Chante Moore: I Should Have Battled Jennifer Lopez!

Posted Aug 27th 2008 10:10AM by Jawn Murray
Filed under: BV Buzz
By Jawn Murray, Chante Moore/Jennifer Lopez

Sultry R&B singer Chante Moore told NPR's Tony Cox that her biggest professional regret was not going toe-to-toe with Jennifer Lopez back in 1999 when her junior album, 'This Moment Is Mine' came out one week prior to J.Lo's 'On The 6.'

The San Francisco-bred singer recalled how when she realized that über-producer Rodney Jerkins (Michael Jackson/Brandy) had basically created the same song for her and J.Lo, she wanted to "sock [him] in the head."

The song Moore is referencing is 'If I Gave Love,' a track that was slated to be the follow-up release to Moore 's smash single, 'Chante's Got A Man.'

But plans to release 'If I Gave Love' as a second single were compromised when the 'Love's Taken Over' singer's record company realized JerkRodney Jerkinsin's eerily similar adaptation of the song created for J.Lo was being rolled out as the Latin star's first single.


"We should have been aggressive instead of backing off our single," vented Moore. "And we backed off of it because J.Lo had such a machine at the time. We should have just stepped out."

According to the 41-year-old singer, Jerkins' similar version of 'If I Gave Love' that was re-titled 'If You Had My Love' for Lopez was created because Sean 'P.Diddy' Combs specifically requested the song.

"I heard that it was because Puff Daddy walked in and heard my song and said, 'I want that song.' [Rodney] was like, 'Yeah, it's already taken. We wrote that for Sean Chante.' And [Puffy] was like, 'Yeah, mmm hmm, I want that song.' So Rodney wrote really the same song," the singer explained, before adding: "Hers, I can't even remember. It's so close I can't even sing it right now. Same song!"

During that time, Lopez was dating Combs and the two were one of the music industry's hottest couples.

Now Moore, who is married to R&B crooner Kenny Lattimore, has released a new album 'Love The Woman' on Peak Records/Concord.

The first single from that offering is 'It Aint Supposed To Be This Way,' a song that has a title that accurately describes how Moore was feeling upon discovering what happened to her back in 1999.

Chante Moore: I Should Have Battled Jennifer Lopez!