J.Lo’s teens have strong thoughts about her recent music

Teenagers have a way of humbling you real quick, and it turns out that holds true even if you’re a multi-hyphenate superstar with millions of fans around the globe. Jennifer Lopez opened up about what happened when she played one of her older songs for her 15-year-old teens, and her reaction? “Ouch.”

In an interview with Variety, Lopez waxed poetic about a trio of upcoming projects, a documentary called “The Greatest Love Story Never Told,” a musical film called “This Is Me… Now: A Love Story,” and a new album, “This Is Me… Now,” which serves as a sequel to her 2002 album “This Is Me… Then.” The passion projects all stem from her reignited romance with now-husband Ben Affleck, but it seems J.Lo’s biggest critics might be her twins, Max and Emme.

For a brief history lesson—*adjusts glasses, cracks knuckles*—Lopez and Affleck dated from 2002 to 2004, and the actor served heavily as inspiration for “This Is Me… Then.” She even wrote a song about him called “Dear Ben,” which was a big moment for those of us who had a crush on a guy named Ben in 2003. (Hey, hi, it’s me.)

Now that Bennifer is back and married after reuniting in 2021, she’s taking inspiration from their rekindled romance, writing a song aptly called “Dear Ben Pt. II.” And while the world over loves the way J.Lo loves love, it seems her teenage twins prefer the old stuff instead.

“They said, ‘Is this you, Mommy?’” she told the outlet, apparently with a smile. “I’m like, ‘Yeah, this is an album I did 18 years ago.’ I played them another song and asked them if they liked it, and they said yes, and I said, ‘I wrote this.’ And then they’re like, ‘Yeah, we like this more than the music you make now.’” Lopez laughs. “Ouch. But a good ouch.”

Listen, J.Lo, from a girl who preordered your debut album “On The 6” in 1999 because she was such a huge Selena fan and then saw your Las Vegas residency, your songs have been the soundtrack of so many of our lives. And you know what? Kids just be saying stuff. But the truth is, if my mom was behind “Ain’t It Funny” the OG and “Ain’t It Funny” the remix, I would simply never shut up about it. They’ll come around to your new stuff in time. We can’t wait to hear it all.