by Mariel Concepcion, N.Y., Ayala Ben-Yehuda and Keith Caulfield, L.A. | February 23, 2010 6:01 EST
Jennifer Lopez’s “Louboutins” have walked away from her record label.
A spokesperson for Lopez has confirmed that the singer and actress will not renew her recording contract with Sony/Epic. Via her spokesperson, Lopez sent this message to the media:
“I am making this statement to put an end to any confusion in regards to my next album, titled ‘Love.’ I have belonged to the Sony family since the beginning of my career as a singer and together we’ve had great success. I have fulfilled my contractual responsibilities with Sony/Epic up to this point, and we have both reached friendly terms about my departure from the label. I’m also happy to say that we’ve found a new home for my album, ‘Love,’ and that it is slated for release in the summer of 2010.”
Though she wouldn’t reveal which label will release her album, Deadline.com, which originally reported the split, said Lopez was rumored to be in talks with Island Def Jam’s L.A. Reid. She is also still scheduled to perform and host “Saturday Night Live” this weekend
“Jennifer had a wonderful relationship with the Sony Music group, and they have shared many successes together, but the time was right to make a change that best serves the direction [of] her career as an actress and recording artist,” read a statement sent to Deadline.com from Lopez’ manager Benny Medina. “She is grateful and appreciative to everyone [at] Sony for all that they accomplished together.”
The reason behind the split hasn’t been confirmed yet, but according to Deadline.com, the Bronx-born singer/actress was either dropped due to poor reception of her latest single, “Louboutins,” or left voluntarily after fulfilling her contract. Lopez was scheduled to release her seventh studio album, “Love?” through Epic in April, to time with the release of CBS Films’ “The Back Up Plan,” in which she stars and in which she was to have a song from her album in the end credits.
Lopez has sold 11.8 million albums in the U.S. according to Nielsen SoundScan since she launched her career with Epic in 1999 with her debut set “On the 6.” That album, which debuted and peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 chart, has sold 2.8 million in the U.S.
She followed “On the 6” with “J.Lo” (No. 1 in 2001; 3.8 million), “J To Tha L-O! The Remixes” (No. 1 in 2002; 1.5 million) and “This Is Me … Then” (No. 2 in 2003; 2.6 million).
Between 1999 and 2003, she notched a string of 10 to 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including the No. 1s “If You Had My Love,” “I’m Real,” “Ain’t It Funny” and “All I Have.”
Lopez returned in January of 2005 with the studio set “Rebirth,” led by the single “Get Right.” While “Rebirth” debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, it only went on to sell 738,000 in the U.S. and “Get Right” topped out at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Lopez’s most recent top 10 single on the Hot 100 came in the form of a guest appearance on LL Cool J’s “Control Myself,” which peaked at No. 4 in 2006.
Following “Rebirth” in 2007, Lopez offered up her first Spanish-language album “Como Ama Una Mujer,” which reached No. 10 on the Billboard 200 and spent four weeks at No. 1 on the Top Latin Albums chart. It has sold 207,000. Later that same year, she bowed her fifth English studio set, “Brave,” which debuted and peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard 200 and has since sold 165,000.
“Love?’s: first pair of singles, “Louboutins” and “Fresh Out the Oven,” have both reached the Dance Club Songs chart, but have yet to dent any of Billboard’s radio airplay tallies. “Oven,” featuring Pitbull, hit No. 1 on the Club list back in January, while “Louboutins” is still climbing the chart. This week it rises from No. 21 to No. 13.
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