2012 has been another banner year for our girl! She embarked on her first ever world tour, appeared in two films, released a Greatest Hits album, collaborated with a variety of new artists and a million other things! Needless to say, narrowing down our favorite moments to 12 was a difficult task. Read on to see our highlights.
12. What To Expect When You're ExpectingA trip to the movie theater to see Jennifer in action is always fun! Jennifer's emotional scene near the end of the film, when her character adopts a baby was a real highlight and the best part of the film for me. This was Jennifer's first film since 2010's The Back-up Plan, so it was very nice to see her back on the big screen.
What To Expect When You're Expecting, which also featured Cameron Diaz, Elizabeth Banks, Chace Crawford, and Chris Rock, and Dennis Quaid, grossed nearly $85 million worldwide. If you missed it in theaters, it is out on DVD now, so check it out!
11. Ice Age: Continental DriftJennifer starred in Ice Age: Continental Drift, the fourth installment of the Ice Age series, as Shira, a saber-toothed tiger this year! This was the first time Jennifer has participated in an animated film since 1998's Antz. Jennifer herself also appeared in the closing credits singing along to "We Are Family", the film's adorable theme song, with castmates Queen Latifah, Keke Palmer, Nicki Minaj, and Drake. The film was a huge hit, grossing over $875 million worldwide! Hopefully that means there will be a part 5 with Jennifer attached!
10. CharityThis was a big year for the charity, as the Lopez Family Foundation launched a new telemedicine center in Panama. Jennifer and her sister Lynda visited the hospital and donated the telemedicine equipment that will allow pediatricians to share diagnostics and treatments with Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, the foundation's partner.
In October, Jennifer received an award for her work with the foundation at the 21st UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) Charity Gala in Dusseldorf, Germany.
Jennifer even got the twins involved in her charitable efforts with JLo's Christmas Gift, a Christmas fundraising effort where a random fan who donated to her cause won an all-expense paid trip to meet her at her final show in Puerto Rico!
9. Dance Again...The HitsIt's been over a decade in the making, and this year, Jennifer finally released a greatest hits album! After 7 studio albums and 1 remix album, 70 million records sold, and 11 #1 hits, it was definitely overdue.
The album featured Dance Again feat. Pitbull and Goin' In ft. Flo Rida among 14 of her other hits. It was a great precursor to the Dance Again World Tour, and a great way to cap off the end of her years with Epic Records and start a completely new era with her label Island Def Jam.
8. CollaborationsJennifer collaborated with plenty of big time artists this past year. She was featured on tracks by Wisin y Yandel (Follow The Leader), Flo Rida (Sweet Spot), and frequent collaborator Pitbull (Drinks For You). The most prominent was Follow The Leader, her collaboration with Wisin y Yandel. That led to a huge music video, a performance on American Idol, co-headlining concerts in Puerto Rico, and over 100 million views on Youtube!
Love her collabs? No worries, Jennifer isn't done with collaborations yet! She's got a duet with Andrea Bocelli on his upcoming album, as well as a new song with Wisin y Yandel and Ricky Martin called "Adrenalina". So, 2013 looks very promising in this department!
7. ¡Q’Viva! The Chosen¡Q’Viva! The Chosen was made in three languages (English, Spanish, and Portuguese), shown in twenty one countries, and was one of the biggest new international TV shows of 2012. More than 30 million fans around the world tuned in each week as Jennifer, Marc Anthony, and Jamie King toured Latin America in search of the most talented entertainers in order to recruit them for a live stage show. The end result was a sold out show at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas, NV. Jennifer performed at the show alongside her Q'Viva recruits. She performed a great cover of Gracias A La Vida and a medley of Llorando Se Fue and On The Floor. They were some of our favorite performances this year, so they had to make our list!
