J. Lo: The Sequel

Lopez climbed up onstage and talked about her new album,Love?; about being a spokeswoman for LOréal; and about how to dress in her style for less. It doesnt have to be expensive, she said brightly,as models sashayed across the stage in Lopez-inspired outfits culled from the racks of Macys.

Meet the new,user-friendly J. Lo,who is back to doing it all,only without the imperious attitude that helped propel her to fame. Soon she will be in New York to introduce the new fashion lines that she and her husband,Marc Anthony,are designing for Kohls. Then she would return to LA to promote Love? and her twice a week gig as a judge on the popular TV show American Idol.

With Idol,which has 25 million viewers,Lopez,41 and a former Fly Girl,has not only re-entered the public consciousness,but also modified the goddess-like persona that had become a liability. Lopez became known as a demanding diva,thanks in part to a music video in which she cavorted shamelessly,and half-nude,on a yacht with Ben Affleck,her boyfriend at the time. Today,Lopez is being praised for being a nice, constructive judge.

Right now,Jennifer is a celebrity of the people,and its a strategy that is really,really working for her, said Peter Castro,deputy managing editor of People,which recently named Lopez as the worlds most beautiful woman. Lopez,however,bats away the idea that there has been a makeover.

The person everyones getting to know on Idol now is always the person Ive been, she said. I just think I went away for a while,and Im being reintroduced to the public, she went on.

Now the mother of 3-year-old twins,Lopez insisted that she does not go as full throttle as she used to. I know how to say no now, she said. I have kids now,so my life is not completely my own. They come first.

Last spring,when Lopez was first asked to be a part of Idols post-Simon Cowell reboot,she initially dismissed the idea. Then she realised the schedule would keep her close to her family. Although early chatter focused on Steven Tyler,the former Aerosmith frontman,these days its all about J. Loincluding,most importantly,what is she wearing? At a recent taping of Idol,during one commercial break,a chorus of young girls shouted out from the top of the bleachers: J. Lo,we love your shoes! Shes made Idol glamorous, said Simon Fuller,Idols creator and executive producer. On the film front,Lopez has been cast as a voice in 20th Century Foxs next animated Ice Age movie.

I dont know anyone who bats a thousand in the movie business, Lopez said. Ive made some great movies,and Ive made some not-so-great movies.

As for what went wrong with her fashionsportswear line,which had its debut in 2001,was criticised for being overpriced and cheaply madeLopez said she didnt understand the business well enough and didnt have enough creative control. More crucially,she didnt seem to understand how to translate her iconic red carpet stylethe navel-plunging green Versace gown she wore to the Grammy Awards in 2000; the mink eyelashesto an off-the-rack business. The Kohls partnership is an attempt to rectify this.

The difference this time around is that Jennifer is fully engaged with a company that is professionally staffed to really develop anything she wants,from towels to knee-high suede boots, said the fashion mogul Tommy Hilfiger,a partner in the deal. And he has no doubt shell succeed.

She lives fashion, Hilfiger said. She sings about and says its the most fun thing about getting ready for Idol. Her eyes light up when you ask her what kind of shoes shes wearing. Louboutins,naturally.NICOLE La PORTE