Jennifer Lopez Announces 1-Night-Only Concert For "This Is Me... Now" Album

It's been almost a decade since Jennifer Lopez released an album, but she's gearing up to drop her most personal project to date, and it could arrive any day now. On Nov. 25, 2022, the 53-year-old singer announced the title of her ninth studio album on the 20th anniversary of her "This Is Me... Then" album, calling her return to music "This Is Me... Now." According to a media alert shared with POPSUGAR, Lopez's forthcoming project "chronicles the emotional, spiritual, and psychological journey that she has taken over the past two decades." And with more updates slowly coming out, fans have learned Lopez's new album also touches on her years-long relationship with husband Ben Affleck.

Lopez opened up about her ninth album in her December cover story for Vogue, published on Nov. 8, 2022, with the outlet calling it "the most honest work she has ever done."

"[It's] kind of a culmination of who I am as a person and an artist," Lopez said of the forthcoming album. "People think they know things about what happened to me along the way, the men I was with — but they really have no idea, and a lot of times they get it so wrong. There's a part of me that was hiding a side of myself from everyone. And I feel like I'm at a place in my life, finally, where I have something to say about it."

"[W]hen I make my best music or my best art is when I'm happy and full and feel lots of love," Lopez added, a sentiment that also serves as the tone for her new album. Vogue's Rob Haskell noted that he listened to a few rough cuts from Lopez's project, describing them as "plaintive, confessional songs, reflections on the trials of her past, upbeat jams celebrating love and sex."

On Nov. 28, 2022, Lopez dished on her upcoming album again during an Apple Music interview with Zane Lowe, sharing the special reason she decided to release "This Is Me... Now" 20 years after "This Is Me... Then." "Twenty years ago, I fell in love with the love of my life. I was working on an album, and it was called 'This Is Me... Then.' It was all about capturing that moment in time," she said. "Now, the most amazing, incredible, unbelievable thing has happened. The reason we're here is because I want to capture this moment in time because it is even better than the first time."

Per Lopez's media alert, "This Is Me... Now" — billed as an "emotionally raw and honest" album — will introduce other "very personal projects" from the singer-actor this year, with more details to come. Lopez released her last solo album, "A.K.A.," in 2014. She also recorded the "Marry Me" soundtrack alongside her costar Maluma, which arrived in February 2022.

For the past few years, the singer has mainly focused on her many film projects, which include her Netflix thrillers "Atlas" and "The Mother," plus her "Shotgun Wedding.

While Lopez's fans get ready to hear the new material she's been working on, keep reading for everything we know about her next album so far, including when we'll get a first listen.

The name of Lopez's next album, "This Is Me... Now," serves as an ode to "This Is Me... Then" — which Lopez released in 2002 during the early years of her romance with Affleck. The album features "confessional songs, reflections on the trials of [Lopez's] past, and upbeat celebrations of love." It also spotlights Lopez's "tough childhood, unsuccessful relationships, and [her] incredible emotional journey."

In her interview with Zane Lowe, Lopez revealed that she's most inspired musically when she's in love, so it comes as no surprise that she's releasing "This Is Me... Now" after rekindling her romance with Affleck and marrying him. "We captured me at this moment in time when I was reunited with the love of my life and we decided we were going to be together forever. The whole message of the album then is this love exists. This is a real love," Lopez shared. "Now I think what the message of the album is very much if you were wondering if you have, like me at times, lost hope, almost given up, don't. Because true love does exist and some things do last forever and that's real. I want to put that message out into the world and that does take a lot of vulnerability. But I couldn't stop myself and some parts of it scare me. And I think parts of it scare Ben too. He's like, 'Oh, do you really want to say all this stuff?' And I'm like, 'I don't know how else to do it, baby.'"

In addition to her love for Affleck, Lopez also shared that "This Is Me... Now" will catch fans up on how much she's changed over the last 20 years. "I went into it with the attitude of I'm going to capture this moment in time . . . I've grown. I've learned things. I've been through some sh*t. I've had some hard times. I've been through divorce. I've been through a lot of different difficult relationships at times and private things that happened," she said. "But it got me to this place and it was just about let's capture who I am right now, here today, and what I've gone through."

An exact release date has yet to be announced, but during Spotify's Stream On event on March 8, Lopez said the album will be out this summer. Then on June 29, the singer shared a black and white photo on social media with her album's title displayed behind her, captioning it, "Album delivery day ✨." One of Lopez's rumored producers on the album, Rogét Chahayed, commented under Lopez's post on Instagram and wrote, "It's time...💪🏼," suggesting that the album's release date could be quickly approaching.

In her Sept. 14 On the JLo newsletter, Lopez announced that she'll be debuting her new album during an exclusive one-night-only Apple Music Live performance on Thursday, Sept. 21, at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles. According to the show's website, it'll be taped live and will stream on Apple Music and Apple TV+.

The tracklist for "This Is Me... Now" reads as follows:

According to Lopez, "Midnight Trip to Vegas" is all about her spur-of-the-moment elopement with Affleck, detailing how they tied the knot at the famous Little White Chapel in Las Vegas. "I've been working on this album, and when I came back from getting married that weekend, I wrote a whole song about that," the singer revealed on her Jan. 18 appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"

On July 18, Lopez teased the loving track in her On the JLo newsletter, sharing a brief clip of her singing along to the song along with the full lyrics: see them ahead.

I always dreamed that I'd find somebody like you

We're drowning
In orchid arrangements
Dresses and pastries
What if it's raining, yeah?
Is this what we've been dreaming of?
It's crowded with families and agents
Room reservations
Which destination
Paps helicopters
Event of the ages
Caught in the matrix
Then you whispered in my ear
Said let's get out of here
We can disappear tonight

What about a
Midnight trip to Vegas
Just me and you baby
Throw the kids in the back
Of the pink Cadillac
And us in the bathroom changing
Midnight trip to Vegas
Both our hearts are racin'
I'll pick you up late
We don't have to wait
Yeah let's do something crazy

Woohoo woohoo woohoo ooo
Woohoo woohoo woohoo ooo

We could be driving right now
20 miles into the desert by now
Your hand on my thigh
Laughin' 'til we cry
Didn't tell a soul 'bout how it's goin' down tonight
Top down singing Freddie Mercury
Waiting in the line at the DMV
"Just married" on the window
So glad that we could keep it simple
Then I whispered in your ear
I'm so glad we're here
Dancing with our fears tonight

On a Midnight trip to Vegas
Just me and you baby
Throw the kids in the back
Of the pink Cadillac
And us in the bathroom changin'
Midnight trip to Vegas
Both our hearts are racin'
I'll pick you up late
We don't have to wait
Yeah let's do something crazy

Woohoo woohoo woohoo ooo
Woohoo woohoo woohoo ooo

I always dreamed that I'd find somebody like you

What about a
Midnight trip to Vegas
Just me and you baby
Throw the kids in the back
Of the pink Cadillac
And us in the bathroom changing
Midnight trip to Vegas
Both our hearts are racin'
I'll pick you up late
We don't have to wait
Yeah let's do something crazy

Woohoo woohoo woohoo ooo
Woohoo woohoo woohoo ooo