Jordin Sparks: Humble Overnight Success
By Melissa Castellanos
For Season Six American Idol winner Jordin Sparks, it's about taking her overnight success in stride.
Having recently come off of the American Idol Live tour, which ended last September, Sparks is taking on her fame in a cool, calm and collective manner while trying to stay grounded.
"It was a lot of fun. It was really intense. I learned a lot about my voice and how far I can push myself, " Sparks told The Showbuzz."I was doing eight songs a night, five nights a week and I have never done that before in my life."
While on the American Idol Live tour, Sparks learned the ins and outs of performing, from reading the audience's responses to different songs, to how to stay energetic and how to work the stage.
"And on top of that I got to tour the country with nine of my best friends, I mean what could be better than that," Sparks gushed.
With a new album release called "Jordin Sparks" and hit singles such as "Tattoo" and "No Air," a duet with R&B singer Chris Brown, that are topping the charts, Sparks is taking her American Idol success to a new level.
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"'No Air' is like an R&B power ballad, so I definitely love that one, but 'Permanent Monday' and 'God Loves Uglier' are two of my favorites," Sparks said.
To top off her achievements, Sparks will sing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl this year -- ironically revisiting her father's past -- who was a former professional football player for the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys.
You could say that the recently turned eighteen-year-old was somewhat accustomed to the spotlight due to her father's career, which helped prepare her for her newfound fame.
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"It's taking a little while to get used to," Sparks said." I am taking it day by day, step by step. It's fun. I'm not going to lie, it's so much fun to open up a magazine and see picture of me in there, but there are some days that I wish I could just to go to the grocery store and pick up ice cream without stopping every ten seconds."
Sparks' American Idol auditions weren't easy. She first tried out in Los Angles, and was turned down.
With determination and perseverance, Sparks tried out again in her home state of Arizona, which lead her to the Seattle Idol audition in front of Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell.
"It was definitely nerve wracking," Sparks revealed. "I spent the last five years watching it and to actually just get in there was one of the craziest things ever, but when I walked into the room I was eerily calm, it was kind of weird. They were really cool."
Although she was taking a risk, Sparks auditioned with "Because You Love Me" by Celine Dion, which wasn't an easy ballad to pull off.
"I was afraid that I wasn't going to hit the high note," Sparks said. "This will probably be the one time I can't hit it."
Well she hit the note and from then on her career has been hitting many more high notes.
"I can't believe that it's already been a year," Sparks said. "My face is in the backdrop now, (on Season Seven American Idol) it's really weird."
Sparks anticipates going on tour and shooting the music video for "No Air" in late spring or early summer.