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Jordin Sparks
Background information
Birth name	Jordin Brianna Sparks
Born	December 22, 1989 (age 17)
Origin	Staten Island, New York
Genre(s)	Christian, Gospel, Pop, R&B
Occupation(s)	Student, Model, Actress, Singer
Years active	2003–present
Label(s)	Unsigned
Website	Jordin Web

Jordin Brianna Sparks (born December 22, 1989) is an aspiring American singer, actress, model and American Idol finalist from Staten Island, New York.

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Background 1.2 Career 1.3 American Idol contestant 2 Discography 2.1 Albums 2.2 Compilation albums 2.3 Songs 3 Awards 4 External links

Sparks is the daughter of former NFL football player, Phillippi Sparks, and wife Jodi Sparks. She has a younger brother named PJ (Phillippi Sparks, Jr.). As a daughter of a Black father and a White mother, she is biracial. She is managed by maternal grandmother Pam Wiedmann. Her aunt Shari is an actress & model.Sparks is currently homeschooled. She is a fan of football, reading, and music. She also attends church and has been singing since she was 18 months old.

In 2007, Sparks appeared on the January 17, 2007 broadcast of sixth season of American Idol, earning a "gold ticket" and the right to appear in the Hollywood Round. Already a favorite in the contest, American Idol judge Randy Jackson, made the an offhand prediction that "Curly hair will win this year."^[1] which may have been made in reference to Sparks. Before going on to AI, she won Arizona Idol.

In 2006, Sparks was one of two 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. [1]A full-page ad for Torrid featuring Jordin ran in the December, 2006 issue of Seventeen magazine.

Sparks finished second in 2004 at the coveted Music in the Rockies national competition for aspiring Contemporary Christian Music artists.^[2]

In 2004, Sparks appeared in America's Most Talented Kids twice, and won in her first appearance. She was one of seven to appear in a special championship edition of the show. This appearance followed two noted auditions in 2003, one with American Juniors and the other, Star Search.

Sparks has performed the national anthem at various sporting events, notably the Phoenix Suns, the Arizona Cardinals, and the Arizona Diamondbacks. She has also sung in such events as Country Thunder, a famous country music venue. She has appeared with celebrities Alice Cooper (in his 2004 Christmas show) and has twice toured with Christian contemporary singer Michael W. Smith. Smith has shown support of Sparks by encouraging Idol viewers to vote for her on his website.^[3][4]

Sparks recorded an album titled For Now in 2003, a five-song album at the age of thirteen, working with Matthew Ward, a legendary Christian music artist, and Gary Leach, an engineer who has worked on several of LeAnn Rimes' albums. She appeared in a compilation album titled Live at Mr. Lucky's in 2004.

As an actress, Sparks has appeared in several plays, recently starring in a dual role as characters Deborah and Bea in Magdalene at the Plumbline Theater in Franklin, Tennessee. She has also performed several times with Valley Youth Theatre in Phoenix, AZ. Her first appearance was in March, 2002 as an Emerald City dancer and as a poppy in The Wiz. She also appeared in VYT's production of Cinderella in June, 2002 and another production of The Wiz in August, 2002.^[5]

Sparks received a trip to the Seattle, Washington auditions of American Idol (season 6) upon her win of the Fox 10 KSAZ "Arizona Idol" contest.

She was featured in the audition episode shown on January 17, 2007 singing the Celine Dion hit "Because You Loved Me." Simon Cowell criticized her for "being too cute," but the judges were impressed with her overall, sending her on to the Hollywood rounds of the show.^[6]

On the February 21, 2007 broadcast, (top 24 contestants) she performed "Give Me One Reason", a song written and performed by Tracy Chapman in 1995. On the February 28, 2007 broadcast (top 20 contestants) she performed "Reflection", written and produced by Matthew Wilder and David Zippel, and originally performed by Christina Aguilera and Lea Salonga in the movie Mulan in 1998. On the March 7, 2007 broadcast, she performed "Heartbreaker", originally performed by Pat Benatar in 1979. On the March 13, 2007 broadcast, (top 12 contestants) she performed "If We Hold On Together" by Diana Ross, from the Land Before Time series. The following week, she sang "I (Who Have Nothing)", first made popular by Ben E. King in 1963, and also recorded by Shirley Bassey (reached #6 in the U.K.) and Tom Jones (reached #14 in the U.S.). On the March 27th edition of the show, Sparks performed "Hey Baby", originally performed by ska band No Doubt.

• For Now (2003)

(As of 2007, a second album is in development but has been put on hold due to her attendence on American Idol)

• Live at Mr. Lucky's (2004)

On Sparks' website, new songs have been released, three of which have been co-written with Gary Leach.

• "The Inside"
• "When The Pain Goes Away"
• "Just Me"
• "Crazy"
• "Give Me One Reason"
• "Reflection"

A list of awards and honors that Jordin Sparks has recieved on course of her career.

• Coca Cola 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
• PAX TV/America’s Most Talented Kids, 2005
• Colgate Country Showdown, Arizona state title, 2006.
• Plus-size model search winner for Torrid^[7][2]
• American Idol Top 12 Finalist

• Official website
• Jordin Sparks at the Internet Movie Database
• American Idol page