Jennifer Lopez performed a medley of Motown classics at the 2019 Grammy Awards on Sunday, belting out a number of old favorites like "Dancing in the Street," "Do You Love Me," "The Things in Life are Free" and more. She performed the Motown hits alongside Grammys host Alicia Keys, Ne-Yo and Smokey Robinson.
Lopez's addition to the Motown tribute triggered some people on social media, who condemned the Grammys for choosing her to perform songs composed and recorded by legendary African American musicians like Berry Gordy, The Temptations and Diana Ross and The Supremes. They argued the Grammys should've chosen an African American singer. However, Robinson defended Lopez from critics while speaking to Variety ahead of her performance on Saturday night.
"I don't think anyone who is intelligent is upset," 78-year-old Robinson said at Clive Davis's annual pre-Grammy party, noting Lopez's upbringing in "her Hispanic neighborhood" in Bronx, New York, made her more than capable of knowing, understanding and performing Motown hits.
"Motown was music for everybody. Everybody," he said. "Who's stupid enough to protest Jennifer Lopez doing anything for Motown?"
Despite Robinson's comments, an outpour of folks fired shots at Lopez's performance during the 61st annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, taking offense to just about every aspect of the tribute including Lopez's sparkled-covered costumes.
Understanding the history of Motown means knowing it was a symbol of Black agency in a time when Black creativity was being stolen.
— this is a jingle jangle stan account. (@MsPackyetti) February 11, 2019
This is why, in the most cursed #BHM in modern history, proline are upset about J. Lo doing the tribute.
The irony of the very sexy J.Lo Motown revue is that Berry Gordy had the women of Motown tame their sexy so as to not fall into the Jezebel, highly sexed trope which White America places black women in! So they could have NEVER given a performance like that, ladies at all times!
— bevysmith (@bevysmith) February 11, 2019
J. Lo better not salsa her way to the cookout because she is uninvited for that terrible performance. 😂 How do you do a Motown tribute without an ALL BLACK cast of artists?! And it’s Black History Month too. 🤦🏾♂️#GRAMMYs #Grammy2019
— Jared Sawyer Jr. (@JaredSawyerJr) February 11, 2019
Lopez agreed to do the performance with thoughts of her mother Lupe Rodriguez, who often played songs by Motown artists while she was growing up. "Mommy, this is for you because we used to dance around to this music," she told E! ahead of her performance.
She added: "I grew up with this music and me and my sisters, the three of us, we were, like, the backups. We were The Temptations and we [would] just sing with her and I feel it's a dream come true."
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