Jennifer Lopez Reveals How ‘American Idol’ Changed ‘Everything’ For Her After Having Twins

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Jennifer Lopez first joined American Idol as a judge in season 10. The singer admitted in her new Netflix documentary Halftime that Idol was her “first big job” after having twins Emme and Max, now 14, as well as splitting from husband Marc Anthony. For J.Lo, being on Idol helped redefine the woman she had become.

“At 42, movie roles were not knocking down my door. As I was getting back to work, I really felt like I didn’t know what my value was anymore. I was doing American Idol. That was the first big job I did after I had the babies. And it was good for me at that time. People could see me for who I was and that changed everything,” Jennifer said.

Jennifer admitted that in the process of trying to “build a perfect life, a family life,” she “kind of lost” who she was “as an artist.” When Emme and Max were 3 years old, she and Marc divorced. “I was a single mom with two little kids,” J.Lo said of her life post-split.

J.Lo was an American Idol judge for seasons 10 and 11. She left after two seasons but returned for seasons 13, 14, and 15. “I really learned a lot about myself. I had purpose,” Jennifer said about being on Idol. “And I just felt I’ve got to work on my acting more, my singing more, my dancing more, my everything. I just need to be better in every way.”

American Idol helped launch the next chapter of Jennifer’s career. She had her first headlining concert tour in 2012 and had a Vegas residency from 2016 to 2018. During her Vegas residency, J.Lo produced and starred in the NBC series Shades of Blue.

Jennifer earned her first Golden Globe nomination in 20 years in 2020 with the release of Hustlers. That same year, she headlined the 2020 Super Bowl halftime show with Shakira. Halftime is now streaming on Netflix.