6. Jennifer Leaves American IdolAs the end of Jennifer's American Idol contract neared, speculation began ramping up- Would she sign up for another year? Media pundits and JLovers dissected all the pros and cons of each decision for months before Jennifer finally announced that she was officially leaving the show On Air with Ryan Seacrest. It was a bittersweet decision for Jennifer and fans alike. We loved watching her on TV for several hours each week, but, exiting the show undoubtedly leaves her with more time to pursue other projects. Either way, we know Jennifer made the decision that worked best for her!
5. American Idol PerformancesOne of the best parts of Jennifer's job as a judge on American Idol was the open invitation to perform on the show! Jennifer performed 3 different songs on the show this past season: Dance Again, the headline-grabbing performance with Beau 'Casper' Smart, Goin' In with special guest Flo Rida, and Follow The Leader with Wisin y Yandel! The latter two performances were even on the same night! Even though she's not on the show anymore, hopefully we will get to see her performing on Idol in 2013!
4. Dance AgainAfter the extraordinary success of On The Floor, Jennifer recreated the magic by reuniting with producer RedOne and rapper Pitbull. The single premiered On Air with Ryan Seacrest and hit iTunes a few days later. The music video premiered on American Idol and got a LOT of attention. The topic was timely and inspiring, encouraging fans to get back up after they've fallen and "Dance Again".
Dance Again went platinum in the US, received nearly 200 million views on Youtube/Vevo, spawned a world tour of the same name, a Greatest Hits album, and was covered on the hit show Glee! It also hit #1 on the Billboard Dance/Club Play Charts, making it her 10th consecutive #1 on that chart. Not bad for one song, huh?
RedOne is working on Jennifer's upcoming album, her 10th studio album, so hopefully we can look forward to more hits!
3. Forbes Most Powerful CelebIn May, Jennifer earned the #1 spot on this year’s World’s Most Power Celebrities list. Forbes calculated the earnings and fame of celebrities in various categories and came to the conclusion that it has not only been a big year for Jennifer, but that she is in fact the #1 celebrity!! With a presence in music, movies, and TV- plus an empire to run- everyone knows Jennifer is the hardest working person in showbiz!
2. Connecting with JLovers During The World TourFrom Tweet2Meets and BB meet & greets to pulling fans up on stage to sing with her, this was a great year for JLovers! Over 1 million fans from around the world got to see her perform live, and many of them were lucky to meet Jennifer, snap a photo with her, grab her hand, give her a gift, or catch her attention from the audience at each and every show.
Always gracious, Jennifer joked with fans and hugged them tightly when they told her they were huge fans. At other points she even spoke with the loudest fans from the stage and at one show, she even invited a fan with a sign asking for a hug up on stage with her!
This was the first time millions of fans got to see Jennifer in person, and it did not disappoint! JLovers were loud and proud, and Jennifer often told audiences they gave her "goosies". Even Jennifer's manager, Benny Medina, discussed the outpouring of JLove on E News!
1. Dance Again World Tour!Rumors were circling for months prior to the big announcement. We'd all heard them before, but would 2012 finally be the year Jennifer embarked on a World Tour? YES!! Jennifer traveled tens of thousands of miles and performed 78 shows for over 1 million fans across the world in 6 months. The show was a spectacle with great choreography, multiple costume changes, beautiful lighting, original sets and videos, pyrotechnics, the talented JLo Dancers, and more! Jennifer sang all our favorite hits while taking us on a journey from glamorous Hollywood back to the Bronx.
Jennifer's first World Tour has been a huge success!! The North American leg, which she co-headlined with Enrique Iglesias, was completely sold out with the exception of one show. Jennifer also performed at sold out shows and shows in multiple cities like Paris, Istanbul, Moscow, Melbourne, and Sydney. Jennifer's solo dates grossed over $52 million, landing her at #13 on Pollstar's year-end Worldwide Tours chart. Including the North American leg, the tour grossed nearly $75 million, placing the Dance Again World Tour in the top 10 tours of the year based on overall tour grosses.
The tour might be over, but don't forget, we still have the upcoming 3D film to look forward to!
2012 has been a great year, and we know 2013 will be even better. Happy New Year, JLovers!
