"Love?" is Jennifer Lopez's 7th album which was released on April 28, 2011 on Island Def Jam Records. "Love?" is Jennifer's most personal album to date which takes inspiration from the birth of her twin children, Max and Emme. Jennifer refers the album as containing her best vocals to date.
Background\Recording
Jennifer had been working on new music while pregnant with her twins. In February of 2009, the song, "Hooked on You" was leaked to the Internet. Jennifer addressed the leak in May 2009. Songwriter Wynter Gordon addressed another song leaked that she wrote called "What is Love?" In June 2009, Jennifer told MTV's Larry Carol that she was keen to finish the album and announced a potential release date for her new album by the end of 2009.
In February of 2010, Jennifer left Sony Music Entertainment and Epic Records by mutual consent which halted production of the album. After Jennifer signed to Island Def Jam Music Group, she continued recording the album. According to the "New York Daily News," it was reported that Jennifer would be taking some of the music recorded under Sony Music to Island Def Jam so they could be included on the album. It was also reported that Island Def Jam would release a remix album along with the album.
According to AOL's music entertainment site, PopEater, it was reported that "Love?" was shelved by Epic Records and they never committed to releasing the album, even though it hasn't been confirmed by either Jennifer, Epic Records or Island Def Jam Music Group. In February of 2011, Jennifer told BBC that the album was nearly done and she had recorded 20 songs from 2009 to 2011 that were being considered for the album, but finding it hard to edit them.
While filming her movie, "The Backup Plan" in June of 2009, Jennifer revealed to MTV's Larry Carol that she had been working on her 7th album during her pregnancy, but it wasn't until her twins were born that Jennifer became focused on the album. The first song written was "(What is) Love?" (which was leaked in May of that same year) by Wynter Gordon and was produced by Emile Dernst II or "D'Mile." Songwriter\record producer, Jean Bapiste Kourame wrote a part 2 to "(What is) Love?" but it never made onto the album. "What is Love?" was released on the soundtrack to "The Backup Plan" movie which was released in 2010.
Wynter also wrote the song "Starting Over" which was co-written by Marcella Araica and Danja, who also produced the song. Wynter wrote the third song, "Everybody's Girl" which was co-written by Mike Caren, Shep Crawford, and Ollie Goldstein. Another leaked song was, "One Love" written by Jennifer Lopez along with Antea & Anesha Burchett, and D'Mile. Antea and Anesha Burchett had also co-written "Hooked on You" along with Muhammed Kateeb and Otis Greyson. They also co-wrote the song, "Love and War" along with Danja, who wrote the song, "Keeper," but both songs did not make the cut on the album. Another song, "Beautiful," a guitar-driven ballad was recorded for the album, but didn't make the cut.
Jennifer worked with Pharrell Williams and the Neptunes on the album as well. They produced the song "Fresh Out the Oven" that was promoted in nightclubs in the United States, but didn't make the cut on the album. Jennifer worked with Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins on the song, "This Cannot Be Love" which sampled Brandy & Monica's "The Boy is Mine," but also didn't make the cut on the album.
Jennifer also worked with Norwegian music producers, StarGate on the songs: "Story of My Life" and "I'm into You." "Story of My Life" didn't make the cut, but "I'm into You" did. Other producers included Christopher "Tricky" Stewart and The-Dream, who produced the song, "Louboutins" which topped the dance charts in the US, but didn't make onto the album or receive any airplay whatosever.
With Tricky and The-Dream, Jennifer recorded the song, "Run the World" which originally featured The-Dream and rapper Rick Ross, but were removed from the final track listing. Another song produced by The-Dream and Tricky was "Good Hit" that was initially lined up as a "buzz" single.
Jennifer also worked on the album with Moroccan music producer RedOne and recorded "On the Floor" and the songs "Invading My Mind" & "Hypnotico" which were also co-written by Lady Gaga. "Hypnotico" was originally recorded by Jamaican singer Tami Chynn for her shelved sophomore album, "Prima Donna." Jennifer also worked with producer Troy "Radio" Johnson on the album.