Defending her performance at 2019 Grammy Awards, the 'On the Floor' hitmaker claims it was for her mother and that the producers found her 'a natural fit' because 'she grew up on all those songs.'

• Feb 12, 2019

AceShowbiz - Jennifer Lopez has defended her Motown performance at the Grammy Awards, after some people questioned why she'd been chosen for the tribute piece.

The 49-year-old singer took to the stage at Sunday night's (February 10) star-studded awards ceremony to belt out a medley of Motown classics, such as "Dancing in the Street", "Please Mr. Postman" and "The Best Things in Life Are Free". She was later joined by Grammys host Alicia Keys, Ne-Yo and Smokey Robinson, who joined her to sing "My Girl".

And while the multi-talented star was on point with her outfit and stage design for the performance, many viewers were left baffled as to why bosses had chosen Jennifer for the tribute.

Twitter Was Not Having Jennifer Lopez’s Motown Tribute https://t.co/p6qMfrzHbB “Umm i could have thought of about a million other artist better for this performance other than @JLo,” wrote one Twitter user. Uh, Ok, so why didn't they?

— J Burgin (@Failedwriter3) February 11, 2019

One wrote on Twitter, "Umm i could have thought of about a million other artist better for this performance other than @JLo." While another commented, "Jennifer Lopez is doing the Motown tribute and when Janelle Monae is right there and I just don't understand the creative decision."

Jennifer Lopez is doing the Motown tribute and when Janelle Monáe is right there and I just don’t understand the creative decision pic.twitter.com/qevBc83ib4

— 𝕚 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕞𝕪 𝕠𝕨𝕟 𝕙𝕒𝕚𝕣 𝕞𝕒𝕔𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕖 (@omyj0sh) February 11, 2019

However, following the backlash, Jennifer insisted she was thrilled with how the performance had gone, and explained that it was a tribute to her mother - who always used to play Motown hits when she was growing up.

"It was for my mom. I could cry. It's such a good moment," she smiled. "It's just a dream come true. Singing up there with Smokey Robinson, like, I gotta pinch myself. I grew up on all those songs and because my mom loved him so much she passed him on to us."

Addressing the criticism, Jennifer added, "The thing about music is that it inspires all. Any type of music can inspire any type of artist. You can't tell people what to love. You can't tell people what they can and can't do, what they should sing or not sing. You gotta do what's in your heart."

Explaining that the Grammy bosses were "thrilled" she'd agreed to the tribute, Jennifer continued, "They know how much I have been influenced by that music and so it was a natural fit for them. But for some people, (it wasn't), and that's okay. I'm just very humbled and honoured to be able to have sung those songs."