On the 6

On the 6 is the debut studio album by American singer and actress Jennifer Lopez. It was released on June 1, 1999, by the Work Group. Lopez worked with several producers on the album, including Rodney Jerkins, Cory Rooney, Dan Shea and her boyfriend at the time, rapper and record producer Sean "Puffy" Combs. A Spanish edition of the album was released on November 24, 1999. This version of the album shuffles the track list, omitting "Feelin' So Good", while including an all-new Spanish track ("Es Amor"), in addition to Spanish versions of "Open Off My Love" ("El Deseo de Tu Amor"), "Promise Me You'll Try" ("Amar es Para Siempre") and "Waiting for Tonight" ("Una Noche Más"), the latter of which also appeared on the album's original release as a bonus track. The remainder of the tracks on this edition appear as they did on the album's original release.

Critics greeted Lopez's musical debut with a generally positive response. On the 6 was praised for its conservative, though dynamic, musical style and combination of Latin with pop and R&B. Critics commented on Lopez's vocal ability and many generally gave good remarks for her versatility and somewhat "seductive" and "sultry" singing, however, some critics found the vocals quite underwhelming. The album was successful on the charts, reaching the top ten or top twenty in the U.S. and several other countries around the world. On the 6 was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of three million copies in the U.S..

The album produced five singles, three of which hit the main US Hot 100 chart. "If You Had My Love" peaked at number one in the U.S., while "Waiting for Tonight" peaked at number eight. "No Me Ames", a ballad with Lopez's then-future husband, now ex-husband, Marc Anthony, did not reach the US Hot 100 chart, but was a hit on Billboard's Latin chart, while "Feelin' So Good" hit number 51 on the US Hot 100, and peaked at number one on the US Dance Club Songs chart. A fifth and final single, "Let's Get Loud" did not chart on the US Hot 100 due to the lack of a physical release in the U.S., but became a major hit in several other countries. With the album, Lopez was credited with helping drive what was termed the "Latin explosion" in Western pop music.

Lopez surprise-released a 25th anniversary digital-only reissue on May 31, 2024.

The idea to do an album is not a gimmick. It wasn't, 'Oh, I'm doing good as an actress, maybe I should make an album!' I had a record deal [with Giant Records] before my movie career, luckily enough, took off [...] When I did Selena it all came back again, having that interaction with the fans and the public, which you don't get in movies. I missed that very much. I missed the excitement of the stage, which I had early in my career with the musical theater.

Since her childhood, Lopez's Puerto Rican parents stressed the importance of a good work ethic and the ability to speak English. They encouraged their three daughters to put on performances at home, singing and dancing in front of each other and their friends so they would stay out of trouble. During her final year of high school, Lopez learned about a casting call for several teenage girls for small film roles. She auditioned and was cast in My Little Girl (1986), a low-budget film co-written and directed by Connie Kaiserman. After filming her role, Lopez knew that she wanted to become a "famous movie star". She told her parents, but they told her it was a "really stupid" idea and "no Latinos did that". Her disagreement with them led Lopez to move out of her family home and into a Manhattan apartment. During this period, Lopez performed in regional productions of several musicals before being hired for the chorus in a musical which toured Europe for five months. She was unhappy with the role, since she was the only member of the chorus not to have a solo. She got a job on the Japanese show Synchronicity as a dancer, singer and choreographer. Lopez then obtained her first high-profile job as a Fly Girl dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color. She moved to Los Angeles with then-boyfriend David Cruz to film the series, and remained a cast member until 1993 (when she decided to pursue a full-time acting career).

After a series of co-starring film roles, Lopez received her big break in 1996 when she was cast in the title role of Selena, a biographical film about American singer-songwriter Selena Quintanilla-Pérez. In the film Selena's voice is used for the musical sequences, but Lopez would sing the lyrics instead of lip syncing. When asked in an interview if Selena inspired her to launch a music career, Lopez said "I really, really became inspired, because I started my career in musical theater on stage. So doing the movie just reminded me of how much I missed singing, dancing, and the like..." After filming Selena, Lopez was "really feeling [her] Latin roots" and recorded a demo record in Spanish. Lopez' manager sent the song ("Vivir Sin Ti") to Sony Music Entertainment's Work Group, which was interested in signing Lopez. Tommy Mottola, the head of the label, suggested that she sing in English and she began recording On the 6. Lopez was aware that she received her recording contract on her looks and reputation, and wanted to prove that she had musical talent. Before her first album, critics wondered why she would take the risk of launching a musical career: "If the album was a flop, not only would it embarrass Lopez but it might even damage her career."

For On the 6, Mottola and Lopez met with several producers, but producer and writer Cory Rooney later recalled that when he met Lopez, they "immediately hit it off". He played piano and sang "Talk About Us" for them, which Mottola and Lopez liked; she recorded it the next day, and worked closely with Rooney on the rest of the album. Other contributors to On the 6 included then-boyfriend Sean "Puffy" Combs, future husband Marc Anthony, Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, Poke & Tone and the husband-and-wife team of Emilio and Gloria Estefan. Grammy Award-winning singer and vocal producer Betty Wright, known for her hit "Clean Up Woman" (1971), worked closely with Lopez on the album and provided her with "plenty of inspiration". Lopez said Wright had "an amazing spirit": "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."