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Jordin Brianna Sparks (born December 22, 1989)
Early lifeSparks was born in Phoenix, Arizona to White American Jodi Weidmann-Sparks and African-American former NFL defensive back Phillippi Sparks. She has a younger brother PJ (Phillippi Sparks, Jr.) who also plays football. She lived briefly in Ridgewood, New Jersey and attended Orchard Elementary School. After living in New Jersey, Sparks attended Northwest Community Christian School in Phoenix, Arizona through the eighth grade. Sparks attended Sandra Day O'Connor High School until 2006, then she was homeschooled to better concentrate on her singing. A formally trained singer, she started taking lessons at age fourteen from vocal coach Melissa Black. She rigorously trained with her coach for almost a year, in order to perfect her skill.
Sparks is an evangelical Christian and attends Calvary Community Church in Phoenix, Arizona. On her "American Idol" biography, she thanks her parents and God for her win. She wears a purity ring that symbolizes her desire to re
Before IdolBefore appearing on American Idol, Sparks participated in and won such talent competitions as Sprite Rising Star, Gospel Music Association GMA Academy, The Proof Is In The Pudding Contest, NBC/PAX ''America's Most Talented Kids, Colgate Country Showdown and the 2007 Drug Free AZ Superstar Search.
In 2006, Sparks was one of six winners who won the Phoenix Torrid search for the "Next Plus Size Model." She was flown to California, where she was used in a number of Torrid ads and promotional pieces.[title=Torrid Model Search winner] A full-page ad for Torrid featuring Sparks ran in the December 2006 issue of Seventeen magazine.
American Idol 2007In the summer of 2006, Sparks auditioned twice for American Idol once in Los Angeles, CA (only auditioned for producers) and again in Seattle, WA after winning KSAZ Fox 10's "Arizona Idol." The Seattle audition is the one seen in the January 27, 2007 broadcast of American Idol where she earned a "gold ticket" and the right to appear in the Hollywood Round. American Idol judge Randy Jackson made the offhand prediction that, "Curly hair will win this year," which he admitted wasn't Sparks. During the top eleven finalists' performance on the March 25, 2007 Idol episode, Sparks sang a rendition of the Shirley Bassey version "I (Who Have Nothing)"and judges Simon Cowell and Jackson said it was the best vocal performance by anyone since the show started.[url=blogs.usatoday.com/idolchatter/2007/05/jordin_nothing_.html ] While on the show, Sparks gained a loyal fan base known as "Sparkplugs" (even having their own official fan site). On May 23, 2007, Sparks was crowned the winner of the sixth season of American Idol having never been in the bottom three. Sparks was the fourth winner never to have been voted in the bottom three (after Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Taylor Hicks);[Clay Aiken - Biography Also during Sparks' season of 'Idol', 3rd place contestant Melinda Doolittle didn't appear in the Bottom 3 until her elimination. ] Cowell said "Jordin was the most improved over the whole season -- didn't start the best, but midway through this was the girl who suddenly got momentum," he included that "Young girl, likeable, and the singer won over the entertainer [1]."[url=www.monstersandcritics.com/smallscreen/news/article_1309275.php ]
Sparks twice performed on seventh season, once on the Idol Gives Back results show singing her duet with Chris Brown, "No Air" and again with "One Step at a Time" on May 21, 2008, for the finale of American Idol.
Performances and resultsSemi-finals/Finals notesSparks was never in danger of elimination. Sparks is the fourth contestant to have won without ever being in the bottom 2 or 3, along with Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks, and, most recently, David Cook. (Season 2 winner Ruben Studdard was in the bottom 2 once, and season 3 winner Fantasia Barrino landed there twice).
After IdolSparks' songs from the American Idol have been on sale at the iTunes Store and the American Idol official website as Jordin Sparks (EP) (called a "bundle" on Idol official website) shortly after the finale of Idol, along with other songs that did not make the EP's cut that were being sold as individual singles. According to SoundScan figures posted in USA Today, Blake Lewis sold more digital singles than Sparks, but her mini album sold more than Lewis'.[url=blogs.usatoday.com/idolchatter/2007/07/monitoring-the-.html ]
After the finale of Idol, Sparks has made several appearances on television shows. She performed the finale song, "This Is My Now"on The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet, The Today Show, Live with Regis and Kelly, The Early Show and The View. Sparks had also appeared on Total Request Live, The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet with the runner-up of Idol, Blake Lewis, Larry King Live with contestants who made into the top ten of American Idol. and 106 & Park. On July 4, 2007, Sparks performed "God Bless America" and "America the Beautiful" on ''Macy's Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular'' with Lewis and Melinda Doolittle.
Along with television and radio appearances,Sparks has been on the cover of Entertainment Weekly, Your Prom and World and featured in VIBE, TV Guide, Glamour and other publications.
Sparks took part in the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2007 from July 6 to September 23, 2007, along with other contestants in the top ten. She revealed in an AOL interview that the concert will be more group collaborations and duets as well as bringing along her acoustic guitar.[Jordin Sparks AIM Interview]
Post-Idol Career: 2007-present Jordin Sparks album .
