LISTEN: Jennifer Lopez’s 2014 voguing bop that was too gay for mainstream radio
Madonna‘s 1990 blockbuster hit “Vogue” and the groundbreaking 1991 documentary Paris Is Burning first exposed the masses to NYC’s vibrant underground ballroom culture created by LGBTQ+ people of color in the ’70s and ’80s.Since then, the scene and its moves, terminology, music and larger-than-life personalities have continued to influence pop culture through TV shows like RuPaul’s Drag Race, Pose, and Legendary and has inspired tracks like Teyana Taylor’s “WTP,” Frank Ocean‘s interlude “Ambience 001: A Certain Way” and even Sam Smith and Calvin Harris’ 2018 collab “Promises.”Recently, ballroom was thrusted further into the spotlight as it heavily-influenced Beyonce‘s euphoric 2022 Renaissance album, while Ariana Grande featured voguing in her new video for “Yes, And?”Subscribe to our daily newsletter for a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.But ten years ago–and four before Vanessa Hudgens caused billions of eye rolls by infamously disclosing “I’m so into voguing right now“–Jennifer Lopez enlisted a ballroom icon for her dancehall banger “Tens,” a massive bop that was probably too ahead of its time for the mainstream as it wasn’t even released as a single.Outside of the Latinx community, many don’t know Lopez’s non-English tracks have topped the Latin charts and received millions (and millions) of views on YouTube.J.Lo’s eighth studio album A.K.A.
was released on June 13, 2014 and featured three moderate hits with accompanying music videos: “I Luh Ya Papi”, “First Love” and “Booty” with Iggy Azalea.The deluxe edition included four bonus tracks, with “Tens” featuring the “voice of the Ballroom scene” Jack Mizrahi on what should have been an instant gay club classic.
Prior to the album’s release, Lopez made fans think “Tens” would not only be a single but that a music video was on its way by sharing a teaser clip of a vogue battle featuring hand performances and killer spins and dips.
