After the conclusion of her Dance Again World Tour, Lopez began recording her eighth studio album, A.K.A., inspired by her travels. It was released in June 2014 through Capitol Records, experiencing lackluster sales. The album produced three singles: "I Luh Ya Papi", which features French Montana, "First Love", and "Booty", featuring Pitbull or rapper Iggy Azalea. "Booty" debuted inside the top twenty in the United States, making it her second-highest debut on the Billboard Hot 100 after "On the Floor". In April, the official song for the 2014 FIFA World Cup performed by Pitbull, Lopez and Brazilian recording artist Claudia Leitte, "We Are One (Ole Ola)", was released. She was ranked as the sixth highest-paid woman in music for the year, earning $37 million. In November 2014, Lopez partnered with Endless Jewelry, designing a range of new jewelry products. That month, she also released first her book, True Love, which became a New York Times best-seller.
In January 2012, Lopez returned as a judge on the eleventh season of American Idol, earning a reported $20 million. Later that same month, a new talent show, ¡Q'Viva! The Chosen, created by Simon Fuller premiered on Univision and was a hit for the channel. It followed Lopez, Anthony and director-choreographer Jamie King as they travelled across 21 countries in Latin America to find new talent for a Las Vegas show. On May 18, Lopez returned to the big screen starring alongside an ensemble cast consisting of Cameron Diaz, Elizabeth Banks, Matthew Morrison and Dennis Quaid in the film What to Expect When You're Expecting, which is based on the novel of the same name. In late May, Lopez released her fragrance Glowing by JLo, which she described as an "evolution" of Glow by JLo.
More InfoAfter placing her career on hiatus, Lopez released her fourth studio album, Rebirth, in February 2005. According to Lopez, Rebirth "came about because I was on such a roller-coaster ride, that was my career from my first album to my last album, and I did a bunch of movie projects in between. I finally took some time just for myself, and [when] I came back, this was the first project I did. I felt like it was a new beginning for me, like I was, in a way, reborn." Tracy Hopkins of NBC's Today Music noted that after "fawning" over Affleck on This Is Me... Then", Lopez "wisely keeps her love life out of the spotlight" on Rebirth and only references her relationship with singer/actor Marc Anthony on a few tracks. The album produced the single "Get Right", which peaked at number one in the United Kingdom. In May, she starred alongside Jane Fonda in the romantic comedy Monster-in-Law, for which she received a salary of $15 million. The film's marketing played up Lopez's "Gigli-and-tabloid tarnished image", and it became a box office success. In August, Lopez starred alongside Robert Redford and Morgan Freeman in An Unfinished Life, a drama film based on the novel of the same name.
More InfoIn September 2007, Lopez starred in the biographical film El Cantante, which is based on the life of the late salsa singer Héctor Lavoe. In the film, Lavoe is portrayed by then-husband Marc Anthony while Lopez plays Lavoe's wife Puchi. Lopez revealed that she felt her performance in the film El Cantante should have earned her an Oscar. "I feel like I had that [Oscar worthy role] in 'El Cantante,' but I don't think the academy members saw it". El Cantante did not perform well at the box office, earning just $7.6 million. Lopez performed the song "Toma de Mí" for the film's soundtrack. Lopez and Anthony also launched their co-headlining North American concert tour on September 28. Lopez's sixth studio album Brave, released in October, was her lowest-charting album worldwide. The album produced two singles, "Do It Well" and "Hold It Don't Drop It". The first peaked at number 31 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, while the latter failed to make any significant impact on the charts. A five-part miniseries, Jennifer Lopez Presents: Como Ama una Mujer, based on the lyrics of Como Ama una Mujer aired on Univision from October 30 to November 27, 2007. She placed her career on hiatus after giving birth to twins in February 2008. In late 2009, Lopez released two songs for her seventh studio album, Love? ("Louboutins" and "Fresh Out of the Oven"); however, the songs failed to make an appearance on the Billboard charts which led to her departure from Epic Records.
More InfoHaving redefined Lopez's sound with "I'm Real (Murder Remix)", Epic decided to release further remixes in order to "keep the momentum going". A remix album entitled J to tha L–O! The Remixes was subsequently released on February 5, 2002. It debuted at the summit of the Billboard 200, making it the first remix album to do so. Its lead single, "Ain't It Funny (Murder Remix)", featuring Ja Rule and Caddillac Tah, reached number one in the US. J to tha L–O! The Remixes became one of the best-selling remix albums of all time, selling 1.5 million copies in the US. It produced two more singles: "I'm Gonna Be Alright" and "Alive", a ballad co-written by her husband at the time, Cris Judd. In April 2002, Lopez opened her restaurant, Madrè's. The following month, she starred in the thriller film Enough, which was described by the Boston Herald as a "kick-but, female empowerment" film. While filming Enough, which required an overworked Lopez to practice Krav Maga, she suffered a nervous breakdown. She recalled feeling "sick and weird", refusing therapeutic help or medication. She confessed, "I was like – I don't want to move, I don't want to talk, I don't want to do anything." In September, she released her first fragrance, Glow by JLo. It performed strongly despite predictions that it would fail, and became the top-selling fragrance in the US.
More InfoDuring the process of recording her second album, Lopez decided to tweak her image as she began to develop into a sex symbol. She started going by J.Lo, something fans often called her in the years after director Oliver Stone coined the term on the set of the 1997 film U Turn. She subsequently named the album J.Lo. Released on January 23, 2001, it was a commercial success, debuting at number one on the US Billboard 200. During the same week, her romantic comedy film The Wedding Planner in which she starred opposite Matthew McConaughey opened atop the box office. This made her the first woman to have a number one film and album simultaneously in the United States. The album was preceded by the release of its lead single, "Love Don't Cost a Thing", which reached number one on the Billboard Mainstream Top 40 chart. It was followed by the single "Play". In April 2001, Lopez launched J.Lo by Jennifer Lopez, her own clothing and accessory company. Lopez felt that "the voluptuous woman [was] almost ignored" in the fashion industry, and therefore her company specialized in clothing women of all shapes. The following month, she starred in the romantic drama film Angel Eyes, which performed disappointingly at the box office and generated mixed reviews. After several months, J.Lo was declining on the charts; this prompted Mottola to recruit rapper Ja Rule to create an urban-oriented remix of the song "I'm Real". This led to the release of "I'm Real (Murder Remix)", which quickly reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Its success resulted in J.Lo being reissued to include the single, which was number one in the United States during the week of the September 11 attacks. J.Lo became the best-selling album of Lopez's career, having sold 3.8 million copies in the US and moved over 12 million units worldwide.
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