J Lo’s ‘Let’s get loud!’ gets mixed response (at best) from social media

AT about the midpoint of the inauguration of new United States President Joe Biden, pop superstar Jennifer Lopez took to the podium to sing a couple patriotic standards. However, midway through she took a bit of a detour and yelled out “let’s get loud.”

For those too young to remember, ‘Let’s Get Loud’ was a song released in 2000 that was from her debut album.

It was just a little odd coming in between heartfelt covers of ‘This Land is Your Land’ by iconic folk musician Woody Guthrie and ‘America the Beautiful’ by Ray Charles.

Lopez also recited the final words of the American pledge of allegiance – "One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all" – in Spanish, which was more well received.

That didn’t stop some people from labelling the performance “cringe”, which is a bad thing, all things considered. 

However, there is a likelihood that there was a political subtext for yelling out “let’s get loud”. 

During her 2020 Super Bowl halftime performance, she sang the song with her daughter. According to the New York Times, the performance "also had a number of children sitting in cages in front of the stage, in what was widely believed to be an allusion to the separation of immigrant children from their families at the United States's border with Mexico."

There were also defenders of J Lo’s performance.

Unfortunately, the reality of the Covid-19 pandemic meant that Lopez, and the other performers – Lady Gaga and Garth Brooks – played in front of a much smaller audience than previous inaugurations. 

Maybe if there were people, the call to get loud would have received a better response. – The Vibes, January 21, 2021