Lopez's debut album, "On The 6"-released in June on Sony label the Work Group-has been the fulfillment of a "lifelong dream" of being a recording artist, she says.

The title of the album is a nod to Lopez's days as an unknown entertainer, when she had to take the No. 6 subway train from her Bronx, N.Y., neighborhood to Manhattan for auditions.

After spending time as part of the Fly Girls dance group on the comedy series "In Living Color," Lopez landed roles in such films as "Jack" and "Anaconda."

But it was Lopez's starring role in the 1997 film "Selena" that took her to a new level. By portraying the late Tejano singer in the movie, Lopez became the highest-paid Latina actress in film history, and her performance also gave the general public a glimpse into Lopez's abilities as a musical performer.


Lopez describes her music as "Latin soul." Although Latin music artists have been getting much more attention recently, she says her record company was somewhat skeptical when she proposed the idea of making a Latin soul album.

"I had gotten a record deal based on a demo I had recorded in Spanish. When I told the record company that I wanted to do an album that was a combination of Latin music, R&B, and pop, they were like, 'What?' Thiswas two years ago, before all of this recognition for Latin music artists became mainstream."

Lopez joined a select group of artists whose first single became a No. 1 hit, when her song "If You Had My Love" rocketed to the top of The Billboard Hot 100. The song stayed at No. 1 for five weeks.

The follow-up single, "Waiting For Tonight," has also been a top 40 hit. And Lopez's Spanish-language duet with Marc Anthony, "No Me Ames," became a No. 1 smash on Billboard's Hot Latin Tracks chart.

Meanwhile, "On The 6" has sold 1.6 million copies in the U.S. to date, according to SoundScan. Lopez says that she didn't doubt her instincts to make the kind of music that she wanted. "You have to follow your heart," she notes.

"If I had made an album of music that wasn't a reflection of me and it had done well, that would kill me more than if I had done this album and it didn't do well. I don't want to look back on my life when I'm 50 or 60 years old and have regrets if I compromised my music or didn't take this chance to become a [recording artist]. I'm happy and pleasantly surprised at all the success I'm having as a singer. Even though I have a lot of demands on my time, I'm definitely not complaining."

Polly Anthony, president of Epic Records Group, says, "Jennifer wanted to [make a record] for a long time, and it was a deliberate process on our part to make a record about Jennifer's spirit. And she wanted to take the time to herself out there as a singer. Not everyone can change careers, but she has a driving passion for singing and dancing."

Because of Lopez's busy film schedule (she has three movies planned for release next year), she hasn't had time to tour. But the multitalented entertainer says, "I really want to tour, and maybe it will happen next year."

In the meantime, Lopez is looking ahead to her next album, which she says "will probably be released by the end of next year." She reveals that on her second album she plans to work again with "On The 6" executive producer Cory Rooney.

"Hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it," she says, laughing. Lopez adds that she hopes to eventually find a film role that will combine her acting and singing talents "like Whitney Houston in "The Bodyguard' or Bette Midler in "The Rose.' I just want to keep growing as an artist."