Premiere: Angelo Garcia rushes out demo tracks on YouTube

It certainly seems to have been a tumultuous week for ex-Menudo boyband member and now out gay man Angelo Garcia.

On Sunday, popular blogger Matthew Rettenmund posted an item from the June 8th issue of Spanish language gossip magazine TV Novelas on his Boy Culture blog in which Garcia spoke openly about being a gay man.   He also posted an update featuring photos Garcia sent to him in which he appeared posing with his boyfriend.

The post was quickly picked up by several blogs, including Blabbeando, and then got tremendous play in Brazilian mainstream media (don't ask).  It was only later in the week that Spanish language media such as Univision, People en Español and MTVtr3s picked it up and it's only now spreading throughout Latin America.

If Ricky Martin's coming out received what amounted to indifferent shrugs in the United States, the reaction to Garcia have mostly been associated to his pumped up physique and not his music. After all, he never really had the musical cross-over that Ricky Martin enjoyed in the United States during his "Living La Vida Loca" days.

But most reactions, including mine, have also focused on the fact that he is the second Menudo member to come out.

Actually, according to Garcia, that's erroneous: He says he came out two months before Ricky Martin did.

"Let me clear something up with all my friends and Fans," he wrote yesterday in a Facebook Fan Page post, "Ricky Martin might have been the most Famous Menudo to ever come out but I was the FIRST! I am getting a lot of attention about this now because of Ricky's Revelation so having 2 Menudo boys be GAY I guess is NEWS WORTHY but I spoke publicaly (sic) about my Sexuality 2 months before he came out. It is funny how the press TWISTS the TRUTH".

If that sounds snooty, petty or a stab at attention-grabbing, he explains in another post why he felt he needed to make the statement. "I did not expect all this media attention and I am not looking for attention or trying to ride coat tails or steal other's THUNDER! I am TIRED of The RUDE IGNORANT comments and RUDE Emails people are sending. I Love myself just the way I am. Like Christina aguilera says 'AND IF ...YOU DONT LIKE IT F*** YOU!'"

And he is right. Some replies on message boards and online articles have been vicious and more than a few have accused him of trying to ride the Ricky Martin's coattail to fame.

As I wrote in my previous post, I did find a previous interview in which Garcia openly discussed his sexual orientation, and in which he also discussed his experiences as a male stripper at Manhattan's now gone Gaiety Theater in Times Square.  But it wasn't clear to me if the interview had been conducted in April when he did an erotic photo shoot for Paragon Men - 2 months before Ricky Martin came out - or after Ricky had come out. In any case, the interview went unnoticed and it's only now that media is focusing on Garcia.

In those interviews, Garcia also mentioned he was working in new solo material. He'd previously released a solo album titled "Cool" but that was in 2006. I checked out some of the tracks out there and found some promise but was not impressed overall.  I also thought he was bluffing a bit when he said he was working on new material. Apparently, I was also wrong.

Last night on YouTube, Garcia released two demo tracks he is working on for his upcoming English-language release "Scandalous". I imagine he wants to take advantage of the attention he has been getting this week and who could blame him? It's also probably a way to try to turn attention away from his Menudo past as well as put a spotlight on his music.  But is it good?

In interviews, Garcia has described himself as a gay male version "Lady Gaga" but in the cover art and in the song stylings he actually reminds me more of Adam Lambert.  Both songs obviously needs some additional production work but I think they show great potential and build up on the promise he showed in his past solo work. 

First up, the better of the two demos, "The Morning After"...



And then, "Fallin 4 U".  Funny, one of the lines in the song says "I wanna explain it to the world that you are my favorite girl"... I guess if gay actors can play straight, gay singers can play straight too? Or will the lyrics be changed once the album is released?



What do you think?

Related:

• Angelo's Facebook Fan page here
• Angelo's MySpace page here
• Angelo's Twitter feed  here 

Previously:

• Puerto Rican singer Lisa M. comes out (April 23, 2010)
• Ricky Martin: "I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man" (March 29, 2010)
• Dominican singer Rita Indiana comes out (March 23, 2010) 

OMG: Was everyone in Menudo gay?

