On The 6

"On The 6" is the debut album by Jennifer Lopez which was released on June 1, 1999 on Epic\Work Records.

The original album title was "Feelin' So Good" since Jennifer wanted the song "Feelin' So Good" to be the first lead single instead of "If You Had My Love."

"On the 6" contains pop, R&B, latin pop and dance music and had many producers such as Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, Tommy Motolla, Diddy (formerly known as Puff Daddy), Cory Rooney, and Ric Wake.

Album Background

After filming the movie "Selena," Jennifer became inspired to launch a music career. She cut a demo in Spanish that included the song "Vivir Sin Ti." Jennifer's manager sent the song to Sony Music Entertainment's Work Group who showed an interest in signing Jennifer.

The head of the label, Tommy Mottola suggested that Jennifer sing in English instead. She complied and began recording her debut album. During production of the album, Jennifer was aware of the fact that she received a record contract on the premise of her looks and already having an established name in the entertainment industry & wanted to prove that she had musical talent.

Prior to the debut of Jennifer's music career, critics wondered why she would risk launching a music career and noted that if "the album was a flop, not only would it embarrass Lopez, but it might even damage her career."

The album title is a reference to the 6 subway line in New York City which Jennifer used to commute to work in Manhattan from her residence in The Bronx during the early years of her career. According to Jennifer:

"The movie business is so structured with time frames and such. But the music business is so loose, you can come in whenever you want."

Jennifer said that she hoped that "On the 6" would appeal to people like her, saying:

"English is my first language. I grew up here. I was born here, I didn't have a career in Spanish first. I think it [the album] appeals definitely to my generation of people, we grew up in America but had Latin parents or parents of different ethnicity."

Jennifer wanted the album to reflect of these sides of her and regarded Hispanic people as her "core audience." For the album, Jennifer and Tommy Motolla met with multiple producers, but when record producer/songwriter Cory Rooney met Jennifer, they "immediately hit off" after speaking.

Cory then played the song "Talk About Us" for them on the piano while singing with Jennifer and Tommy becoming very receptive towards it. The next day, Jennifer recorded the song and began working closely with Cory for the rest of the album.

Other high-profile names that contributed to Jennifer's debut album included her then-boyfriend Sean "Puffy" Combs (now known as Diddy), Marc Anthony (who later become her husband), Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, Poke & Tone & husband & wife team Emilio and Gloria Estefan.

Grammy Award-winning singer/vocal producer Betty Wright worked closely with Jennifer on the album and provided her with "plenty of inspiration" and Jennifer stated that Betty had an "amazing spirit" & recalled:

"She was in [the studio] with me, day in and day out, helping me. I'm a young singer, you know? A young studio singer. I may have sang all my life, and I may have sang on stage and stuff like that, but it's different to record in the studio. And you need somebody who really can guide you through that."

Album Performance

"On the 6" debuted at #8 on the Billboard 200 chart, with first week sales of 112,000 copies and remained in the Top 20 of the Billboard 200 for 11 weeks. It sold 7 million copies worldwide and earned Jennifer her first #1 hit song with the single, "If You Had My Love" and the #1 dance hit, "Waiting for Tonight." The album was certified Platinum in the United States, Argentina, Canada, Europe, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, and the United Kingdom. It was also certified Gold in Australia, Austria, Finland, France, Germany, and Switzerland.

Tracklisting

1. If You Had My Love-(written by Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, Fred Jerkins III, LaShawn Daniels, and Cory Rooney)-[4:24]
2. Should've Never-(written by Cory Rooney, Jennifer Lopez, Samuel Barnes, Jean-Claude Olivier, Tonino Baliardo, and Nicolas Reyes)-[6:13]
3. Too Late-(written by Cory Rooney, Jennifer Lopez, and Alvin West)-[4:26]
4. Feelin' So Good [featuring Big Pun & Fat Joe]-(written by Cory Rooney, Jennifer Lopez, Christopher Rios, Joseph Cartagena, Sean Combs, Steven Standard, and George Logios)-[5:25]
5. Let's Get Loud-(written by Emilo Estefan Jr. and Kike Santander)-[3:58]
6. Could This Be Love-(written by Lawrence Dermer)-[4:24]
7. No Me Ames [Tropical Remix featuring Marc Anthony]-(written by Giancarlo Bigazzi, Marco Falagiani, Ignacio Ballesteros, and Aleandro Baldi)-[5:02]
8. Waiting For Tonight-(written by Maria Christensen, Michael Garvin, and Phil Temple)-[4:05]
9. Open Off My Love-(written by Darrell Branch, Kyra Lawrence, and Lance Rivera)-[3:49]
10. Promise Me You'll Try-(written by Peter Zizzo and Jennifer Lopez)-[4:31]
11. It's Not That Serious-(written by Rodney Jerkins, Fred Jerkins III, Cory Rooney, Jennifer Lopez, and Loren Dawson)-[4:15]
12. Talk About Us-(written by Cory Rooney)-[4:34]
13. No Me Ames [Ballad Version featuring Marc Anthony]-(written by Giancarlo Bigazzi, Marco Falagiani, Ignacio Ballesteros, and Aleandro Baldi)-[4:37]
14. Una Nocha Mas [Spanish version of "Waiting For Tonight"]-(written by Maria Christensen, Michael Garvin, and Phil Temple)-[4:05]
15. Baila (written by Emilio Estefan, Jr., Jon Secada, George Noriega, and Randall Barlow)-[3:55]-(featured on European and Philippine album edition)
16. Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)-(written by Michael Masser and Gerry Goffin)-[3:34]

Album Chart Positions

Chart (1999) Peak position Australian ARIA Albums Chart 11 Austrian Albums Chart 7 Belgian Ultratop 50 Albums (Flanders) 10 Belgian Ultratop 50 Albums (Wallonia) 6 Canadian Albums Chart 5 Dutch Albums Chart 6 Finnish Albums Chart 15 French (SNEP) Albums Chart 15 German Albums Chart 3 Hungarian Albums Chart (Mahasz) 14 Japanese Albums Chart (Oricon) 20 New Zealand Albums Chart (RIANZ) 18 Norwegian Albums Chart 14 Swedish Albums Chart 20 Swiss Albums Chart 3 UK Albums Chart 14 U.S. Billboard 200 8 U.S. Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums 8 U.S. Billboard Internet Albums 9

Gallery