Jennifer Lopez

J-Lo. Jenny from the Block. The former "niffer" of Benniffer. All of these are names for America's favorite singer/dancer/actress/entrepreneur: Jennifer Lopez.

Following up two years of quiet musical missteps-including a largely-ignored Spanish-language album-J-Lo returns to the English speaking scene in an attempt to revive her once-glowing pop career. Brave, which abides by the same formula Lopez used to create her pop career, is a collection of dance hall anthems with a few ballads thrown in to mix things up.

Lyrically and musically, Brave is unexciting and stays within the confines of formulaic R&B-pop fusion. The lead single, "Do It Well," and the "The Way It Is" both beg to be blasted at clubs. However fun they may be, these tracks are instantly forgettable, lacking the punch of J-Lo's biggest hits like "Waiting for Tonight" and "Jenny from the Block" which boasted better beats and more enjoyably inane lyrics.

Lopez does, however, shine on the album's final two tracks. Her personal empowerment anthem, "Brave" is the best written and performed track on the album. More importantly, the song has the makings of the perfect guilty pleasure. The bonus track, a remix of "Do It Well" featuring Ludacris harps back to collaborations like "I'm Real."

The album falters most with the slow jams. While the dance tracks tend to hide the lyrical faux pas of Brave, the ballads shine a bright light on them. "Wrong When You're Gone" illustrates feeble attempts at rhyme like "Heaven knows if you were here/I'd be all up in your ear." These tracks amount to a painful robotic droning.

If hashing out weaker versions of earlier albums is considered valiant, J. Lo has earned the right to name her album Brave. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

While not the musical equivalent of Gigli, J. Lo's musical career has seen better days.