Most snickered when Jennifer Lopez made her pop move in 1999, figuring that it was no more than a one-off vanity project. As it turns out, she was as serious about her pop career as she was about acting, and even if she didn't possess a particularly distinguished voice, she was earnest and had some good mainstream pop singles, delivered with some seriously sexy videos. On the Six was big enough of a success to raise expectations for its sequel, J-Lo, the first self-styled blockbuster of 2001. Essentially, this is the same album as On the Six, only a little longer with a little less focus and not as many memorable songs. This lack of winning singles becomes a drag, since at over an hour, the record meanders much longer than it should. Yet, meander isn't really the right word, because the album sets its tone from the start, with the ingratiating "Love Don't Cost a Thing." From that point on, the tinny, skittering drum machines, smooth midrange, and alluringly thin vocals remain the same from song to song, with the occasional Latin cut thrown in to vary the rhythm somewhat. Since both the production and Lopez play it cool, not hot, and there's not that many hooks, it all tends to blend together. Those that have hooks need a couple of spins before they catch hold, whether it's the aforementioned lead single "Love Don't Cost a Thing," "I'm Real," "Play," or "We Gotta Talk." Lopez's strong suit remains dance tunes, not ballads, which tend to disappear in this reserved production and mannered vocals (no more so than "Secretly," which never seems to gel). So, J-Lo winds up as musically a mixed bag. Its longer running time makes it a little less appealing than its predecessor, yet it has just about the same number of strong songs, all of which sounding of a piece with On the Six, which makes it a success on a certain level. Still, there's this certain feeling of staid complacency and ordinariness that makes J-Lo feel less fun than her debut. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
Paul Pesco (Guitar), Rene Toledo (Guitar), Rene Toledo (Guitar (12 String)), Mark Russell (Production Assistant), Manny Benito (Arranger), Manny Benito (Vocals (Background)), Manny Benito (Producer), Manny Benito (Vocal Producer), Bobby Allende (Percussion), Karen Anderson (Vocals (Background)), Chris Apostle (Production Coordination), Terry Bag (Vocal Producer), Jorge Calandrelli (String Arrangements), Jorge Calandrelli (String Conductor), Ed Calle (Brass), Jose R. Cespedes (Production Assistant), Kip Collins (Producer), Kip Collins (Instrumentation), Sean "Puffy" Combs (Producer), Sean "Puffy" Combs (Mixing), Tony Concepcion (Brass), Angel Fernandez (Trumpet), Angel Fernandez (Arranger), Angel Fernandez (Horn), Angel Fernandez (Guitar (12 String)), Kenny Hicks (Vocal Consultant), Jean-Marie Horvat (Mixing), Jean-Marie Horvat (Pro-Tools), Nelson Gasu Jaime (Piano), Ted Jensen (Mastering), Greg Lawson (Arranger), Greg Lawson (Programming), Tony Maserati (Mixing), Ozzie Melendez (Trombone), Ozzie Melendez (Horn), Michael Patterson (Engineer), Michael Patterson (Mixing), Archie Pena (Percussion), Dan Shea (Programming), Dan Shea (Producer), Cesar Sogbe (Mixing), Rick Wake (Arranger), Rick Wake (Producer), Mario Winans (Vocals (Background)), Mario Winans (Producer), Mario Winans (Instrumentation), Dan Hetzel (Engineer), Dan Hetzel (Mixing), Dan Hetzel (Mixing Engineer), Michael Hart Thompson (Photography), Glen Marchese (Engineer), Joel Numa (Engineer), Joel Numa (String Engineer), Raul Agraz (Horn), Alfredo Oliva (Concert Master), Mario Gonzalez (Guitar (Acoustic)), Ricky Gonzalez (Piano), Ricky Gonzalez (Vocals (Background)), Corey Rooney (Arranger), Corey Rooney (Vocals (Background)), Corey Rooney (Producer), Corey Rooney (Executive Producer), Corey Rooney (Drum Programming), Corey Rooney (Keyboard Programming), Corey Rooney (Vocal Producer), J.C. Ulloa (Engineer), Julian Peploe (Art Direction), Julian Peploe (Design), Jeannie Cruz (Vocals (Background)), William Dubal (Vocals (Background)), Erben Perez (5-string Bass), Shelene Thomas (Vocals (Background)), Yanko (Vocals (Background)), Scott Barnes (Make-Up), Paul Foley (Engineer), Paul Foley (Pro-Tools), Jimmy Greco (Arranger), Jimmy Greco (Keyboards), Jimmy Greco (Producer), Jimmy Greco (Drum Programming), Richie Jones (Percussion), Richie Jones (Arranger), Richie Jones (Drums), Richie Jones (Programming), Richie Jones (Producer), Richie Jones (Mixing), David Swope (Engineer), David Swope (Assistant Engineer), David Swope (Mixing Assistant), David Swope (Assistant Vocal Engineer), Joe Zee (Stylist), Rob Martinez (Production Assistant), Nora Payne (Vocals (Background)), Michelle Bell (Vocals (Background)), Jack Knight (Arranger), Troy Oliver (Programming), Troy Oliver (Producer), Troy Oliver (Drum Programming), Troy Oliver (Keyboard Programming), Troy Oliver (Instrumentation), Markes Domingo Quiñones (Percussion), Jennifer Lopez (Vocals), Jennifer Lopez (Main Performer), Jennifer Lopez (Executive Producer), Dana Taboe (Brass), Dave "Young Dave" Scheur (Engineer), Manelich Sotolong (Assistant Engineer), Lena Pérez (Vocals (Background)), Arnthor (Producer), Arnthor (Vocal Producer), José R. Sanchez (Programming), José R. Sanchez (Producer), José R. Sanchez (Drum Programming), José R. Sanchez (Keyboard Programming), Ray Contreras (Arranger), Ray Contreras (Producer), Greg Bruno (Production Assistant), Christina Milian (Vocals (Background)), Chris Poppe (Product Manager), Caleb Shreve (Production Assistant), William Nelson (Production Assistant), Matt Kormondy (Production Assistant)
J.Lo is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Jennifer Lopez, released in January 2001 by Epic Records. The album debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 with 272,000 copies sold in its opening week,[1] staying in the top twenty for six weeks, after the single "Love Don't Cost a Thing" had reached number three on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. The second single, "Play", performed moderately but disappointingly, which led Lopez's team to bring in Ja Rule of The Inc. Records (then known as Murder Inc. Records) to create "Murder remixes" of "I'm Real" and "Ain't It Funny". These remixes, which are essentially different songs with the same title, both topped the Hot 100. This album is more urban than On The 6.
On July 24, 2001 (coinciding with Lopez's thirty-second birthday), the album was re-released with the Murder Remix of "I'm Real" as a bonus track. The re-release came with a Parental Advisory warning, although the initial release did not come with one. Although there are quite a number of uses strong language and sexual content on the main album itself("I'm Real", "Play", "Come Over"), many speculate that the large number of uses of strong language and racial slurs in the bonus track led the record company to add the Parental Advisory warning to the album. A similar thing happened with Janet Jackson's album All for You, which also included a remix of the current single. It's Lopez's best commercial album success to date with 11 million copies sold worldwide.