Word comes today via Boy Culture that one of the original Menudo boyband members was gay.

No, not Ricky Martin. That's old news. It's Angelo Garcia, a boybandmate of Ricky's, who has since buffed up a little bit and, most recently, posed naked for erotic gay site Paragon Men (subscription required for what I assume are nude shots and video).

The semi-scoop comes from the June 8th print edition of TV Notas, a Spanish language tabloid sold in Latin America and the United States.

According to Boy Culture:

In the piece, he says he's never been closeted: "I'm very honest about who I am, but I don't like labels...people need to understand that someone's sexuality doesn't make the person. I'm more than that, a son, brother a musician..." But I believe he is confirming his identity publicly for the first time on the heels of appearing nude in a gay magazine.

He says he wasn't surprised when Ricky Martin came out, though he never saw Martin with a man or woman and assumed he was asexual (and no, they never fucked—he was 10 when Martin was 18, y'all). Martin had his own private room apart from the others.

Garcia theorizes their manager might have thought Martin was gay and kept him from his impressionable bandmates, or Martin may have had a private room as a perk since he was the eldest Menudo.

Paragon Men, which offers free access to some of the non-nudie shots on this page, also posted an English-language interview with Garcia back in April in which he actually said he was gay but, few, I guess, noticed at the time.  From that interview (italics mine):

Q: Since your on-camera interview with Jesse (filmed last month), Ricky Martin has officially "come-out", so let's move beyond your diplomatic comments on his life in the closet since Menudo. What do you think about his decision to come out? Is there anything you'd like to add to what you said earlier?

For all of us, discovering our sexuality is a process. None of us hits puberty knowing exactly where we fall on the spectrum of sexuality. We fantasize, we explore erotica and porn, we masturbate, we fuck, and we gradually get to know who we are sexually. I've never been in the closet and I've never lied about my sexuality. I believe in being honest with myself and others. I'm a very sexual person and I love sex with men. I've never told anyone anything different.

I can't speak for Ricky, and I don't know what his life was like after we parted ways. I'm glad that he's come out. It's better for him to stop hiding, and it's better for all of us. If every gay singer, actor, governor, lawyer, doctor, judge, teacher, athlete, senator, whatever would just come out and admit that he or she is gay, then the straight world would realize that being gay doesn't mean we are flawed. We were born with this other way of expressing love. It is neither better nor worse that being straight. It is just who we are.

Of course, I knew that Ricky was gay, but I would never "out" anyone. I know he seems to have a wonderful family now and to be comfortable in his own skin. What more could anyone want? He's a talented performer, and his being homosexual doesn't diminish that in any way. I am hopeful that the openly gay Ricky Martin will be as successful as the closeted Ricky Martin, and I wish him well.

As for his career,  Angelo Garcia has released a solo album titled "Cool".  I'm not sure if I dig "Dámelo", which I found on YouTube. There is also a lipsynched performance of "Cariño Presumido" on Puerto Rican TV.

But head over to his personal website, and listen to the couple of tracks you can stream on the site and they are much better including what seems to be the movie's title track, "Cool", an ode against fundamentalist religion.

He tells TV Notas and Paragon Men he is working on new material for an upcoming release.

Related:

• Angelo's Facebook Fan page here
• Angelo's MySpace page here
• Angelo's Twitter feed here  

Previously:

• Puerto Rican singer Lisa M. comes out (April 23, 2010)
• Ricky Martin: "I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man" (March 29, 2010)
• Dominican singer Rita Indiana comes out (March 23, 2010) 

The Lisa M. Interview (English)

Last year few people noticed what I thought was a mini-trend: After a relative dearth in LGBT representation in the Latino music industry, several performers came out as gay or lesbian between the months of February and April (OK, maybe I was the only person who noticed).

The run-down: 1. First came former Menudo singer Angelo Garcia when he spoke to online site Paragon Men about being gay in February; 2. Then, in mid-March, came up-and-coming performer Rita Indiana who appeared on the red carpet with her partner Noeilla Quintero at the Dominican Republic's most important music awards ceremony;  3. Before the end of that month, Ricky Martin would use his official site to proclaim himself as a "proud homosexual" and, finally, in April, 4. Puerto Rican salsa and reggaeton singer Lisa M. decided to tell her followers on Facebook that she was a lesbian.

