- I'm a Latin girl from the Bronx,
I'm a Puerto Rican, simple Puerto Rican girl
from the Bronx, who just, to get on a train
and come down here with all my big dreams and just...
Trying to make them come true.
- [Narrator] Jennifer Lopez, J-Lo, or Jenny from the Block,
whatever you may know her by, you know
that she is an undisputed living legend.
From the beginning of her career as a fly girl
on In Living Color to becoming the 2018
Michael Jackson Video Vanguard recipient at the VMA's,
MTV has always been a huge fan of J-Lo.
Let's look back on our long relationship
with the iconic Jennifer Lopez.
- Are you ready?
- [Narrator] Did you know that the first time
we saw Jennifer Lopez on MTV was back in 1989.
Here she is breaking it down on Yo MTV Raps.
Look at those moves, go off J-Lo!
Fast forward ten years later Jennifer Lopez
had established herself as a successful actress.
Staring in hits like Selena and Anaconda.
Then in 1999 she flipped the switch on all of us,
and released her debut album On the 6.
- See I used to get on the 6.
The Bronx, did you get a close up of there?
The Bronx, I used to be right here,
Castle Hill is where I lived my whole life.
I used to get on there, late, and then I used to
take it all the way, that was a long time ago.
(Jennifer screams)
- [Man] Hey get back!
- I'm coming back, I'm coming back, it's just a joke.
(Jennifer laughing)
Busted.
- Jennifer Lopez fans?
(girls screaming)
- [Narrator] Her very first music video,
If You Had My Love premiered on TRL and
immediately solidified her as a major Pop Star.
- Let's go ahead and check it out,
world premiere, Jennifer Lopez,
If You Had My Love, is on Total Request Live.
- [Narrator] It was her first of many appearances
in our Time Square Studio.
J-Lo has appeared on TRL a total of 18 times.
She always showed love to the biggest fans in the audience.
- I love J-Lo, I just love her
and I get emotional, I'm sorry.
- Oh, don't get emotional.
(screaming)
I get a little emotional because I see,
you mentioned 20 years ago and I see
like the same fans in the front row
and it makes me so thankful.
(crowd screaming)
- [Narrator] TRL wasn't the only time
MTV got to hang with Jenny from the block.
We were on set for the filming of her music video,
Waiting for Tonight.
After that, J-Lo brought us along
for five more episodes of making the video.
J-Lo has always been dedicated
to the art of the music video.
- I've always been a very video oriented artist.
In the studio I start thinking,
you know the video for this should be,
whatever, you know.
- [Narrator] Sometimes, things get a little bit
dangerous on set.
- I got burnt, one of those things burnt my shoulder.
- Did it hurt you?
- Yeah!
I'm not an expert on the laser activity,
but all I know is that they burned
the (beep) out of my shoulder.
That was the video where I almost broke my ankle.
And MTV kept playing it over and over again
and embarrassing me.
- [Narrator] Sorry J-Lo, had to play that one more time.
- Actually I didn't care, it was funny.
- [Narrator] J-Lo's visuals are so iconic
that she became a mainstay at the VMA's.
- Jennifer Lopez, Waiting for Tonight.
- [Narrator] In 2000, she took home the award
for best dance for, Waiting for Tonight.
- I didn't expect to win, I was ready for the upset.
(Jennifer laughs)
- [Narrator] The next year she performed,
I'm Real remix with Ja Rule.
And then the following year she took home the VMA
for best Hip-Hop for the same song.
- I didn't expect this, obviously but um, God.
I'm a girl from the Bronx and Hip-Hop is everything to us,
so I wanna thank God, I wanna thank the fans,
I wanna thank Ja and the whole Murder Ink crew.
- [Narrator] And you know J-Lo always comes
serving looks, the VMA's are no exception.
♪ Yo quiero, yo quiero dinero ♪
- [Narrator] For all the reasons we've mentioned
and more, Jennifer Lopez is the 2018 recipient
of the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award.
(crowd screaming)
- Make some noise, for Jennifer Lopez!
Latina!
- You know, I grew up on MTV and this
is really like a tremendous honor for me.
- [Narrator] Throughout her almost 30 years
in the public eye, Jennifer Lopez has always
been incredibly passionate about her music
and her fans, she has always put her life
and soul into her works.
- I love what I do, you know and
I love to see the reaction of people
when they say, you know the little girl
comes up to you, I love your song,
and she says let's get loud,
you know what I mean like that just fills
your heart in a way that, you would never
imagine what that feels like, you know what I mean
or that they get joy from that,
that they'll jump on their beds
and they'll jump up and down with their friends.
That's part of their life or something,
you know what I mean, that's special to me.
- [Narrator] We love you J-Lo.
Thank you for always being an inspiration
to us and your fans around the world.
- So that's a wrap, bye, bye.