According to author Ed Morales in The Latin Beat: The Rhythms And Roots Of Latin Music From Bossa Nova To Salsa And Beyond (2003), Lopez's music explores the "romantic innocence" of Latin music, while strongly identifying with hip hop. Her debut album On the 6 fuses the influence of Latin music with R&B and hip hop, which Lopez described as Latin soul. To the contrary, Morales described it as "state-of-the-art dance pop". Dee Lockett, writing for the Chicago Tribune, stated that songs such as "Waiting for Tonight" made Lopez "arguably the leading artist in the dance-pop movement at the time". While primarily sung in English, she speaks in Spanish and asserts her Latin heritage throughout the album, which is apparent in the song "Let's Get Loud". She has also recorded bilingual songs, including the Latin pop song "Cariño", for her second album J.Lo. A departure from her previous albums, This Is Me... Then blends 1970s soul with "streetwise" hip hop.
In collaboration with Giuseppe Zanotti, Lopez designed a capsule collection of shoes and jewelry. Giuseppe for Jennifer Lopez launched in January 2017. In July 2016, Lopez announced a new dance competition series entitled World of Dance, for which she serves as an executive producer and judge. Created in partnership with World of Dance, the series was greenlit by NBC with a straight-to-series order for ten episodes. World of Dance premiered on May 30, 2017; with 9.7 million viewers, it became the most-watched premiere for a summer alternative series in nine years. According to Forbes, Lopez was the eleventh highest-paid female celebrity between June 2016 and June 2017, with earnings of $38 million. Lopez had announced in October 2016 that she was working on a second full-length Spanish album, which was set to be released through Sony Music Latin, with Marc Anthony serving as an executive producer. It was to be titled Por Primera Vez, which translates to For the First Time in English. The album, which never materialized, produced two singles: "Ni Tú Ni Yo" (featuring Cuban reggaeton group Gente de Zona) and "Amor, Amor, Amor" featuring Wisin.
More InfoLopez gave birth to a son and a daughter on Long Island, on February 22, 2008. The twins were introduced in the March 11, 2008, issue of People, for which the magazine paid a reported $6 million; the photographs of the twins became the most expensive celebrity picture ever taken at the time. Three years later in July 2011, the couple announced their split, with Anthony filing for divorce in April 2012. Their divorce was finalized on June 16, 2014, with Lopez retaining primary physical custody of the two children. On December 31, 2014, she legally changed her name back to Jennifer Lopez, dropping Anthony's last name (Muñiz).
More InfoIn January 2013, Lopez starred alongside Jason Statham in the crime thriller Parker, in which she played Leslie. Her performance earned positive reviews, with Chicago Tribune commending the role for giving Lopez "an opportunity to be dramatic, romantic, funny, depressed, euphoric and violent. The audience stays with her all the way". The following month, she gained widespread notoriety for wearing a daring black dress at the Grammy Awards, which revealed her entire right leg; despite a conservative dress code which had been issued to celebrities in attendance. In May, Lopez was announced as the chief creative officer of nuvoTV. In addition, she founded the mobile phone retail brand Viva Móvil, which is catered specifically for Latinos. She lobbied for more Hispanic diversity on television, hoping to empower the Latin community in these media ventures, stating: "There's a big revolution going on, it's like a media and cultural revolution of Latinos here in the United States. We're realizing our power. We're realizing that we matter here." Inspired by her gay aunt who had recently died, Lopez signed on as executive producer of the television series The Fosters, which is about a same-sex couple raising a family. The show premiered on ABC Family on June 3, 2013, and has since been a ratings success for the network. Later that June, Lopez performed at the birthday of Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov. Doing so, she garnered widespread backlash for performing for the leader of a "repressive, authoritarian regime". Her publicist released an apology. Lopez returned as judge on American Idol for its thirteenth season for a reported salary of $17.5 million. She was ranked as the fifth highest-paid woman in music for 2013, having earned $45 million.
More InfoWhile working on her first album, On the 6, Lopez began dating record producer and rapper Sean Combs. On December 27, 1999, the couple was arrested along with two others in connection with a shooting outside a Times Square club. They were charged with criminal possession of a weapon as well as stolen property. Lopez was soon exonerated, having had nothing to do with the crime. However, Combs was charged and indicted by a Manhattan grand jury. After leaving Combs, Lopez developed a relationship with former back-up dancer Cris Judd, to whom she was married from September 29, 2001, to June 2002. Following her second divorce due to irreconcilable differences, she commenced a high-profile relationship with actor and director Ben Affleck, to whom she became engaged in November 2002. The media began to refer to them as "Bennifer", and they became a prominent supercouple in the media and popular culture. Bennifer became a popular term, which was eventually entered into urban dictionaries and neologism dictionaries as notable, as the name blend started the trend of other celebrity couples being referred to by the combination of their first names. The couple postponed their nuptials indefinitely a day prior to the planned ceremony in September 2003, citing the media's interference with the event as the reason.
More InfoJanuary 2015 saw the release of The Boy Next Door, an erotic thriller that Lopez both co-produced and starred in as a high school teacher who becomes involved with a student, which eventually leads to his dangerous obsession with her. The film received negative reviews from critics. Despite this, it became her most successful opening at the box office for a live action film since Monster-in-Law, and ultimately grossed over $53 million at the global box office, against a production budget of $4 million. Lopez had a voice role in the animated feature Home, alongside Steve Martin, Jim Parsons, and Rihanna, and released in March 2015. She contributed the single "Feel the Light" to the film's official soundtrack. Lopez also starred in the independent drama film Lila & Eve, alongside Viola Davis. With annual earnings of $28.5 million, she was ranked as the seventh highest-paid woman in music for 2015.
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