Both Angelo Garcia and Rita Indiana say they never really hid their sexual identity from anyone and that it was media who suddenly took an interest on their personal lives.  Ricky Martin and Lisa M., on the other hand, spent years building their successful careers in the Latino pop industry actively shaping a performing persona while assiduously avoiding talking about their personal lives.

Born Lisa Marrero Vázquez, Lisa M. probably had the biggest commercial success of her career as a salsa singer in the late 1990's with huge hits like "Tu Pum Pum" and "Menéalo".  But, artistically, she probably reached the professional high-point of her career with 2007's "Respect", a lavishly produced reggaeton album which also served as her last commercial release and contained the single "Hey Ladies".

On Friday, I had the opportunity to speak to Lisa on the phone from Puerto Rico.  In her first exclusive interview with an English-language venue - or an LGBT-venue for that matter - Lisa addressed her decision to come out on Facebook last year, her relative silence since then and her plans to release a brand new single and album late this year or in early 2012 (for the original Spanish-language version of this interview click here).

Blabbeando: It’s been a little more than a year since you decided to tell your followers on Facebook that you are a lesbian.  What made you decide to do it and did you feel scared at all when you finally came out?

Lisa M.: Well, look, when I actually did it, I was in Spain and, before that, I had already been thinking of coming out in public.  I wanted to come out, not because I had any specific purpose, but because that was the purpose… to come out.

At that moment, all the stuff about Ricky Martin had already surfaced.   Obviously, when Ricky takes something as delicate as his private life and decides to share it with his fans, with his family and with the rest of the world, it was something quite beautiful. And it’s not that I came out because he did it but, basically, it was a ‘wow’ moment for me.

As a fellow artist, I saw it as an incredibly beautiful moment and I felt it was the perfect moment to offer my support not only to him but also myself and other artists who truly want to live their lives freely. So I made the decision and I said ‘Look, I’ll write ‘I’m gay!’” And that’s what I did on my Facebook page.

I’ll be very honest. I posted it without knowing or thinking about any consequences or truly expecting it to get the reaction it got.  In other words, first I wrote “I’m gay!” - saying it like ‘Wow!’ - but I later I reaffirmed it by writing “I’m gay” – no exclamation point. That’s when…

Blabbeando: Yes, because the first time you posted it I imagine your followers didn’t know what to think about it, whether it was a joke or something else. But the second time you posted it - that’s when people reacted…

Lisa M.: Exactly, yes, the second time, when I reaffirmed it, well, everybody did react, writing stuff like “WHAT!? WHAT DID SHE SAY!? HOW!?”.  It was such a tremendous reaction that it made it to People en Español, it went all through the internet, all throughout media… All of Puerto Rico basically just fainted [laughs].

Yes, it was such a huge reaction that… I’ll be honest, the reaction to Ricky was ‘Damn, Ricky, we sorta knew it or imagined it already’, but he did have a reaction… but with me, being a woman and being Latina - and I’ll put this out in the open - well, it probably turned off some people, but the overall reaction was positive.  Thank God almighty it wasn’t something where I lacked people’s support.  On the contrary, the reaction was very positive and I received a lot of positive feedback.

People, a lot of people – and I’m saying this because it happened a lot during those first days, weeks and months – sent me messages. I received a lot of e-mail messages from women congratulating me, married women, who would say “Look, I am gay but I am married” and so, for me, it was a ‘Wow’ moment to realize so many people had taken umbrage in what I had said.

And I learned to take it more seriously each day and to give it more respect. Respect towards me, as a person, and towards the public… and so much respect towards the gay community, which has also given me so much support.

Blabbeando: The reaction was immediate but you were in Europe when it happened and pretty much unreachable for comment…

Lisa M.: Yes.  That’s the way I wanted it.  I wanted to feel a bit more prepared before being able to give a more public response to the media.  When I took the decision and saw the consequences, I told myself ‘This has reached another level, now it’s serious, it’s slipped from my hands and I will have to treat it respectfully and carefully.’

