On the 6

On the 6
Studio album by Jennifer Lopez
Released	June 1, 1999
Recorded	Late 1998–March 1999
Genre	Pop, R&B, latin pop
Length	64:49
Label	Work
Producer	Darrell Branch, Tommy Mottola, P. Diddy, Loren Dawson, Lawrence Dermer, Emilio Estefan, Jr., Rob Jenkins, Darkchild, Richie Jones, Poke & Tone, Lance "Un" Rivera, Cory Rooney, Kike Santander, Dan Shea, Ric Wake, Alvin West, Juan Vicente Zambrano
Jennifer Lopez chronology
On the 6 (1999) J.Lo (2001)
Singles from On the 6
"If You Had My Love" Released: May 21, 1999 "No Me Ames" Released: May 28, 1999 "Waiting for Tonight" Released: November 16, 1999 "Feelin' So Good" Released: March 17, 2000 "Let's Get Loud" Released: August 8, 2000

On the 6 is the debut studio album by American recording artist and actress Jennifer Lopez, released on June 1, 1999 by Work Records. Lopez, who was well known only as an actress, began working on the album in late 1998. On The 6 debuted at 8 on the Billboard 200 charts in the United States, selling 112,000 copies in its first week. Since Work Records was absorbed into Epic Records, Lopez signed to Epic and later pressings of On the 6 were released by Columbia Records. The album spawned the Billboard Hot 100 number-one hit "If You Had My Love", the top-ten hit "Waiting For Tonight", and three other singles which achieved moderate chart success, "Let's Get Loud", "Feeling So Good" and "No Me Ames". On The 6 had sold three million copies worldwide by August 2000, and has sold 8 million copies so far. The Spanish-Pop influenced album lyrically spoke about the topic of Love, and incorporated parts of Lopez's life, which is evident in the track "Feeling So Good". After On The 6, Lopez successfully converted herself from an actress to a singer within 12 months. It is one of Lopez's most commercially successful albums to date.

Background

In early 1999, Lopez invested money into recording a 4-track demo and submitting it to Sony's work label. The label "loved it", however suggested that she sung in English, as the demo was Spanish based. Publicity for the album began in May 1999. On The 6 is a reference to the 6 subway line she used to take growing up in Castle Hill. Lopez said that she hoped 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 American but had Latin parents or parents of different ethnicity." The album's title refers to the 6 subway line in New York City, which Lopez used to commute to work in Manhattan from her home in the Bronx during the early years of her career. The original title for On the 6 was Feelin' So Good since Lopez wanted the song "Feelin' So Good" to be the lead single instead of "If You Had My Love". The album includes cover versions of two songs by Diana Ross: "Promise Me You'll Try" and (as a bonus track on select non-U.S. pressings) "Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)".

Singles

The first single from the album, "If You Had My Love" was released on May 21, 1999. It debuted at the lower ends of the Billboard Hot 100 at 64, and due to high airplay and sales, it reached the top spot on June 12, 1999, her first number-one lead single; it remains her only song to reach the top spot without a feature.

"If You Had My Love" stayed on the chart for a total of 25 weeks, and in addition peaked at number-two on Billboard Pop Songs Chart. Looking back on the record's success, during an interview in 2011, Lopez stated "Still I think about that and still it's like wow, my first record I ever did went to number one. It's just an overwhelming feeling. This does not happen all the time. This is a very special thing." It was proceeded by the release of "Waiting For Tonight", which peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and was a dance club hit. Prior to the release of "Waiting For Tonight" as a single, a Spanish language Latin-flavored ballad with Marc Anthony (her husband from 2004 to 2011), "No Me Ames" was released and failed to chart on major charts. "No Me Ames" received two nominations at the 2000 Latin Grammy Awards – "Best Pop Duo/Group with Vocal Performance" and "Best Music Video".

On the 6 featured guest artists such as Big Pun and Fat Joe on the track "Feelin' So Good", which had moderate success on the Billboard Hot 100, however failed to reach the top 50. "Let's Get Loud", the final single, earned Lopez a Grammy Award nomination in the "Best Dance Recording" category in 2001 Grammy Awards. "Waiting for Tonight" was nominated for the same category the previous year.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	link
Entertainment Weekly	(C) link
Rolling Stone	link
Urban Latino	link

Rob Sheffield from Rolling Stone gave the album (and Lopez) a positive review, saying "The happy surprise of On the 6 is that she knows what she's doing. Instead of strained vocal pyrotechnics, Lopez sticks to the understated R&B murmur of a round-the-way superstar who doesn't need to belt because she knows you're already paying attention. When she gets the right support from a top-shelf song daddy like Rodney Jerkins, she's all brassy, breathy confidence, evoking her great precursor Ann-Margret's 1964 classic with Al Hirt, Beauty and the Beard. Behold jiggy Jennifer Lopez, song-and-dance woman: She makes a little va-va and a whole lot of voom go a long way." A writer from Newsday said "she's serious about a recording career, despite lukewarm critical reviews for "On the 6," which refers to the IRT subway line that took her from the Bronx to Manhattan, reviews that say the slick packaging and production are better than Lopez' personal sound."

