. It smells like her old label trying to embarrass her as revenge for her jumping ship.
As for her behavior… it’s polite and apologetic with self deprecating humor. If that’s her worst, I’d be glad to work with her anytime. Since I AM an expert, I will comment… she didn’t do her homework, and didn’t learn the melody before the session. Or she was having a bad day. Something every artist I have worked with in over 30 years goes through.
I couldn’t care less what anyone thinks of JLO. What disturbs me about all of this is the press’s accusation that someone like me would release this to humiliate her. This is a smelly old management, old label, or old boyfriend stunt pulled by someone without the stones to admit it. So they blame a professional that would never do such a thing. Cowards.
They are DEFINETLY RIGHT. This animal killer never had much talent, Hollywood just can put on spot whoever they want, if it wasn’t for her ass.
I always waited for this moment. I wrote so many times to her and she never stops taking alive animal’s skin to make her godamn “sweet face” furs.
That’s right, she is way past. Dead and buried
At least she is humoring herself. I have never been a big fan. I think she is over exposed. but evidently, it has worked for her in the past.
Jess
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JLO rules. Shes a great judge on Am Idol.