This Is Me... Then

Hip hop
soul

In June 2002, Lopez split from her former back up dancer Cris Judd to pursue a relationship with Academy Award winning actor and director, Ben Affleck, "Hollywood's Golden Boy". That November, Affleck proposed, resulting in a higher amount of attention towards the couple. The public and media began to refer to them as "Bennifer" and they became a prominent supercouple in the media and popular culture. "Bennifer" became a popular term, which was eventually entered into urban dictionaries and neologism dictionaries as notable, and the name blend started the trend of other celebrity couples being referred to by the combination of each other's first names. Speaking of the publicity, Lopez told MTV News: "We try [to keep things private]." "I'm not saying there's not times that we wish [we] could just be going to the movies and come out and there's not a crowd there waiting. You just want to spend your Sunday afternoon not working, but at the same time we both love what we do. If that's something that's part of it, then that's fine. We feel the love and we're very happy about it," she stated. While speaking of the damage that could be caused, Lopez said: "I think [the media can cause damage] if it's not a real thing. I've been in relationships where they were kind of unstable, and so the media messed with it a lot." The overexposure from the media and public interest in their relationship resulted in less admiration for their work and negatively affected their careers.

Affleck became Lopez's muse when writing and recording the album. "I wrote a lot of songs inspired, in a way, by what I was going through at the time that this album was being made, and he was definitely a big part of that," she told MTV News. The album was titled This Is Me Then, as it was something she wanted to look back on in retrospection. Lopez explained, "Who you are at that time, what kind of music you like, what kind of beats you're into, what kind of state of mind you're in, what you're attracted to it's all very telling of where you are in your life at that point. Twenty years from now, if I give this [album] to one of my kids, I'll be like, 'This was me then, at that moment.'" Lopez dedicated the album to Affleck, with the words "You are my life my sole inspiration for every lyric, every emotion, every bit of feeling on this record" written on the disc jacket. She had previously collaborated with Oliver and Shea on J. Lo (2001). Lopez has cited this album as her favorite album she has ever done many times over the years. Saying in part: "At that time I truly realized that being an artist meant you have to be vulnerable and bare your heart and soul it takes courage to do that to really show who you are at any given moment in time."

Quote box | quote = "I love the hip hop. I love the R&B. It's gonna manifest itself in my music. The soul of the record is based in my Bronx upbringing. I think that really shows here — that time when people were rocking in Lees and Adidas. This record has a little bit of that nostalgia in it, so it wasn't so much I was trying to get gritty or grimy or street — even though it has that element, which I think is cool — but it was more just really getting to who I was and letting that out." Boston Globes Steve Morse wrote, "[the] love affair has fired up Hollywood and now pop listeners can now share the vibe. This is one hot album, as [Lopez] sings to lovers everywhere with a soulful passion that will quicken pulses and libidos." Entertainment Weekly described it as having a Minnie Riperton sound, The album evokes 1970s soul music, and blends "streetwise" hip hop with "old school soul". In "I'm Glad", Lopez discusses finding true love, and declares "I think I'm in love/Damn, finally!" and has been described as the album's "glowing centerpiece". "All I Have", a duet with LL Cool J which samples Debra Law's "Very Special", is a breakup song, and has been noted to conjure up her publicized split with Combs. The Age wrote that the song intones Lopez's "modest childhood roots, vowing she wishes to remain simple despite her diamonds", that includes a "haunting" interpolation from the theme of the film Midnight Cowboy (1969). The song, described as "cheesy" and "blissful", has Lopez singing about being a hopeless romantic ("Can you love me for a lifetime/ In just one night?"). The album closes with a second version of "The One"; this version contains a slightly different production and a new verse was written in place of the original. The lyrical content remains the same. Both the album and song end with Lopez singing "I can be anything you need", like in the original, except silence is heard after that line is said.

Upon its initial release, 200,000 copies of This Is Me Then included a four panel insert that featured information about her fragrance Glow by JLo, and a peel off fragrance label that allowed those who purchased the CD to test the scent. On September 27, 2002, a spokesperson for Lopez revealed that she planned to take a break from acting to launch a tour in support of This Is Me Then in April 2003.

This Is Me Then was a commercial success, although not as successful as J. Lo. Released on November 26, 2002, the album debuted on the Billboard 200 at number six, with first week sales of 314,132 in the United States. This marked the highest opening sales week of Lopez's career. Rolling Stone noted that despite this, "unlike her previous releases, the field wasn't empty for this album to dominate". In its second week, it dropped to number seven with 171,000 copies sold. Throughout December, the album remained in the chart's top ten, and was later ranked by the magazine as the twelfth most successful album of 2003. For the week ending December 22, 2002, This Is Me Then sold 345,150 copies, moving from number eight to number five as a result of holiday season gains. For the week of January 2, 2003, the album remained in the top five of the Billboard 200, selling 233,000 copies. For the week ending January 18, 2003, This Is Me Then made its biggest jump on the Billboard 200, climbing from number six to number two, with sales of 88,000 units, blocked from reaching the top spot by Norah Jones' Come Away With Me (2002) which sold 108,000 copies. Throughout February 2003, the album continued to perform strongly, averaging close to 80,000 copies sold each week, while remaining in the top ten. Additionally, the album peaked at number five on Billboards Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart. Internationally, the album entered the top ten of most countries. In Australia, the album debuted and peaked at number 14 on the ARIA Charts for the week ending December 8, 2002. Commercially, it became one of her lowest charting albums there. However, This Is Me Then remained on the ARIA Charts until July 6, 2003, allowing it to be certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association for shipments of over 70,000 units. This was eleven positions lower than her previous album, J. Lo. It was eventually certified double platinum by the British Phonographic Industry in July 2013, marking shipments of over 600,000 copies. In total, the album has sold over 200,000 copies in Canada, earning a double platinum status in March 2006. The Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique certified This Is Me Then gold. The album peaked at number four in Germany and was certified Gold by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry for shipments of 150,000 units. In Greece, the album peaked at number one and was certified Gold there for sales of 15,000 copies in 2003. Additionally, it peaked at number 10 in Finland, and has sold 19,998 copies there.

+Weekly chart performance for This Is Me Then Chart (2002–2003) PeakpositionArgentina Albums (CAPIF)3Australian Urban Albums (ARIA)3Canadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)1Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)19European Albums (Music & Media)3German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)4Greek Foregin Albums (IFPI)1Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)9Icelandic Albums (Tonlist)2Japanese Albums (Oricon)9Polish Albums (ZPAV)19Portuguese Albums (AFP)5South Korean Foreign Albums (RIAK)12Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)12

+2002 year end chart performance for This Is Me Then Chart (2002) Position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)88 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)86Canadian Albums (Nielsen SoundScan) 50Canadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan)9 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)95 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)82Finnish Foreign Albums Chart36 French Albums (SNEP) 47 UK Albums (OCC)59 Worldwide Albums (IFPI)19
+2003 year end chart performance for This Is Me Then Chart (2003) Position Australian Albums (ARIA)49 Australian Urban Albums (ARIA)6 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)67 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)92 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)88 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)46 French Albums (SNEP) 110 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)61 Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ) 78 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)45 UK Albums (OCC)67 US Billboard 20012 US Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums (Billboard)26

+Decade end chart performance for This Is Me ThenCharts (2000–2009)PositionUS Billboard 200 189