A.K.A. was released on June 17^th, 2014. It followed Jennifer Lopez’s comeback album Love? which spawned the top 10 Hot 100 hit On the Floor with Pitbull. It also followed Jennifer Lopez’s greatest hits album which had the hit single Dance Again also with Pitbull. A.K.A. was the last album until recently where Jennifer Lopez finally released a new album in February of this year. A.K.A spawned the hit single First Love as well as Booty and I Luh Yu Papi. First Love got some radio airplay and peaked at number 87 on the Billboard Hot 100. It lasted three weeks. Booty gained success with its remix that featured Iggy Azalea who was big at the time. Iggy Azalea was featured on Ariana Grande’s hit song Problem. Iggy Azalea also had her own hits with the singles Fancy with Charli XCX and Black Widow with Rita Ora. The original album version of Booty features Pitbull which marked the fourth time he had collaborated with Jennifer Lopez for her music. She also had been featured on some of his songs as well. The Booty Remix gained popularity. It peaked at number 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 and lasted nine weeks on the chart. Booty was widely ignored by radio. I Luh Ya Papi peaked at 77 on the Billboard Hot 100 and lasted two weeks. The song features French Montana. It was also widely ignored by radio. A.K.A. peeked at number 8 on the Billboard 200 Albums Charts and lasted six weeks on the chart. It is one of Jennifer Lopez’s lowest selling albums.

Jennifere Lopez has had a long and interesting career in music. She has had dozens of hit albums and hit songs and several number 1’s. She also has been doing music while juggling a movie career. A.K.A. came at an interesting time for Jennifer Lopez. Several veteran artists were struggling with chart dominance compared to newer artists. A.K.A was not that successful compared to past albums. Love? was the music comeback for Jennifer Lopez when On the Floor dominated radio and was a top 10 hit. It peaked at number 3. The album before that, Brave bombed and spawned one hit single Do it Well which faltered fast. What helped with Jennifer Lopez’s comeback was her turn as a judge on American Idol. She did seasons 10 and 11. She was absent from season 12 and then returned for seasons 13, 14, and the final season from FOX season 15.

Britney Spears faced a similar thing the year prior with her album Britney Jean which didn’t do as well as other albums. It also followed Femme Fatale that spawned four hit singles and a number 1 in Hold it Against Me. Something else both artists have in common is that A.K.A. is largely written by Jennifer Lopez. Britney Jean was also largely written by Britney Spears. Both artists have not always written their own music. Jennifer Lopez did not really write many of the songs on her album Love?. Most of her hit songs, with the exception of a few, are not written by her.

A.K.A. the album definitely fit the times that it was released in. It is a mix of dance and hip hop. A.K.A. has a dozen features which consist of all rappers. Even with a heavy focus on hip hop and dance beats there is enough variety for the album to not sound the same. There are several ballads throughout the album. Let it Be Me and Emotions are both beautiful ballads. It shows Jennifer Lopez’s strengths vocally. First Love is a good upbeat song, and it is a little surprising it didn’t do better on the chart and on the radio. It also made sense to a degree as well. One thing that was shocking was that the Booty remix with Iggy Azalea didn’t blow up to become another top 10 hit. What was more shocking was that it was widely ignored from radio. Iggy Azalea was hot at the time especially on top 40 radio. I was surprised Z100 didn’t at least give the song a chance. Booty is a fun silly song. It could have been a much bigger hit. There have been other silly songs that have been huge hits. Baby Got Back by Sir Mix A-Lot is one example. I Luh Yu Papi is a good chill song and French Montana fits in well. It has a good vibe. I am also not surprised it did not really blow up. It is still a good song, but I never really saw the song dominating radio. Beyond the attempted singles, A.K.A. has a lot of good songs and as an album as a whole, is a solid album in J-Lo’s catalogue. The title track may not make much sense, but it is a good introduction to the album. The song also features T.I. and I am surprised there was not an attempt to make the song a single. It could have done decently. It may not have hit number 1, but it could have had a decent shelf life if given a chance. Another song that stands out on the album is Acting Like That which features Iggy Azalea. The song is hypnotic and is a good blend of both of their styles. If that was put out as a single, it could have dominated and been another hit for both artists. Never Satisfied is another solid ballad that is a little more upbeat than Let it Be Me and Emotions. Worry No More with Rick Ross is another good mix of hip hop and pop. There seems to be a level of fun on the album. There are songs that are serious and then there are songs that are silly, and it seems that Jennifer Lopez is in on the whole thing. She knows when to be serious and when to have fun.

A.K.A. is a solid and fun album that holds well ten years later. Maybe if it had been released now, it would have done better. Either way it still gives fans more songs to enjoy and add to their Jennifer Lopez playlist. I also think it is a strong album that Jennifer Lopez wrote, and it should be something she should be proud of. She also wrote her current album This is Me…Now which is a whole different beast. A.K.A. is currently the last album to spawn any hit singles that had charted. Several one-off singles after the album have charted. Currently none of the songs from This is Me…Now have charted. A.K.A. is a good album to revisit, especially for the summer.