“It has been an incredible journey. Dreaming my wildest dreams and then kind of watching them come through. Music, acting, performing — this career has always been an obsession for me. When people have said, ‘You’re doing too much, you can only do one thing,’ I was always a person who was like, ‘Why not?’ I kind of had to forge my own path and rules.”
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She continued: “I liked it that way for a while — just working and working and working. But it wasn’t until I had two little angels come into my life that everything changed. I knew I had to be better, I had to go higher, I had to be stronger than I had been before. It was through that unconditional love that my career and life became higher in every way, and I stand here better than ever. So thank you Max and Emme.”
She also took the time to thank her Alex Rodriguez. The proud boyfriend watched from his seat with Max and Emme while Lopez performed and at one point recorded part of the show with his phone. When it came time to watch her accept, the former baseball player couldn’t hide his grin as Max sweetly sat in his lap.
The singer went through a high-tempo medley of her hits during the performance, including “Waiting for Tonight,” “On the Floor,” “I Ain’t Your Mama,” “Dance Again,” “El Anillo,” “Booty,” “Love Don’t Cost a Thing,” “Get Right” and “All I Have.”
The performance also included an interlude from DJ Khaled, who pumped the crowd up while Lopez had an outfit change to come out and sing “Jenny from the Block.” Lopez rode back in on a 6 train — the subway line that serves her native Bronx.
Lopez successfully crossed over from acting to music with the release of her triple-platinum debut albumOn the 6in 1999. Across eight full-length LPs, Lopez has amassed four No. 1 singles on theBillboard Hot 100and over 80 million worldwide record sales.
In addition to claiming her award, Lopez was nominatedup for two additional trophies:Best CollaborationandBest Latin Video, both for her song“Dinero”featuringDJ KhaledandCardi B.
The Vanguard award — which was first presented toDavid Bowie, The Beatles and Richard Lester in 1984 — was renamed in 1991 in honor ofMichael Jackson, who received the award in 1988.
She also shared her own picks for who should also receive the honor, citingMissy Elliottas a “great” choice. “Missy’s a great one, ’cause her videos were always so cutting-edge,” she said. “Yes, her and Gaga I think would be good ones.”
As a Video Vanguard recipient, Lopez follows in the footsteps of past honorees includingBritney Spears,Justin Timberlake,Kanye West,RihannaandPink.
source: people.com