So I held media at bay a little bit but, yes, I can tell you that what took place with all the media was impressive.  From the start, when I gave an exclusive to an important radio show in Puerto Rico via telephone, and, of course, now that I have returned to Puerto Rico from Spain and have begun to address all media.  And, thank God, I have always enjoyed great respect from the press, now and at that moment, for which I am thankful.  They treated me very well and understood my point of view and my way of loving someone and they accepted it.

And let me tell you that today I feel it is so normal to talk about it and to watch Ricky and his boyfriend, his partner, at the award ceremonies, to see him be free and be able to express himself, his feelings, you know? It’s a beautiful thing.  And that is the same way I feel.

Blabbeando: I know you received some homophobic messages back in January but you seem to be saying it’s been the exception to the rule…

Lisa M.:. Yes…

Blabbeando: I also know you have worked with other reggaeton singers such as Tego Calderón.  It was also interesting for me to see that there didn’t seem to be any homophobic reactions from your peers.

Lisa M.: Yes, thank God, I’ve also had my peers come to me… and everyone has remained in their place, everybody has treated me with respect, everybody has accepted it well.

Look, Andrés, we are living during an era in the business where it really doesn’t matter who you are, you know? It’s all about what you can give. It’s as if people want a different life, a different way to share things, they want something more positive, they don’t want to tear an artist down or hurt them.

It’s my understanding that in the industry, right as of now, it is not a taboo, it’s not a barrier, it’s not an illness, it is not something that will hurt your fans.

Blabbeando: At the same time, there are female artists such as La India and Ivy Queen who have faced false rumors about their sexual identity and, in Ivy Queen’s case, even questions about her gender, just for presenting themselves as strong women. What do you think about those stereotypes?

Lisa M.: What has happens is that, obviously, we are stronger women thanks to what we have done as artists, based on our personality and the way we have handled our careers, you know? [We are] women with a stronger character… fighters. And being fighters makes us stronger, it makes us brave, and so we create that character, a warrior’s armor, from having to be up front as women. And then that strength is reflected in our songs, they way we interpret a song, the way we talk, how we dress, how we express ourselves, and that’s what people see.

Blabbeando: Now, throughout your career you have launched seven albums.  The last one, “Respect” (2007) was actually pretty great.  But I know you have been spending time in Europe and Spain and focusing more on a career as a club DJ under the name of DJ Miss M. Now, after spending these years in Spain, you’ve returned to the recording studio. Tell me a little bit about the latest stage in your professional life.

Lisa M.: Well, basically the “Respect” and “Respect (Deluxe)” record was my last album.  After that I embraced life as a DJ.  It’s been six years or so since I began to DJ but the last three years have seen my DJ career get stronger and my reputation as a DJ climb to higher levels. And being in Europe and living in Spain, well, I have positioned myself as one of the top female DJ’s in Barcelona and Ibiza.  There, I got tons of work and I’ll be back later this month to close the 2011 Space Ibiza season on September 24.

And, what can I tell you? Yes, it has been a really beautiful part of my life in which I have experienced the nightlife, being a dedicated DJ, without obviously abandoning who I am: A singer and an artist.  What I have done is that now, in the new stage, I am mixing up both things.  I am recording my new album. I am doing it in Puerto Rico and I am doing it in New York City and other places.  I want to do an album that reflects everything that is happening in my life, which is the nightlife, life at the dance clubs and lounges, the music ‘life-style’ as I call it.  It’s an album that reflects that vibe, now that I’m working as a DJ, that touches on electronic music – tech-house, techno, house, hip-hop – my new album fits somewhere along those lines.

As a DJ and producer – because obviously that determines a lot of the things that have gone into the album – that’s where I’m at.  And I am truly enjoying it a lot. I’m not getting much sleep, Andrés, but I know the end results are going to be very positive.

