Jennifer Lopez was advised to steer well clear of American Idol if she hoped to keep her music and movie career alive, with her team insisting an appearance on the talent show would leave her as “just a reality star.”
The 55-year-old previously starred in Anaconda, Money Train and Out Of Sight, to name a few, since she kicked off her acting career all the way back in 1991 when she appeared as Fly Girl in the Fox show In The Color.
But in the end, she didn’t listen to her advisors as she went on to serve as a judge between Season 10, 11, 13 and 15 saying that she felt it was still worth the risk to her and that she could deal with any of the consequences.
“I’d done all these big movies and made these albums and now they’re asking me to do reality TV,” Lopez told Interview. “I’ve had kids and I haven’t worked for a couple of years.
“American Idol was a big show at the time. It really comes down to, what do I think I can bring to something? When all of my advisors were like, ‘Don’t do this, you’re going to be reduced to just a reality star.'”
Why did Lopez join American Idol?
Lopez served as a judge for five seasons in total, alongside Randy Jackson, Steven Tyler, Keith Urban and Harry Connick Jr in what became a career-saving decision for the model, singer and actress.
So why did she choose to ignore the words of her team? It turns out that she has a strong gut instinct when it comes to career choices.
“I was just like, ‘No. I don’t think that’s what’s going to happen. I think I have something to contribute.’
“I love music and I love mentoring people, and I wanted to share the things that I knew about the business. So it became more about, ‘What do I think I can do with this?’
When I’m choosing things, even if they seem like not the best idea to everybody else, if I feel it in my gut that it’s the right thing to do, nobody can talk me out of it.
“It’s the same thing when I went to Vegas. They were like, ‘That’s where entertainers go to die.’ And I was like, ‘No.’ And it launched me into a whole new part of my life.”
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