SOME PEOPLE DON'T KNOW WHEN TO GIVE IT UP! JENNIFER LOPEZ STRUGGLES TO GET AIR PLAY!

Jennifer Lopez's new single almost landed "On the Floor" at many radio stations, without any airtime.

The luscious Latina has her first Billboard top 10 hit in eight years with the controversial track, but a music-industry insider says J.Lo's new label, Island Def Jam, initially had a tough time convincing stations to play it.

At New York's Z100, for instance, the source says a programmer was reluctant to take a chance on the single because of Lopez's "down period" and wanted the "American Idol" judge's song to "prove itself" on the charts to earn airtime.

What's weird, the source adds, was the exec's perception that J.Lo's down period was tied to her relationship with Sean Combs, which ended in 2000.

Actually, J.Lo was red-hot then: She received two Grammy nominations, had a handful of top 10 hits and knocked the fashion world on its bony butt when, escorted by Combs, she wore that navel-framing Versace gown to the Grammys.

Perhaps the programmer was thinking of the 1999 incident at a Times Square nightclub that led to Combs, who now goes by Diddy, standing trial on gun-possession charges. He was acquitted, but J.Lo, with him that night, shouldered negative PR as a result.

Still, her real down period didn't come until later in the '00s, after she hooked up with Ben Affleck - we still wince when we hear their "Bennifer" nickname - and starred in cinematic stinkers like "Gigli" and "Jersey Girl."

Her fortunes plunged lower than that Versace gown. A 2005 album, "Rebirth," was stillborn. "Brave" in 2007 did worse. And in 2009, J.Lo had a literal down period when she fell on her ample rear performing her last single, "Louboutins," at the 2009 American Music Awards.

That song was supposed to appear on an album called "Love?" which was initially slated for release in 2010, but when it tanked, J.Lo left Sony for Island Def Jam, taking the album with her.

Lately, things are looking up. "On the Floor" is No. 1 on iTunes and No. 9 on the Billboard top 100. Our insider said all the stations that resisted "On the Floor," including Z100, are now playing it. (A Z100 spokeswoman would say only that it looks at "a lot of data" when selecting songs for its playlist.) "Love?" is supposed to be released next month.

As we reported earlier, "On the Floor" caused controversy because of its resemblance to Kat DeLuna's 2010 hit "Party O'Clock." But that uproar seems to only have helped the song, as has J.Lo's new gig as an "American Idol" judge.

She's even reteaming with her ex, Diddy, who'll appear on "Idol" April 11. As long as the producers don't reunite Bennifer, J.Lo. should be fine.

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