On August 17, 2007, it was announced Sparks had signed to 19 Recordings/Jive Records/Zomba Label Group, becoming the first Idol winner to join the label group. David Archuleta (Season 7, runner up) also joined the label group last May 2008, making them the only two Idol contestants who signed a contract with them. All past Idol winners and runners-up have signed with the RCA Label Group’s J (Fantasia, Ruben Studdard), Arista (Taylor Hicks) or RCA (Kelly Clarkson, Chris Daughtry, Clay Aiken, Katharine McPhee, and successor David Cook) labels, with the exception of Carrie Underwood who signed to Arista Nashville. Sparks has stated that she recorded some songs with Heath Thurman on drums for the album but the bulk of the recording would be done in Los Angeles after the tour is over.[url=www.billboard.com/bbcom/search/google/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003625142] She said the album would be "Top 40, radio-friendly, uplifting stuff" hopefully mixing "the pop rock sound of inaugural Idol Kelly Clarkson with the R&B edge of Beyonce".[url=www.billboard.com/bbcom/search/google/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003606307]
Some critics felt Sparks' vocals were not suited for modern pop music while others thought the album's ubiquitous and age-appropriate American Idol material has helped Sparks to find a secure future.
Singles from Jordin Sparks Along with the label announcement, the first single was revealed to be "Tattoo", which was released to U.S. radio on August 27, 2007. The song became the album's first top ten single. Later, on March 11, 2008, "Tattoo" was released on 'Now That's What I Call Music Vol. 27' as the sixth track on the album, along with 19 other chart-topping hits of early 2008.
After the release of "Tattoo", Sparks' official website ran a poll asking fans to vote for what her next single should be, the choices being "No Air", "Freeze", "One Step at a Time," or "Shy Boy". On February 3, 2008, it was announced that "No Air" had won the vote, and was being added to radio stations. The song became a hit before it was officially released as a single, and peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, where it remained for four consecutive weeks. On June 3, 2008, "No Air" was released on 'Now That's What I Call Music Vol. 28' as the ninth track on the album, along with 19 other hits from 2008. She performed "No Air" with Chris Brown on the April 10, 2008 results show as part of Idol Gives Back.Sparks is the only Idol from outside Australia to top the ARIA Singles Chart with "No Air".
"One Step at a Time" was the third single from the album and was officially released in the U.S. on June 10, 2008. Sparks performed "One Step at a Time" at ''Macy's Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular for the second year in a row. The song has so far reached the top 17 on the Hot 100 and the top five on the Pop 100 charts. She has been on Good Morning America and Canadian Idol promoting "One Step At A Time". This is the beginning of her second promotion stretch for "One Step At A Time". With the success of One Step at a Time, Jordin became the first and only American Idol contestant ever to have their first four singles all crack the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100.
In 2007, Sparks was asked by a relative who works for SOS Children's Villages - USA in Florida to design a denim jacket festooned with Swarovski Crystal to support orphans. She performed on New Years Eve Live on FOX alongside Blake Lewis.
In February 2008, Sparks sang the National Anthem at Super Bowl XLII (the song was then made available on iTunes the next day), she had also previously performed at Game 1 of the 2007 NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and Cleveland Cavaliers. She also performed for Diana Ross for the 30th Annual Kennedy Center Honors. She also performed "Tattoo" at the NBA Rookie game during NBA All-Star Weekend. Sparks also performed at a Monday Night Football game between the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers in November 2008.
Opening for Alicia KeysSparks was the opening act for Alicia Keys on the U.S. leg of her As I Am tour. Before going on tour, she was to appear on the GMA Dove Awards as part of a tribute to Michael W. Smith as well as it was announced Sparks would team up with cosmetics company, Avon, to become a spokesperson for the teen-focused line Mark. Before the tour even started, a potentially career-threatening throat injury forced Sparks to cancel a few weeks of shows. Officials said that she was suffering an acute vocal cord hemorrhage, and was ordered to strict vocal rest until the condition improved. If it had not improved, it may have required laser microsurgery. Her first concert originally was scheduled as an opener for Alicia Keys on Saturday, April 19, 2008. She was back on the road with Alicia Keys by April 30. She remained on the tour until the last show on June 18.
In an interview with Perez Hilton, it was mentioned that Sparks will co-headline tour along with Jesse McCartney in August 2008 while she recently joined with the website DoSomething.org and Staples Inc. to resolve the problem with a national back-to-school supply drive.
Jordin was appointed on August 12, 2008 by President George W. Bush to be a member of the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation for a two year term along with other celebrities such as Corinne Bailey Rae and Michael W. Smith, whom she has previously worked with.
