Throwback Thursday: "If You Had My Love" Jennifer Lopez

In the transition from back-up dancer (for the likes of Janet Jackson and In Living Color) to worldwide pop star, Jennifer Lopez took a perhaps surprising approach. Instead of the hard-hitting club beats one might expect—those would come with later hits like "Waiting for Tonight"—her debut single, "If You Had My Love," is a mid-tempo ballad built on cascading violins and a vaguely Latin minor-key riff. Lopez sounds seductive and in control, even as she lays bare her deepest insecurities ("Now if I give you me/this is how it's got to be," she asserts in the opening verse), and the song is a sultry good time. But her interrogation is distinctly lacking in a sense of urgency that would suggest Lopez actually cares whether or not her lover is unfaithful. B

13 years ago this week, "If You Had My Love" was the #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100.