Lopez's Birthday Tribute To Anthony Sparked Music Comeback

The actress/singer's new record Love? is due for release this summer (10) - her first album since 2007's Brave.

Lopez put her movie work and her music on hold when she became pregnant with twins and stayed home to focus on her family after the children were born in February, 2008.

But the star was inspired to step back into the studio to record her seventh studio album after she performed a Barbra Streisand song at Anthony's 40th birthday party in September, 2008 - because rediscovered her love of singing.

She says, "I sang a song for Marc's 40th birthday called My Man. It is an old Barbra Streisand song. But when I sang it - she's so my idol - I thought 'I can't believe I'm trying to sing a Barbra Streisand song. This is insane. What are you thinking?' But I sang it and it was almost like I had graduated. I needed to get to that point. When I sang it, he had tears in his eyes and we were both like, 'What was that?' And it just gave me that, that finally I'm a singer. This is what I do. Nobody can ever make me doubt it again.

"With the acting I was a bit nervous at first. But with this, the first day back at rehearsal I was like, 'This is what I do'. It felt really good. I was really just so happy to be doing it. When I was finishing up my album and the music was feeling right, everything just came together. It's been nice to be back on stage and doing my thing. It's like coming back into the ring."