2008 MTV Video Music Awards & American Music Awards Sparks appeared at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards on September 7, 2008 where she was nominated for 2 VMAs for Best Female Video and Best New Artist. She is the second American Idol winner to have 2 or more nominations after the release of one album. The first being Kelly Clarkson with 3 nominations. Britney Spears for "Piece Of Me"[2008 MTV Video Music Awards Winners] actually took home the award that night for Best Female Video, while Tokio Hotel beat out Sparks for the Best New Artist award with "Ready, Set, Go!".[url=www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2008/09/14/do1407.xml] saying he would "take them more seriously if they wore it (the ring) around their genitals."[title=Russell Brand apologises for Jonas Brothers gag ] Sparks took umbrage, responding at the start of her introduction of rapper T.I.: “I just have one thing to say about promise rings. It’s not bad to wear a promise ring because not everybody -- guy or girl -- wants to be a slut."[url=deceiver.com/2008/09/08/jordin-sparks-not-everybody-wants-to-be-a-slut/ ] In response to controversy over her "slut" remark, she told Entertainment Weekly that she doesn't regret the remark, commenting that "I wish I would've worded it differently -- that somebody who doesn't wear a promise ring isn't necessarily a slut -- but I can't take it back now". While presenting an award at the American Music Awards, she started by stating "I'm gonna stick to the script this time" in reference to VMA incident.
She has won a American Music Award for Favorite Artist in the Adult Contemporary Category. This was her first nomination at the American Music Awards. Jordin has teamed up with Wet Seal to create her own clothing line. The collection, appropriately named 'Sparks', will begin with an assortment of holiday dresses delivering to stores just in time for the busy Thanksgiving weekend. The collection will later include casual apparel and accessories. Each piece will reflect Jordin Sparks’ youthful and collected sense of style. The line is currently set to launch on November 19, 2008 and will come in sizes XS to XL.
Future Sparks appeared on The Tyra Banks Show in early 2008, with Banks saying she wanted Sparks for the
Sparks states that she would love to break into acting.
Timbaland said in an interview that Sparks will be one of the collaborations his forthcoming album Shock Value 2.
Sparks joined Alicia Keys for a second time on an Australian leg of her As I Am Tour, which began on December 6, 2008 in Auckland, New Zealand at the Vector Arena and ended December 20, 2008.
In an update on her YouTube Profile, she stated that her fans can look forward to seeing more upbeat dance tunes on Sparks' second album, a possible NFL playoff anthem in January, Charity Benefit in February at the Shrine Auditorium, VH1 Save the Music performing with John Mayer in March. She may put out a book in April and August, and an Official Jordin Sparks fan club opening in 2009 called "SparksTown".
Second album Sparks has not commented much on her second album. The anticipated album is expected to start production in late 2008 and be released in the middle of 2009. Sparks' second album is expected to have a higher profile and better production due to the great success of the album itself and its four singles. Sparks has confirmed though that her second album is in the works and is expected to be due early summer of 2009. Sparks said she plans on working with Jesse McCartney on her new album and start recording in January in a interview on the radio show "Johnjay & Rich" the morning after her appearance at the 2008 American Music Awards. She said the album will be more R&B, hip hop, and dance influenced, and will sound more Beyoncé meets Rihanna. In a recent radio interview, Jordin stated that she has plans to collaborate with David Archuleta on her sophmore album and has also stated that she would like to collaborate with Chris Brown again.
Discography- Studio Albums
- 2007: Jordin Sparks
- 2009: TBA
- EPs
- 2003: For Now
- 2007: Jordin Sparks (EP)
Tours- 2007: American Idols LIVE! Tour 2007
- 2008: As I Am Tour (Supporting Act)
- 2008: Jesse & Jordin LIVE Tour
AccomplishmentsHonors- Sprite Rising Star 2002
- Family Night Talent Show Five-time 1st Place Finals Winner at Mr. Lucky's in Glendale, Arizona, 2003
- Glendale Youth Fest 2003: Teen Talent Show, 1st Place
- GMA (Gospel Music Association) Academy, Washington, D.C., Overall Spotlight Winner & Country/Southern Gospel First Place Winner, 2004
- Country Thunder Young Guns Second Place Winner, 2004
- The Proof Is In The Pudding Talent Winner, Phoenix, Arizona, 2004
- NBC/PAX ''America's Most Talented Kids, 2005
- Colgate Country Showdown, Arizona state title, 2006.
- Runner-up in the 2007 Drug Free AZ Superstar Search, Tempe, Arizona
- Plus-size model search winner for Torrid
- Winner of KSAZ Fox 10's "Arizona Idol" contest, giving her a guaranteed chance to audition in front of the judges.
- American Idol Winner, May 2007
- Appointed by President George W. Bush to be a member of the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation for a two year term on August 12, 2008.
- Video for No Air #6 on BET for Top 100 videos of 2008
Billboard Year End Charts 2008- Best New Artist - #2
- Billboard 200 Album Artist of the Year - #30
- Top Artist of the Year - #8
- Mainstream Top 40 Artist of the Year - #4
- Pop Artist of the Year - #5
- Female Artist of the Year - #6
- Hot 100 Artist of the Year - Female - #5
- Billboard 200 Jordin Sparks - #35
- Hot 100 No Air - #6
- Hot Digital Songs No Air - #8
- Pop 100 No Air - #5
- Mainstream Top 40 No Air - #7
- Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs No Air - #43
- Rhythmic Top 40 No Air - #26
- Hot 100 Tattoo - #30
- Hot Adult Contemporary Song Tattoo - #12
- Hot 100 One Step at a Time - #61
Awards and nominationsstart box
before=Taylor Hicks
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Copyright Citations
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