The album received generally positive reviews from music critics, who praised it as a reflection of Lopez's success.

Following the commercial failure of her sixth studio album Brave (2007)—and while pregnant with twins Max and Emme—Lopez began working on new music for a future project in 2008.

[1] The project was kept under wraps until February 2009 when a new song from the recording sessions titled "Hooked on You" leaked online.

[3] "Louboutins", a song written and produced by The-Dream and C. "Tricky" Stewart, was released as the lead single from her seventh studio album, Love?, in November 2009.

Lopez subsequently left Epic Records in February 2010, citing that she had fulfilled her contractual obligations and now wished to release Love?

produced two moderately successful singles: "I'm Into You" and "Papi", both of which topped the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart.

itself was a moderate commercial success and was viewed as a humble comeback from Lopez, as many had considered her recording career over.

[16] Lopez stated that when it comes time to make an album, she doesn't sit down and write for the entire thing.

[18] The album's title and opening track, "Dance Again", was written by RedOne, Enrique Iglesias, Bilal "The Chef", AJ Junior and Pitbull, who is also featured in the song.

[16][17] Lopez, who was going through a divorce with Marc Anthony and the "breakup of a family", felt as if the song had come to her at the "perfect moment".

[17] Looking back on the song in December 2012, Lopez stated that: "'Dance Again' became my anthem ... an expression of what I needed to do at that time in my life and for what I was taking on with [my career].

Chris "Tek" O'Ryan and Trevor Muzzy handled audio engineering of the song, with assistance from Anthony Falcone and Peter Mack.

"[16] "Goin' In" was written by Michael Warren, Jamahl Listenbee, Joseph Angel, Coleridge Tillman, David Quiñones and Tramar Dillard.

GoonRock produced and later mixed the song alongside Kenny Moran at The House on the Hill Studios in Los Angeles, California.

[20] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine wrote that the "most immediately striking thing" about the compilation is "just how many hits [she] has racked up over the years".

[23] According to Cinquemani, the album also serves as a "historical record" of who the rappers du jour were "over the last dozen years or so", from Big Pun, Fat Joe, Ja Rule, and Lil Wayne.

[23] Michael Cragg of BBC Music wrote that it's "surprising that she hadn't unleashed a hits collection before now given that she's what you might politely call a 'singles artist'".

[25] Lewis Corner of Digital Spy too questioned the decisions of which songs appeared on the album, but wrote that: "the very fact that she can't fit all her classics on to one disc can be seen as nothing more than a testament to her enduring career".

[22] AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine pointed out that Lopez's other well or moderately charted songs such as "Play", "I'm Gonna Be Alright", "I'm Glad", and "Hold You Down" were not present on the compilation, while also writing that her older hits did not fit neatly with her newer songs and that its sequencing was "scattershot".

[24] He wrote that having another artist featured on nine of the thirteen tracks "gives the impression that as a product, having Jennifer Lopez alone is simply not enough".

[24] Tan concluded that for a greatest hits album, the track listing is "simply all over the place", with no indication that the record executives or Lopez "looked around for a logical start" or an "easy access ramp to her seven-album canon".

[24] Dance Again... the Hits enjoyed moderate commercial success in the United States, peaking at number 20 on the Billboard 200 the week of its debut with sales of 14,000 copies.

[29] On the UK Albums Chart, Dance Again... the Hits debuted at number four with sales of 9,213 copies in its first week of release,[30] matching the peak of J to Tha L-O!

[31] As of July 2020 the album has sold 126,000 Copies in the United States [32] Overseas, Dance Again... the Hits performed well in most music markets, reaching the top ten in fourteen national charts, five of which were in the first five positions.