Blabbeando: So it’ll be a new sound, integrating old sounds but from a dance-club perspective…

Lisa M.: Exactly. That’s it. That’s it. And, as I’m telling you, using little things, old sounds but modern arrangements.  With really, really amazing… how should I say… now that I’m a DJ, which is the music genre in which I’m surrounding myself and considering the industry is changing so much…  perhaps in the way that Madonna has done since “Confessions on a Dance Floor”, or, later, when Black Eyed Peas came up with that electronic sound and mixed it up with hip-hop and R’n’B, and what’s happening right now and blasting off the radio like Jennifer Lopez and Pitbull… well, that’s the same vibe that is ruling the airwaves right now and that’s the same track I’ll be on pretty soon.

Blabbeando: Do you have a date for the launch of the new material?

Lisa M.: I’d say that before the year is over I’ll come out with a new single, at the very least.  I am pushing myself, working really hard to have it come out by year’s end as well as a video.

I’m not certain yet about a record label because I am truly working independently.  For the moment, I am producing the record myself and I do not have a recording label.  But I am so happy and working so well that I didn’t miss it during the recording process.

Nowadays the recording industry has changed so much that you can go and find an investor, do a video, tape a single, pace it, put it out there, kick it up there on YouTube, push it on Twitter, post it on Facebook, and forget about it! You do a couple of interviews and get some cameras to shoot the video and that has some impact.  And so, there you go [laughs]…

Yes. I know record companies are very good for other things.  Moneywise, as an artist, I cannot penetrate the market in the same way record companies do their promotion and handle the ‘business’ side. They go deeper. So we’ll see what happens. For now, production is running really well and, as I told you, we hope to have something out there before the end of the year.  Andrés, the record is coming out really great. I think it’ll be a totally different sound that doesn’t lose the essence of who I am.

Blabbeando: It sounds like you are in a stage of your life in which you are at great ease with yourself and happy…

Lisa M.: Yes, I am happy.  I have my partner, who is a beautiful girl who respects and admires me a lot and that also helps me to focus and commit myself and to have sufficient strength to say let’s go forward, let’s go.  And when you have someone who is so positive next to you it does help a lot, and that’s what’s been going on in my case.

And, yes, I am traveling a lot.  But once I get back to Puerto Rico on the 28^th, look out! I’ll be immersed in what will become the new single.  There are several tracks ready, I imagine I’ll get some people together and let them listen, including the single.  And, yes, it’s a process, but at the same time I am enjoying it greatly.  Maybe sometimes I do feel exhausted but it is a stage in my life in which I feel much calmer and feel much more at ease with myself.

Blabbeando: Lastly, is there something I didn’t ask that you’d like to tell readers of Blabbeando?

Lisa M.: Well, let me thank you for the interview.  What I’m really wishing for is for the public and media to offer their support for my new project and I know that will be the case. I know I have earned the place where I am, thanks to God.  Whoever grants me their support, I know I am a pioneer in what I do and, thank God, the public has chosen to support me throughout my career.

I do hope I’ll have additional support when the new album comes out because the fans I have now are fans from before and after and they are still there.  But those of now, who don’t really know about me… their parents, unless and cousins do, but the new generation, those of now, I am truly hoping for the support of the new generations.  And I know I will because, musically, I am working with groups of professional musicians and producers who are at the level of the new generations. So we are doing good.

Blabbeando: Well, Lisa, that bring the interview to an end, I thank you so much.

Lisa M.: Sure thing, Andrés.  Thank you so much for the opportunity and for thinking about me.  What I’ll do is that when I get the single ready I’ll send it over so you can give me your feedback and we’ll keep in touch.

Blabbeando: Great. Hugs and thanks.

The Lisa M. Interview (Spanish)

Below the fold, you will find the original Spanish-language version of my exclusive interview with the lovely Puerto Rican superstar singer, DJ and music producer Lisa M. in which she reflects on her decision to come out as a lesbian on Facebook a year and a half ago and the repercussions since telling the world she is gay. Click here for the entire Spanish-language interview. For the English-language translation click here.

