J.Lo uses Israeli group’s version of 'Let’s Get Loud' at the Super Bowl

Lopez, who performed along with her daughter, Emme Maribel Muniz, and fellow pop diva, Shakira, visited Israel with her family and her fiance, Alex Rodriguez, in August.

NFL Football - Super Bowl LIV Halftime Show - Kansas City Chiefs v San Francisco 49ers - Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, Florida, U.S. - February 2, 2020 Jennifer Lopez and Shakira perform during the halftime show (photo credit: REUTERS/SHANNON STAPLETON)
NFL Football - Super Bowl LIV Halftime Show - Kansas City Chiefs v San Francisco 49ers - Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, Florida, U.S. - February 2, 2020 Jennifer Lopez and Shakira perform during the halftime show
(photo credit: REUTERS/SHANNON STAPLETON)
When Jennifer Lopez rocked the Super Bowl halftime show, she proved she was still Jenny from the Block when she used an arrangement by the Israeli social-musical initiative Koolulam.
Representatives for Lopez contacted Koolulam, according to Michal Shahaf, one of the project’s founders, and said that, “She had heard our video of ‘Let’s Get Loud’ and liked it and connected to it and would like to use part of [our arrangement] in her Super Bowl performance.”

The video Lopez saw was of an event for the NGO One in Nine, which promotes breast cancer awareness and advances in research.
“For us, it’s sensational,” said Shahaf, adding, “Our goal is to reach as many people as possible from all over the world. . . .For her to pick our arrangement for a performance before such a huge audience is an amazing recognition and a big hug for us.”
Koolulam’s mission, she said, is that, “We hope that musical harmony will bring harmony to the world.” Its other founders are Or Taicher and Ben Yaffet.
What the unusual project does, Shahaf explained, is to bring together an audience and to spend about 45 minutes teaching them a new arrangement of a well-known song, which they then perform together. The idea  “is to bring together people from all walks of life to do one thing, stop everything for a few hours and just sing — together.”
Recent performances have included an event in Latrun with Arkadi Duchin’s song, “Yesh Bi Ahava,” a song popularized by Arik Einstein, in September. Koolulam has staged events all over the world, in such countries as Brazil and South Africa. In May, it will hold an event in New York.
Lopez, who performed along with her daughter, Emme Maribel Muniz, and fellow pop diva, Shakira, visited Israel with her family and her fiance, Alex Rodriguez, in August. Lopez performed in Tel Aviv and traveled the country.
Shahaf hopes that Lopez’s choice to feature Koolulam’s arrangement will help more people find their way to its events.
“In this technological world, people are used to being alone at home with their screens, but people want to get together and sing with people they don’t know,” Shahaf said.