Jennifer Lopez has been slowly undergoing a transformation over the past several months. J.Lo's come out of her shell more than ever before: speaking up on social issues and politics, growing her businesses and brand partnerships, posing nude for the cover art for her latest single "In the Morning," and now releasing a video like none other for the same song.
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The music video dropped exclusively on Triller on Wednesday. The 51-year-old entertainer teased it on her Instagram with a short clip alongside a caption reading, "I am soooo excited for you to see the official video for #InTheMorning ☀️☀️ It's full of symbolism about a dark one-sided relationship and the realization that you can't change anyone else … you can only change yourself!!! Grow your own wings and walk away from anyone or anything that doesn't truly value all you have to offer."
J.Lo stepped into a fantasy world for the "In the Morning" video.
The music video is a big departure from any of the music videos we've seen from J.Lo in the past. It looks to have had a super-high budget and features Jen dressed in the most elaborate costumes in some sort of fantasy world. It actually has major sci-fi vibes and reminds us a bit of the movie The Cell she did back in 2000.
It almost has resurrection vibes.
The video opens with J.Lo sinking into an ocean and then seemingly being uplifted by tiny white butterflies. She ascends transformed into a metal-clad (armor?) goddess. It kind of gives us resurrection vibes, and since the video is apparently about escaping a toxic relationship and coming into a new life of your own, we think that was intentional.
Jen is super-excited to share her message.
"Grow your own wings and walk away from anyone or anything that doesn’t truly value all you have to offer," J.Lo tweeted when the video was released, making sure that all of her fans know exactly what she's trying to convey in the video.
She looks magical in every scene.
Jennifer looks like some sort of gorgeous magical creature in every scene, so at first watch it's easy to be distracted by the stunning visuals and not pick up on the symbolism, but it's all there when you take a closer look.
Some of the costumes seem to highlight the importance of growth and self-worth.
Most notably, J.Lo appears as an angel throughout the video, which seems to indicate her power and inner strength, as well as the quality of her character. But in the angel scenes, she's completely nude, which may hint at her vulnerability as well.
She alludes to the "sacred feminine."
J.Lo is also seen as an absolutely ethereal mermaid in the video. While it makes for a gorgeous shot, there's also lots of symbolism behind this mythical creature. Mermaids are associated with the "sacred feminine," which is perfectly in line with Jennifer's message about self-love and personal evolution.
The idea of being trapped is portrayed.
Some scenes show Jen in what appears to be a beautiful white mermaid-style gown, but when you look closely, you can see that she's actually been bound in the dress, and later in the video we see those binds come loose.
She's stuck in gilded cage.
The gilded face cage J.Lo first wore for her New Year's Rockin' Eve performance makes a major comeback in the "In the Morning" video, and it makes a whole lot more sense now. It seems to be a statement on her being imprisoned by something rather than an ode to the now ubiquitous face masks we all wear.
J.Lo worked with the best of the best on the video.
J.Lo always has top players in her corner, and the "In the Morning" video was no exception. Ultra-artistic director and photographer Jora Frantzis worked on the video, creating some truly jaw-dropping scenes.
Her fashion stylist is incredible.
As is often the case, J.Lo recruited celebrity fashion stylist and costume designer Rob Zangardi to dress her for the video, and he did an incredible job. Every look is stunning and impactful.
The costumes were couture.
Many if not all of the costumes in the video were designed by Iris van Herpen, who creates amazing haute couture clothing and costumes for celebrities, and the costumes look like pure art. "Celebrating female empowerment, Van Herpen's vision is guided by inspirational women such as the brand's global clientele and muses like Cate Blanchett, Beyoncé, Scarlett Johansson and Naomi Campbell," reads her bio.
Even Jen's earrings are showstoppers.
In the part of the video J.Lo is wearing the silver gown, she's also wearing the most amazing crystal earrings by jewelry designer Emmanuele Tsakiris. They are the "Dynasty Ariella Crystal Earrings," and were selected by Rob Zangardi and Mariel Haenn.
The video will be released on all platforms on Friday.
While Triller got first dibs thanks to an exclusive partnership J.Lo now has on the video-based social network, the video will be released on all other platforms come Friday. However, you don't need to create an account to view it on Triller, where it currently has more than 1.2 million views.
Fans are loving it.
Fan response has been huge so far, with lots of people tweeting their praise for the video and reposting clips and still photos of it on Instagram. It helps that J.Lo and her team have been ramping up interest for weeks now.
It all started with a challenge.
Shortly after the "In the Morning" single released, J.Lo started her own social media challenge that quickly went viral. People were supposed to show their transformations from how they look when they wake up to full glam (all while dancing, of course). The challenge surely served to drum up excitement about the song and build anticipation for the video, which, we must say, totally lives up to the hype.