Year in Review, pt. 3: World Cup fever, Jorge Steven Lopez's killer brought to justice, Lady Gaga's Little Monsters in Monterrey

Soccer superstar supports marriage equality: On the eve of the South Africa FIFA World Soccer Cup, May brought expressions of support for marriage equality from one of soccer's biggest starts: Cristiano Ronaldo. His country of birth, Portugal, became the 6th European country to allow gays to marry in May and a reporter wanted his reaction. "We must respect the choices made by anyone," he said. "after all, every citizen should have the exact same rights and responsibilities."

The Putos Peronistas fly their blue flag: In May, Argentina got one step closer to becoming the first country in Latin America to grant same-sex couples the right to marry when the House of Deputies voted in favor of a marriage equality bill with 125 in favor, 109 against and 6 abstentions (you can see the blue Peronist Fags flag proudly flying above the legislative chambers after the vote was taken).

Justice in the murder of Jorge Steven López Mercado: In Puerto Rico, Juan José Martinez Matos pleaded guilty the brutal murder of 19 year old gay college student Jorge Steven López Mercado last November and received a sentence of 99 years in prison.

The murder had drawn international attention for its brutality as well as for the silence it elicited from the leading political and religious figures in the island, with rallies for justice held in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.  Public figures such as Miss Universe 2001 Denise Quiñonez, Calle 13 singer René Perez and Ricky Martin also raised their voice denouncing the crime.

Uniting all those threads was the amazingly moving work done by my friend Pedro Julio Serrano,who works at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, who helped the López Mercado family to get through some of the most difficult times as their murdered son was brought to justice. Pedro Julio was next to Jorge Steven's parents after Martinez was sentenced...

Maradona is not gay. I repeat, Maradona is NOT gay: In June, as the FIFA World Cup got underway and the Argentinean soccer team emerged as a favorite to win the tournament, team manager and soccer legend Diego Armando Maradona raised some eyebrows when he adamantly denied he was gay in response to a reporter's seemingly badly translated question (here is a direct link to the video).

Argentina, alas, did not go on to win the Cup which also meant that Maradona did not have to keep a promise he made to the team's technical manager to run naked around the Obelisk in downtown Buenos Aires.

Church mural is too gay: In the Dominican Republic, an artist who had been contracted years ago to paint a church mural, denounced that a new priest wanted the mural torn down because it was too gay.  A community vote on whether the mural would be left standing or torn down was planned but I never found out the outcome.

Lady Gaga to the rescue in Monterrey, Mexico: In the meantime, LGBT activists in Mexico who had long lobbied the Mexican government to observe May 17th as the official "International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia" were enraged that the federal government finally acceded to their demands only to strip the words "homophobia" and "transphobia" from the official designation. Instead, Felipe Calderón's government, who had previously appealed the groundbreaking marriage equality ruling in Mexico City before the Supreme Court and lost, called it "The National
Day of Tolerance and Respect towards Preferences".  How did the activists respond? Of course! Staging a Lady Gaga "Bad Romance" flashmob at the Plaza of Heroes in Monterrey!

Menudo outing, pt. 2: Oh, and in the meantime, another former Menudo singer came out. Or, in other words, Angelo Garcia was already out but nobody asked him until a couple of months before even Ricky Martin came out.  But word of a 2nd Menudo being an openly gay man didn't catch fire until media followed up on Ricky's Twitter confession.

Jennifer Lopez: It's OK to be out in the Latino music industry (EXCLUSIVE)

I don't do many interviews on this blog. I'm not sure why. Perhaps it's because I get pitched so many promotional interview opportunities that have little if anything to do with this blog. Perhaps it's because I haven't mastered the art of interviewing. But when the chance came my way to interview the amazing Jennifer Lopez how could I say no?  Her handlers said she wanted to reach out directly to her Latino LGBT fans through this blog and I was thrilled.

Unexpectedly, I got all nervous and stuff. I'd heard La Lopez was a tough interview to do, that she was furiously protective of her privacy and short on answers. So I prepared a long laundry list of 'Yes' or 'No' questions and hoped they'd would be enough for the 10 minute interview.

Turns out I signed up for a whole different interview than I expected and didn't get to ask all the questions I had prepared.  Jennifer was gracious, open and sweet.  What follows is the transcript of our conversation.