Commercial performance

It debuted at number eight on the U.S. Billboard 200 the week of June 19, 1999, with first-week sales of 112,000 copies, remaining in the top 20 for 11 weeks and on the chart for 53 (including one re-entry). For her work on the album, Lopez was nominated for more awards then any other at the 1999 The Billboard Music Video Awards, scoring seven nominations in total, leading the likes of Christina Aguilera.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"If You Had My Love"	Rodney Jerkins, Fred Jerkins III, LaShawn Daniels, Cory Rooney	4:24
2.	"Should've Never"	Cory Rooney, Jennifer Lopez, Samuel Barnes, Jean-Claude Olivier, Tonino Baliardo, Nicolas Reyes	6:13
3.	"Too Late"	Cory Rooney, Jennifer Lopez, Alvin West	4:26
4.	"Feelin' So Good" (featuring Big Pun and Fat Joe)	Cory Rooney, Jennifer Lopez, Christopher Rios, Joseph Cartagena, Sean Combs, Steven Standard, George Logios	5:25
5.	"Let's Get Loud"	Emelio Estefan, Jr., Kike Santander	3:58
6.	"Could This Be Love"	Lawrence Dermer	4:24
7.	"No Me Ames (Tropical Remix)" (Duet with Marc Anthony)	Giancarlo Bigazzi, Marco Falagiani, Ignacio Ballesteros, Aleandro Baldi	5:02
8.	"Waiting for Tonight"	Maria Christensen, Michael Garvin, Phil Temple	4:05
9.	"Open Off My Love"	Darrell Branch, Kyra Lawrence, Lance Rivera	3:49
10.	"Promise Me You'll Try"	Peter Zizzo, Jennifer Lopez	4:31
11.	"It's Not That Serious"	Rodney Jerkins, Fred Jerkins III, Cory Rooney, Jennifer Lopez, Loren Dawson	4:15
12.	"Talk About Us"	Cory Rooney	4:34
13.	"No Me Ames" (Ballad Version)	Giancarlo Bigazzi, Marco Falagiani, Ignacio Ballesteros, Aleandro Baldi	4:37
14.	"Una Noche Más"	Maria Christensen, Michael Garvin, Phil Temple, Manny Benito	4:05

European & Philippine Edition
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
15.	"Baila"	Emilio Estefan, Jr., Jon Secada, George Noriega, Randall Barlow	3:55
16.	"Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)"	Michael Masser, Gerry Goffin	3:34

Spanish Edition
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"No Me Ames" (Duet with Marc Anthony)		4:38
2.	"If You Had My Love"		4:25
3.	"Una Noche Más"		4:05
4.	"Should've Never"		6:14
5.	"Es Amor"	Manny Benito, Jose Sanchez, Frank Rodriguez, Guillermo Edghill, Jr.	4:40
6.	"Let's Get Loud"		3:59
7.	"It's Not That Serious"		4:17
8.	"Amar Es Para Siempre (Promise Me You'll Try)"		3:52
9.	"Too Late"		4:27
10.	"El Deseo de Tu Amor (Open Off My Love)"		3:38
11.	"Talk About Us"		4:35
12.	"Could this Be Love?"		4:26
13.	"No Me Ames" (Tropical Remix with Marc Anthony)		5:03
14.	"Waiting for Tonight"		4:05

Charts

Chart (1999)	Peak position
Australian ARIA Albums Chart	11
Austrian Albums Chart	7
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)	10
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)	6
Canadian Albums Chart	5
Dutch Albums Chart	6
Finnish Albums Chart	15
French Albums Chart	15
German Albums Chart	3
Hungarian Albums Chart	14
Japanese Albums Chart	20
New Zealand Albums Chart	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 Chart	8
U.S. Billboard Internet Albums	10
Italian Albums Chart	1

Sales and certifications

Certifier	Certification	Sales
Argentina CAPIF	Platinum	40,000
Australia ARIA	Gold	35,000
Austria IFPI	Gold	10,000
Canada CRIA	5× platinum	500,000
Europe IFPI	Platinum	1,000,000
Finland IFPI	Gold	15,000
France SNEP	2× gold	210,000
Germany IFPI	Gold	250,000
Netherlands NVPI	Platinum	60,000
New Zealand RIANZ	2× platinum	30,000
Poland ZPAV	Platinum	60,000
Switzerland IFPI	Gold	15,000
UK BPI	Platinum	300,000
U.S. RIAA	3× platinum	3,000,000
Worldwide	—	8,000,000