Jennifer Lopez is doing it again...
After a spill at the American Music Awards, the “Louboutins” singer is teaming up again with So You Think You Can Dance choreographers Tabitha and Napoleon Dumo (known as Nappytabs) to do a holiday-themed number for the season finale of the show.
Although Lopez redeemed herself with a performance on Ellen, Tabitha says they’re not taking any chances this time.
“We’re steering clear of some big jumps,” Tabitha says. “I feel like we don’t have to be dangerous anymore … Though I appreciated seeing guys with their shirts off personally — [there will be] no sweaty backs, no shirtless guys. We’re going to have some classy looking guys.”
At the AMAs, Lopez fell — but quickly recovered — after climbing on the bare backs of her male dancers.
Napoleon says the finale performance of the song will be different from the boxing-theme she did previously. “The idea is kind of a cross between a Marilyn Monroe, ‘Santa Baby’ and a ‘Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend,’ but using shoes. Shoes are a girl’s best friend nowadays instead of diamonds.”
Adds Tabitha: “What would a girl want for Christmas? Of course it would be a shiny pair of Louboutin shoes … It’s for the holiday season [and] we’re putting a holiday twist to ‘Louboutins.’”
Part of the twist, they say, will be to feature some familiar faces in the routine.
“We’re going to incorporate some girls in the performance that were in [SYTYCD] seasons past. I don’t think any other artists that have performed on this show have actually incorporated contestants from the show,” Tabitha explains. “It’s not just a performance … it’s a connection to the show.”
The finale will be “a good holiday treat,” according to Napoleon, “and a mixture of the kids on the show getting to interact with a pop sensation.”
The So You Think You Can Dance season finale airs Wednesday at 8:00 pm (ET) on FOX and will also feature performances by Adam Lambert, Mary J. Blige and Leona Lewis.
Jennifer Lopez fans have another reason to catch her comeback performance live at the 2009 American Music Awards tonight. That’s because when the “Fresh Out the Oven” singer takes the stage, she’ll be moving to choreography by So You Think You Can Dance’s Emmy-nominated husband and wife team Tabitha and Napoleon D’umo — or as they’re affectionately known in the dance community, Nappytabs.
“It is an exciting thing for us and one of the things we’ve always wanted to do,” Napoleon said of their chance to work with one of their longtime dance idols.
“You can expect to be entertained and you won’t be disappointed,” assures Tabitha, who has been teaching dance professionally with Napoleon for 15 years (11 of those as husband and wife).
The pair, who has worked with stars like Beyoncé and Missy Elliott, is known for an innovative lyrical hip-hop style that has garnered them quite a following since they joined the FOX show in 2008. And that following includes Lopez and her husband Marc Anthony.
“She told us she and her husband sit down and watch the show weekly,” says Tabitha, who describes Lopez as the ideal artists to work with. “She’s putting the time in and you don’t always get that with the artist. They have such crazy schedules and sometimes their priorities are a little bit different, but she’s really involved.”
Napoleon describes her big number as “her coming back to being in her own and saying, ‘Hey, this is me again — don’t forget about it!’”
For now, the team won’t reveal details of what they call a “big production” with “lots of people involved,” but “without giving it away,” teased Tabitha, she’ll be singing “a great song. It’s going to be on her new album and … I feel like it’s appropriate. It’s got a good tempo. It’s got a good vibe and it’s really exciting for us. When we heard it, we were like, ‘We’re going to have some fun with this one!’”
Aside from Nappytabs, Jennifer has an added support team in husband Marc and their 21-month-old twins Emme and Max who, according to Tabitha and Napoleon, have been regular fixtures at rehearsals.
“Marc’s really supportive,” explains Napoleon. “He’s great with the kids and then he still pays enough attention to her and goes, ‘Maybe you could do a move like this or that?’”
“It’s adorable to watch them together,” Tabitha says.
And it sounds like the little ones take after their parents when it comes to having all the moves. “The kids are always with us at rehearsal, running around and dancing in the mirrors,” Napoleon says. “As soon as the music starts playing, they are dancing around.”
Like any good comeback, Lopez’s live performance at L.A.’s Nokia Theatre on Sunday will show off her confidence. Says Napoleon: “You can expect her to come out fighting and she’s going to show that she’s got a knock-out punch!”
Jennifer Lopez is doing it again...
