Jennifer Lopez is trying her best for some kind of triple-threat comeback, bless her heart. She’s releasing an album, and has already got two terrible singles out, “Fresh Out The Oven” and “Louboutins”. She’s got some new films coming out over the next year, and she can still dance… although she will bust her ass when attempting any dance move other than a “Vogue” style pose. So, Jennifer has a lot to promote. Which is why she is the January cover girl for Allure Magazine. I actually like the cover shot – I find it pretty but slightly boring. Isn’t that the blouse Jennifer wore to the VMAs when she was married to Cris Judd? Probably. Anyway, here are some of the highlights from the interview:

Has Jennifer Lopez let herself go? Has she sworn off the gym and calorie counting? Of course not — but she has chilled out, now that she’s a 40 year-old mother of twins Emme and Max, 21 months (their dad is her husband Marc Anthony).

“I’m not the monster I used to be in the exercise department,” Lopez says in the January issue of Allure. “You get past your 20s, you’ve got kids…you’re kind of unmotivated.”

The famously curvy singer-actress admits, “You want to be healthy and look good, but you want to do the least amount to maintain that.”

When she does need to hit the red carpet or a performance stage (as she did at November’s AMAs, where she slipped off a male dancer’s sweaty back), the star practices a more vigorous and frequent gym routine. Food-wise, Lopez says she’s a “big portion control person.”

The star also offers Allure some frank insight into the childhood roots of her ambition: the unintended absence of her dad. “My dad worked nights and slept during the day, so we never saw him much,” she says. “He was a wonderful, loving father…but even so, I would lie in bed at night and tell myself over and over ‘I know my daddy loves me.’ I wondered about it…if because of his absence he didn’t care about me or about us. And believe me, my dad was the best. But these little things happen to you when you’re younger.”

[From Us Weekly]

Jennifer also discussed husband Marc Anthony, describing the differences in their talent. Or should I say “talent”? No… Marc does have a beautiful voice. Jennifer thinks so too, saying, “It wasn’t like it was with Marc, who opened his mouth at age three and was blessed with a voice from God. That wasn’t me. I had to work at it, but I knew that once I had achieved it, people would respond to me in a certain way.” Jennifer also says that she’s tried to get Marc to quit smoking, but that “you have to let a person do his thing.” And finally, Jennifer discussed her feelings on the paparazzi, saying “It’s a business. Once they stop making money off of you they stop coming around.”

Here’s the thing – I love Jennifer. I always have. She’s a diva, she’s pleasantly crazy and delusional, and I have no doubt she would shank me if I pissed her off. While I don’t think that highly of her singing “talent” or her wasted acting talent, I think Jennifer is a great old-school celebrity. She does work her ass off, and it’s so much fun to chuckle about Jennifer’s latest career escapade. Diva! Love it.

Allure photos, courtesy of Allure online and Just Jared.