J. Lo Is Collaborating With This 'Hamilton' Hero

We've fallen on some dark and violent times recently, so it's comforting to see two powerhouses joining forces for good. That's why I was stoked to hear that Jennifer Lopez and Lin-Manuel Miranda will be honoring victims of the Orlando Pulse attack with an upcoming charity song, "Love Make The World Go Round." All of the proceeds from the track will donated to the Hispanic Federation's Proyecto Somos Orlando, a charity that plans to fund long-term mental health services for those affected by the shooting. It's a moving gesture, but at the same time it makes us wonder how the American Idol judge/pop sensation and Hamilton creator and star even crossed paths in the first place. Seriously, how do Lopez and Miranda know each other?

Turns out it isn't a huge mystery: in an iHeartRadio Q&A session on Twitter, Miranda said he met Lopez when she came to a production of In The Heights (Miranda's musical about the Washington Heights Dominican-American community) in 2008. It was only recently that Lopez tapped Miranda to help her work on her song: "Jen approached me. After hearing the track she was working on, we realized we could do a lot of good together," Manuel said. Lopez, condensing her excitement to Twitter prerequisite 140 characters, chimed in with, "I wanted to collaborate with som1 special 4 this song & there's no one better than @Lin_Manuel." Awww.

It's probably not a shock that the musical duo found themselves emotionally stirred while working on the song. While the June 12 mass shooting primarily impacted the LGBTQ community, it profoundly affected the Latino community as well, with over 95 percent of the victims being Latino. It's understandable why Lopez and Miranda, both of Puerto Rican descent, would zero in this charity because of their cultural ties, but they were moved on a broader level as well. When asked if it an emotional experience working on the song, Manuel responded with, "We talked a lot about love counteracting hate, and fear, and how art can play a role in that effort."

It also was a chore to carve out the time to work on it. With both stars busy, busy, busy, one Twitter user wondered how they were able to work on the song in the first place. "That was actually the hardest part," Manuel said. "But we made the time, between Jen's filming sched and my shows."

The upside is that the rap Miranda contributes was quick to write: "@JLo's track is incredible, and the message was clear — putting as much love out as possible," he made clear to one user who asked how long it took to get done. He also vouched that in addition to laying down a boss song, Lopez eased the recording process by bringing coffee from home into the studio.

"Love Make The World Go Round" is slated to debut at 12 am EST Friday.