‘J-LO & CALVIN’S CHEMISTRY IS off the charts!

After a night of flirting, these two are planning a studio hook-up

Until this point, we all knew who was winning The Ex Race – and it wasn’t the angry guy ranting on Twitter about lyrics. But last week, Calvin Harris got a major boost to his self-esteem in the form of one of the biggest – and hottest – stars on the planet. After Jennifer Lopez personally invited the Scottish DJ to her 47th birthday party, the pair spent the night flirting and dancing – and are now making plans to meet up in the studio. Did you feel that breeze as Calvin laps you, Taylor Swift?

“The chemistry between Calvin and Jennifer is off the charts,” says a party insider close to the 32 year old, who was seen taking intimate selfies with Jen all night and later posted a Snapchat of her slow dancing next to him. Rapper French Montana added fire to the speculation, too, by adding a photo to Instagram of Calvin with his arm around Jen, next to his new BFF Kim Kardashian – who Calvin’s bonded with in recent weeks since she blasted his ex-girlfriend on social media. We’re told, “Calvin would date J-LO in half a heartbeat. He’s always found her incredibly hot, and the fact that she’s so successful is a major turn-on for him. They’ve become connected through the

same circles in Las Vegas, where he has a DJ residency and J-LO performs a regular spot at The AXIS at Planet Hollywood. They have friends like Kim in common, and have been running into each other a lot. There’s a big mutual respect there – Jen’s always wanted to work with Calvin, or get him to do a remix of her music. She heard from Kim that he’s a big fan of hers, too, so he was high up on the list when she was drawing up the invitations. Jen thought it’d be a perfect opportunity to get to know him properly.”

But no one could’ve predicted how flirty things would get on the night. “It’s probably no surprise to say Calvin’s fancied J-LO for years – everyone does!” says the insider. “He’s openly said she’s one of the sexiest women on the planet for as long as anyone who knows him can remember. But the shock was that she was flirting back. Calvin showed up to the party alone and made a bee-line for Jen. Other people at the party, like Kim and French, tried to talk to him, but he excused himself to go find Jen, who clearly didn’t mind the attention. They seemed to be having a lot of fun, and Calvin even came right out and told her that he’s had a crush on her for years – and Jen couldn’t help but be flattered.”

But there is one small hurdle in Calvin’s way – we’re told J-LO

is still dating her on/off dancer boyfriend of five years, Casper Smart, 29. He was hosting the L A do at the Nobu Villa Suite, and party-goers say, “Calvin knows Jen is taken, and of course he’s not the type to steam in on someone else’s girlfriend,” adds another insider. “He knows nothing could happen right now, but it’s well known that she and Casper have had rough patches, and some people in her world don’t see it as a forever thing.”

Things have been rocky between the pair since 2014, when Casper was accused of cheating with transgender model Sofie Vissa, who went public with steamy texts. Casper denied the allegations. The friend adds, “As she said herself earlier in the year, right now Jen can’t see herself marrying him after that scandal – and there are other issues, too. Casper’s career is starting to take on a life of its own and he’s not around as much as he was at the beginning. Recently he’s been away shooting the remake of Dirty Dancing with all these hot women like Nicole Scherzinger. And Casper’s increasingly in demand for his choreography work, with celebs such as Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera and even Céline Dion interested in working with him. They’re all Jen’s rivals, so that’s caused major conflict. People are asking how long it’s going to last, but she does still care about Casper and he’s wonderful with her kids [Emme and Max, eight].”

‘Calvin told Jen he’d had a crush on her for years – she couldn’t help but be flattered’

At her party, friends say it seemed that Casper and Jen were more distant than before. “At times they were on opposite sides of the room,” we’re told. “A year ago, earlier in their relationship, he would’ve spent the whole night being paraded around on her arm, but this time she worked the room solo and spent a lot of time flirting with Calvin. Jen’s even been telling friends she’d be so compatible with Calvin if she ever became single again, although she’s still committed to Casper right now.”

And it looks like Calvin could have a matchmaking ally in the form of Kim Kardashian. “Kim worships Jennifer, and Calvin might be a new friend, but she thinks he’s a really sweet and wonderful guy, who deserves the very best,” says heat’s source. “Kim prides herself on fixing people up within her social group, and would love to see Jen and Calvin get together. It’s not like she wants Jen to split up from Casper, but she definitely noticed the connection Calvin and Jen had at the party. Kim’s always encouraged people to go with their instincts and, in her view, if Jennifer and Calvin are attracted to each other, they should just follow their hearts and hook up. Of course, there would also be that added bonus of annoying Taylor. It would be the perfect ‘f*** you’ if she played matchmaker for her rival’s ex.

“Kim’s not going to let that grudge against Taylor go any time soon, and with Calvin now part of her inner circle, it means she’s going to have fun fixing him up. Kim’s now on a mission to find him a new girlfriend who’s a bigger star than Taylor.”

Calvin has recently been linked to singer Tinashe, 23, but last week she dismissed anything serious between them, telling TMZ, “We’re cool, we make music together.” The insider adds, “Calvin’s been enjoying the single scene since splitting with Taylor. He’s had a few dates with Tinashe, but it’s super-casual. So, if J-LO were to become available, he’d see it as a dating upgrade and be straight in there. It would be up to her to make the first move, but if she gave him the green light he’d be all over it.”

For now, it seems Calvin’s doing everything he can to spend time with J-LO – including, ahem, making sweet music together. “Calvin’s been in contact with Jen since the birthday party,” says the friend. “He gushed to her soon after leaving the party about what a great time he had. He told her how beautiful she looked and talked about how excited he is to work together on music. They’ve chatted on the phone and via email since, and Calvin’s reached out to Jen’s manager, Benny Medina, to make arrangements to get in the studio together soon.”

Watch this space… n LUCY VINE