BLABBEANDO – Hi Jennifer! This is Andrés Duque from a blog called Blabbeando.
JENNIFER LOPEZ – Hi, how are you…
BLABBEANDO – I’m good. I wanted to introduce myself: I write a blog about the Latino lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community – and I’m a huge fan so I really wanted to thank you for taking this call.
JENNIFER LOPEZ – Absolutely! Thank you for having me.
BLABBEANDO – First of all, as a huge fan, I’m hating you right now because you put the 'Lambada' back in my brain after all these years [JL laughs]. And also, over the weekend, I couldn’t stop saying 'Let me introduce you... to my party people' [JL laughs again]. And I wanted to ask you how do you feel about the impact the song is having this week and how you came along to release it as a single [Currently "On the Floor" is the #1 song and #1 video on I-Tunes].

JENNIFER LOPEZ – What it means? First of all, it’s amazing. I feel totally overwhelmed. It’s not the type of thing like asking people who have been in the business for a while and they’re like “Oh-kay, my record’s out.”
It never gets old when it hits, it’s like ‘YES!’ People like it! I love it! I love it! You know, because you have to believe in your music so when other people get it it’s just awesome. It’s just amazing.
BLABBEANDO – And you’re really busy right now, with "American Idol", so it must be difficult to stop and sit back and enjoy the moment. But, are you enjoying the moment?
JENNIFER LOPEZ – I am. I am. That’s probably what’s different about this album and this time in my life than it was for this album - and my first few albums, I should say. You know, it’s that I’m actually more in the moment now. I’m more mature now and smart enough to not miss it [laughs]. You know what I mean? This is amazing, this is great and I want to really, really want to be present for this whole thing. I’m just… really, I’m enjoying it.
I’m enjoying doing “Idol”. We are having a great time. We are having a lot of fun. I’ve enjoyed that process. I find it a very creative process. Back and forth between the contestants and us. And what we can share with them from what we know being in the business for a long time. And I love that.
And the record being out right now at the same time, and that all working, that wasn’t planned per se? I knew I was gonna put out and album this year but I didn’t know when. It worked out. It worked out great and it’s all just working together and it just feels really great. I feel really fortunate, really lucky right now, Andrés.
BLABBEANDO – Now, I know that there was a change when it comes to record companies. Was there a point where the album almost didn’t see the light of day? Because that must have been frustrating, working on an album and having it almost not come out on the market.
JENNIFER LOPEZ – Yeah. That wasn’t the case. The case was that I had come to the end of my contract and I had to decide whether or not to stay with SONY or not stay with SONY and I felt… and I went to SONY and asked them if I could move on.
And they - at that point in time - with the transitions going on within the old company, understood. And I had a good enough relationship with them from having some much success – I had done seven albums over there – that they understood me wanting to do that and, like I said, there were transitions going on. They weren’t prepared to do what they needed to do for me and that album at that time. It was really a mutual ‘Yeah, maybe this is the best thing,’ and we decided to part ways.
And I know people want to make more of it than that. That I was dropped or SONY was messing up. They want to make this really big thing about it. But it really was a conversation between me and one person at the company going ‘I think it’s just time, we’ve run our course and let’s find a new home’ and that’s what happened.
I knew that there were places that I could go and who wanted to work with me, and new fresh blood where I could go to and it happened smoothly and quickly.
BLABBEANDO – Now, the ‘fresh blood’, you’re singing with Pitbull and you have new collaborators and you seem always keep up with the latest [music] styles. And it really sounds fresh. I loved – I can’t even pronounce it but – “Loubutins” and I love “On the Floor” and you’re gearing these songs to a dance music [crowd] and, to some degree to the gay community, because we love dance music. And I think you’ve been really smart in the past to use some of the best dance producers and remixers. Talk to me about how you came to work with Pitbull and what other people you are collaborating vocally in the new album.

