Mariah Carey Vs. Jennifer Lopez: Dueling Divas

Jae-Ha Kim of the Chicago Sun-Times spoke with Darren Hallowell, product manager at Tower Records on North Clark and Erik Bradley, music director of pop music station WBBM-FM (96.3) about the comeback efforts of Mariah Carey and Jennifer Lopez. Hallowell says ‘Charmbracelet’ “did way better than we expected.” He explained, “It was weird ’cause no one knew how she’d do. But at our midnight sale [last week], a lot of people showed up to buy her record. And in one week, she has outsold Jennifer Lopez’s [two-week-old] album. Mariah isn’t selling as well as she did at her peak, but she’s doing really well. A lot of people seem to like that she’s returning back to her basics.”

As for J.Lo’s ‘This Is Me… Then’, Cavanah says, “The thing Jennifer has going for her is that she’s all over the place. She’s very in sync with every aspect of her career. She’s on the cover of every magazine. She’s got movies. And her label is doing a great job marketing her. Plus, she has a younger appeal than Mariah or Whitney [Houston].”

Cinderella Role Can’t Be Played By Jennifer Lopez

December 15, 2002 – Pat Holmes of the Portland Tribune reviewed Jennifer’s new film ‘Maid in Manhattan’ blasting the effort that isn’t suited for its star. “‘Maid in Manhattan’ absolutely demands to be described as a Cinderella story. The problem is that Cinderella is played by Jennifer Lopez, whose rapacious pursuit and crushing embrace of celebrity might almost give Madonna pause. In a real Cinderella story, J.Lo probably would be a wicked stepsister. No, that’s unfair; in deference to her stardom, she’d have to be the wicked stepmother.” The review at portlandtribune.com has since been removed.

‘Maid In Manhattan’ Comes Off ‘Forced’

December 14, 2002 – Geoff Pevere of the Toronto Star reviewed the new Jennifer Lopez movie ‘Maid in Manhattan’, giving it two stars. Pevere called the movie “forced” and explained, “If ‘Maid In Manhattan’ had any genuine screwball salt, it would have reversed its perspective: The movie would have told the story from Marshall’s point of view, and emphasized the panic that erupts among his ballot-minded handlers when they realize their fair-haired boy has fallen for an Hispanic sheet-flattener. But that might also have reversed the politics too. Gosh knows we wouldn’t want that.”