EXCLUSIVE – Jennifer Lopez’s music director reveals the TRUTH behind the 54-year-old singer’s ageless looks and incredible physique – as she insists she has NO plans to retire any time soon: ‘Absolutely not’
- Kim Burse has been working alongside mom-of-two Jennifer for 13 years
- Creative director praised Ben Affleck’s wife for working ‘really, really hard’
- Kim claimed Jennifer, 54, has ‘absolutely earned the right’ to enjoy ‘diva’ status
- READ MORE: Jennifer looks glamorous as she slips into red silk nightwear
She never fails to impress with her show-stopping stamina on stage – and now the woman behind Jennifer Lopez’s incredible routines has revealed how the singer stays at the top of her game.
Kim Burse – a music director who has worked with the likes of Beyoncé, Queen Latifah, Ciara, and Tamara Braxton – has been collaborating with Jennifer, 54, for 13 years and has collaborated on her tours including All I Have and It’s My Party.
Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com, Kim, 55, praised Jennifer for always working ‘really, really hard’, and also revealed that she doesn’t think the On The Floor hitmaker will be retiring any time soon.
Explaining why she thinks Jennifer looks as incredible as she does in her mid-fifties, she said: ‘It’s the whole spectrum. It’s personal wellness, physical, like she takes care of it all. She makes sure that she covers everything and she works hard, she really, really does.’
Jennifer Lopez’s music director has revealed the truth behind the singer’s ageless looks and incredible physique
Kim Burse has been working with mother-of-two Jennifer on her show-stopping performances for 13 years now
Kim worked very closely with Jennifer on her incredible Super Bowl LIV Halftime Show which took place in Miami, Florida, in February 2020
When asked if she thinks the Jenny from the Block singer will ever retire, Kim admitted that she wouldn’t like to ‘put a stamp’ on it – but said she cannot see it happening in the near future.
‘Absolutely not. She’s not [retiring],’ she said.
Anyone who tuned in to J.Lo’s Netflix documentary, Halftime knows just how hard the singer rehearsed to ensure that her February 2020 performance at the Super Bowl was nothing short of perfection, with Kim revealing she would squeeze in meetings in the early hours to fit into her hectic schedule.
‘With the Super Bowl, I look back on that time and we worked so hard for something that was about, at the most, maybe six minutes,’ Kim said. ‘And we worked so, so hard from the A to the Z, we made sure that we got everything together and she was with us every day in the rehearsals.
‘And in her Netflix documentary, the time that I’m in the movie with her at her table and we’re trying to go over the songs and timings, that was actually around 1:30 in the morning because she was shooting a movie and so I had to meet her and we were talking about the music after she finished filming.
‘She was still going, you know, she didn’t stop.’
The Super Bowl Halftime show usually lasts between 12 and 14 minutes, but due to the fact that JLo shared the slot with Colombian singer Shakira, she had even less time to storm through eight songs, including Jenny from the Block and Get Right.
She was also joined onstage by her teenage daughter Emme, whom she shares with her ex-husband Marc Anthony, for a duet of Born in the USA.
Commenting on how they managed to squeeze so much in, Kim continued: ‘I was just trying to put the best moments in the few minutes that we had, and I felt like we got it down, she did a great job. It just did enough of every song and it kind of is almost like what we deal with TikTok today, it’s just these little shorts.
Kim, 55, has revealed that she doesn’t think the On The Floor hitmaker will retire any time soon
Kim revealed that she and Jennifer sometimes had meetings at 1.30am for the Super Bowl prep because the singer literally ‘didn’t stop’
Music director Kim (right) pictured with her own mother and 54-year-old singer JLo
‘It’s like before the pandemic or anything, since we were right before the pandemic happened, it’s like we were already in route to making each a song like a short that would be great on social media.’
Referring to live performances in general, Kim revealed she’s usually ‘just as nervous’ as the artist and confirmed that she was watching the Super Bowl Halftime show from the broadcast audio truck.
‘Shakira’s musical director was in the chair first for her performance and then when it came time for JLo’s performance, I switched over with him and then I was just watching the engineer, just making sure that they had her up, and everything was leveled,’ Kim recalled.
The music director also opened up about seeing celebrities such as JLo in a ‘vulnerable’ setting, and then witnessing their ‘transformation’ before they go onstage.
‘When it’s time for the show, and the outfit gets put on, the shoes get put on, the makeup is put on and the hair gets done, you see the total transformation.
‘And for me, that’s where I am able to look and say, “this is a star”, because that transformation… you totally start to understand this is why this person is doing this, this is why this person has this job,’ Kim explained.
‘This absolutely brings them the respect of a diva. And with the term diva, I like it as a positive reinforcement. It’s demanding respect for you, it’s not anything against you. It garners the fact that you absolutely need to be respected, your opinion needs to be valued, and your work needs to be understood.
‘And I think that’s a great title because for women they always have to – I feel – work a little bit harder and push a little bit stronger and thrive even that much more, and so they have absolutely earned the right, those that have that title. I look at it as a positive title. And yes, I have worked for some divas and they have all been great!’
Jennifer shared her Super Bowl Halftime slot in 2020 with Colombian singer Shakira (left)
Kim has also worked with Beyonce and the much-loved girl group Destiny’s Child
Kim served as band leader for CMT’s Smashing Glass: A Celebration of the Groundbreaking Women of Music television special
Speaking of divas, Kim served as band leader for CMT’s Smashing Glass: A Celebration of the Groundbreaking Women of Music television special, which honored singers Patti LaBelle, 79, and Tanya Tucker, 65.
‘I just love even the name of the show, Smashing Glass, and with regards to what that means with women in the industry,’ Kim said of her involvement.
‘I was so glad to be a part of it as a black female musical director, I was just so honored.
‘The whole situation was smashing glass from beginning to end, not just with me, but of course with the honorees. It was just so great to be with other females doing just great things.’
Kim said that she hopes the TV special – which features performances from the likes of Amber Riley and Clint Black – helps remind women that they are ‘worthy’ and also wants it to inspire females to ‘keep going’ when it comes to chasing their dreams.
‘I hope that people will understand how music actually can connect all of us together. I hope that any female that’s watching this show will know that they’re worthy from watching, because we all have a dream… don’t give up, and know that you absolutely have a chance at your dreams coming true.’
CMT SMASHING GLASS: A Celebration of the Groundbreaking Women of Music, an all-new, genre-defying musical salute premieres Wednesday, November 15 at 9p/8c exclusively on CMT
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