JENNIFER LOPEZ – For me, when I go to do my music, there’s always gonna be a mix of all the things that I am. I’m a Puerto Rican girl from the Bronx. You know what I mean? And here’s always gonna be a mix of dance and urban in my stuff – and pop music - so once you throw all that stuff into the bag then it’s all about me just being myself.
So whenever I work with different producers – I worked with RedOne on a lot of the tracks in the album – and with him it was like ‘Let’s do some great dance tracks’. When I worked with Tricky and Dream, I went to them and I said ‘Let’s do my kind of more urbany-feel pop-record’ and I go to different producers for different things – but it all has to be very ‘me’.
It doesn’t work with every single producer you go in there with, you know what I mean? [laughs]. You go in there and nothing happens. But sometimes, like with RedOne or Tricky and Dream you go in there and in a week you make five, six, seven records. And with the records that actually worked, that are in the album – a lot of Tricky and Dream, a lot of RedOne – those are the ones that you have a lot of chemistry with.
BLABBEANDO - I also wanted to ask you, because in the past you’ve been a professional friend and a personal friend… Last year there was actually a number of people in the Latino music industry that came out as being gay or lesbian, and they include, of course, Ricky Martin but also Angelo Garcia, who was also a former Menudo, Lisa M who did salsa way back in Puerto Rico and now is doing reggateon, and Rita Indiana who is a tremendous up-and-coming talent from the Dominican Republic. So you have all these performers – mostly from the Caribbean – Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic – coming out. I wanted to know how you felt about Ricky’s tremendous step to come out as well as what the moment means in terms of… is the Latino music industry changing and making it safe for people to say who they are?
JENNIFER LOPEZ – Right. Are you asking me if I think it’s safer now?
BLABBEANDO – Yes.
JENNIFER LOPEZ – I just think it’s a reflection of the real world we live in. And it’s OK to be out. I do think it is. I do think it’s acceptable for people to be who they are. I am a huge advocate of that. In that sense, that’s the only way we can truly love ourselves, it’s by accepting who we are and letting everybody know who we are.
So, I’m very proud – you know – I’m friends with Ricky and I’m very proud of him and support him in everything he does. And all these people who have been... who want to step forward and tell the world who they are… I think that’s awesome.
BLABBEANDO – I also know you’ve been a longtime ally. You’ve always kept the gay community in mind in terms of the music you release and I know you know we are some of your biggest fans so…
JENNIFER LOPEZ – Absolutely…
BLABBEANDO - …I personally wanted to thank you for that as well.
JENNIFER LOPEZ – Absolutely. I mean, I had an aunt who was gay. I grew up with it. It’s just to me, being around dancers my whole life, you know? There’s a lot of dancers as well who are gay and it’s just not… For me it was never even anything as an issue. I had uncles… It was just seeing people were people. And it wasn’t one way or the other for me.
BLABBEANDO – That’s right. I think sometimes we – in the Latino community – we are your brothers, your sisters, etcetera, etcetera, we are part of the family. It’s more open than I think people give it credit for, at least in the Latino community.
JENNIFER LOPEZ – Right.
BLABBEANDO - Now, going back to the album: What’s the next single? Have you decided on that? Will there be different singles released to the Latino market and the American market?
JENNIFER LOPEZ – Well, we have a lot of plans for the album as things go along. We have three different choices that we can do as a second single and it’s really hard for us to choose. We think we know what we are doing and then at the last minute we might change it [laughs]. But we are shooting a video very soon with Li’l Wayne on one song called “I’m Into You” but there’s another song called “Papi” and there’s another song called “Run the World”. So there are a few songs that we are thinking about as a second single. And we might release some simultaneously: Some are more urban, some are more dance. And, also, we are releasing very soon – or if it’s not released already, I don’t even know if it happened in the past day or two – the Spanish version of “On the Floor”…
BLABBEANDO – That’s great…
JENNIFER LOPEZ – Pitbull did a new version of his rap in Spanish and I re-sang the whole thing in Spanish as well. We are gonna do a Spanglish version where we mix in the Spanish. And then we are probably gonna do a whole Spanish version of the album. So – We have a lot of plans for it.
BLABBEANDO – Well, I know my ten minutes are up but I really wanted to thank you for taking my call.
JENNIFER LOPEZ – Thank you, Andrés, I really appreciate it so much.

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