Jennifer Lopez

Fashion-forward fly girl, real-deal movie star, bilingual chart-buster — Jennifer Lopez is all that and then some, a true American idol and the kind of 21st-century superstar who can convince you she’s the same sweet girl she’s always been on her ’round-the-way anthem “Jenny from the Block,” then seize the night as a dominant dance-floor mistress with a pulsating “On the Floor (feat. Pitbull).” She can change up her look as easily as she plays with her sound — from the sensual sass of “Love Don’t Cost a Thing” to the bare-hearted balladry of “Por Arriesgarnos” — but the secret of her success lies in the sentiments of her easygoing truth-teller “I’m Real.”

“I’m Glad,” sings our happy diva, and we know she’s talking about our whole extra Jennifer Lopez playlist, in Next Steps.

The beauty of a triple-threat Jennifer Lopez is that she can — and does — do it all, making music for any occasion, even in two different lenguas. So while an all-inclusive love song, like “Amarte Es Todo,” offers a one-plus-one soundtrack for simmering intimate moments, the light-it-up dance track “Walking On Sunshine (Metro Remix)” heats up the dance floor to an ideal party-time temperature. “Te Voy a Querer” combines a message of love with a little samba sizzle, and “Step Into My World” transforms a slow-jam seduction into a sultry club-night hip-swiveler.

She’s a modern-day classic, a dancing, singing movie star, fashion icon, and business-savvy superstar with an eye for new American talent. She appeals to everyone from wide-eyed tweeners to their grandfolks, turning on the glamour full force, then kicking back and making it look like she’s just the Bronx-born girl next door. The phenomenon known as Jennifer Lopez brings her genius for being all things to all people to her music, from the street-beat of a fun-and-funky “Get Right,” to the power-ballad ache of a pleading “Porque Te Marchas,” to the sweet-candy gloss of the addictive pop treat “Cherry Pie.” Our Jennifer Lopez Essentials does the same, bringing together the best of everything from the salsa-spiced mover “Let’s Get Loud,” to her two-as-one duet with husband Marc Anthony “Escapémonos,” to the hip-pop charmer “All I Have.”