Anthony, Lopez unite for live 'Q'Viva' show; he says working together is 'second nature'

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Mark Anthony and Jennifer Lopez have announced that they'll perform together on May 26 in Las Vegas as part of "Q'Viva! The Chosen Live," which will feature the top talent from their televised talent show. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, File)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Marc Anthony says working with Jennifer Lopez is like second nature, which is good since the exes are uniting for one night in concert.

The pair have announced they'll perform together May 26 in Las Vegas as part of "Q'Viva! The Chosen Live," which will feature the top talent from their televised talent show.

"It's a very unique, modern way, and sexy way, to package these traditional talents," he said in a phone interview Wednesday. "I'm really, really looking forward to the live show."

"Q'Viva! The Chosen," which airs on Univision and Fox, features the former couple as they travel across the globe to find the best Latin talent. Both Anthony and Lopez are executive producers of the show, along with "American Idol" creator Simon Fuller and the show's director, Jamie King.

The show was conceived when Anthony and Lopez were a couple, and even after they announced their breakup last year, they decided to go ahead as the show's hosts.

Anthony realizes that some people don't understand how the former couple, who were married seven years and have a set of twins together, are able to still work side by side.

"I know it's shocking to people and I hear that a lot," said Anthony, adding with a chuckle, "It's more shocking to me that it's shocking to people."

Anthony said he and Lopez met while working, and for them, working side by side is natural, and there's no bad blood between the two.

"Thank God that's not the case, obviously. Maybe if that was the case, it would've been different," he said of their work together on the show. "But, that's why I can tell you it was a wonderful experience all the way around."

Besides Lopez and Anthony, 52 performers from around the world will perform as part of the "Q'Viva!" concert at Mandalay Bay Events Center. It's a culmination of the TV show's search to find acts for what Anthony termed "the world's most amazing Latin spectacular ever."

Anthony said one of the things that most impressed him was how the artists bonded despite differences in ethnicity and where they came from.

"I thought that bringing all of these artists together in one house would have been a little more dynamic by way of conflict," he said. "That's one thing that absolutely blew me away, the way they became one nation. And that's how they would put it — 'We're one nation, all of us.'"

Anthony also said the show, in its inaugural season, would be back.

"Absolutely. We're in the middle of setting it up now," he said. "This is a passion project. ... I'm looking forward to doing it again. It's bigger than all of us. It's a movement."

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Online:

http://www.qvivathechosen.com

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Nekesa Mumbi Moody is the music editor for The Associated Press. Follow her at http://www.twitter.com/nekesamumbi