Last Band Standing

Jon Dahlager and Kyle Moss
September 5, 2001

Jennifer Lopez

Vital Stats

aliases: J-Lo, the former Miss Diddy

hometown: Bronx, New York

albums: “On the 6,” “J. Lo”

single: “I’m Real” featuring Ja Rule

body part most often lampooned on “Saturday Night Live”: ass

Judges’ Scores

 
JD KM
beats: 4 4
originality: 3 4
lyrics: 2 3
voice: 3 4
image: 4 4
  

Janet Jackson

Vital Stats

aliases: Janet

hometown: Gary, Ind.

albums: “Janet Jackson,” “Rhythm Nation 1814,” “Janet,” “The

Velvet Rope,” “All for You”

single: “Someone to Call My Lover”

body part most often lampooned on “Saturday Night Live”: breasts

Judges’ scores

 
JD KM
beats: 4 3
originality: 2 2
lyrics: 3 3
voice: 3 3
image: 2 1

The Fight

Editor’s Note: Last Band Standing is the Daily’s

weekly battle to the death between pop stars armed only with their

latest singles.

Face-off: It’s good to see J. Lo ditch P. Diddy for an

up-and-coming talented rapper in the gravel-voiced Ja Rule. Her

sometimes mediocre voice blends well with Rule’s rhymes in “I’m

Real,” making for a surefire dance hit. Following her bomb, “Velvet

Rope,” Janet has made a successful comeback, with the self-titled

first single off “All For You,” a club and pop hit saturating radio

waves. She still has the power of her family name to support

anything she releases.

Weak link: J-Lo falls short in the lyrics category, as she is

anything but “real.” Shortly after being labelled an icon on MTV, the

blandness of “Someone to Call My Lover” falls way short of living

up to that status.

The winner: She may not be considered an icon, but

hooking up with Ja Rule for “I’m Real” was a fresh and creative

way for J-Lo to keep the hits coming.