Friday 17 May 2013

Review: Jennifer Lopez, Live It Up


It's easy to know that summer is on its way when a new Jennifer Lopez song drops. Released earlier this month, "Live It Up" is Lopez's third collaboration with Pitbull and is yet another club-ready hit in the making. The song is energetic and sprightly, making it the ideal song to blast through the radio with the top down. While it makes efforts to promote a positive message of love and empowerment, said message is bound to be lost behind the pulsating beats but whatever perceived faults the song may have are irrelevant since it'd be a challenge for anyone to sit still while listening to the ear candy that is "Live It Up."

The music video for "Live It Up" continues the long tradition of Lopez's on-screen fierceness. In the video, she prowls the catwalk in two Kylie Minogue-esque outfits and owns her choreography. Her sex appeal is undeniable but it could be argued that much of the video is an exercise in vanity given the focus on Lopez's visual appearance. Nevertheless, to say she doesn't look great would be a big, flaming lie. She's flawless and every bit the diva her fans expect her to be. Of course, she's not the only star of the video. Pitbull does his best to keep up with Lopez as he lounges around on the impossibly blue beaches of Florida with a bevy of bikini babes to keep him company. The beach aesthetic lends itself almost too perfectly to the liveliness of the song and the video makes its full jump to the beach towards its conclusion as we see more gorgeous shots of Lopez in a variety of fashions. She slinks around in a nude bathingsuit with shocking yellow lips and parties it up in a summery green kaftan. It's also worth mentioning that Lopez seems to reference herself during one sequence in which she dances in front of laser lights not unlike in her iconic video for "Waiting for Tonight."


While many begrudge Lopez for partnering with Pitbull on another track, their style and flavour has proven to be an excellent combination.  There's no denying that the colourful video fits the song just as perfectly as the outfits Lopez wears. The video, like the song, is fun and doesn't take itself to seriously. If there's anything Lopez and her work has taught us it's that it's best to get on the floor, dance, love and live it up.

Grade: A-

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