AI6: Interview with Jordin Sparks: Long Live the Diva

[Yardgnome]

Last week, I had the opportunity to participate in a conference call with the newest American Idol, Jordin. She is a very nice girl and I sure she will have great success from this show. I wish her the best as she starts off her new music career.

And now being the newest Idol, what’s one thing that you’ve gleaned from the other Idols’ careers that you’ll use to your advantage in your own career? Perhaps maybe from the female Idols: Kelly, Fantasia, Carrie.

J. Sparks: I’m not sure. I look up to them; I know I do, because I’ve been watching them for the past couple years in their career and have their records. But I would love to model my career after theirs, because they’ve been so successful, so I would love to have a career like theirs.

And for my follow-up question I was actually just recently speaking with the two guys who penned your This Is Your Now tune, and they were so excited to have you sing it. What does that song mean to you?

J. Sparks: It’s actually so perfect, because I remember sitting down when we got the song, and I was listening to it and I couldn’t believe how perfect it was for just this whole process in general, because it totally relates to what I’ve been dreaming about and just everything about it. It was so perfect, and I love singing it because it spoke to me that way.

My question for you is you got quite the nice Mustang on the finale. So do you actually have your driver’s license and are you a good driver?

J. Sparks: Yes, I have my driver’s license. I actually got it I think July of last year, so it was about before I went and auditioned. I think I’m okay; I haven’t gotten any tickets or anything yet. So I think I’m all right.

And can you disclose how many you actually got wrong on your driver’s test? Or did you get anything wrong on your driver’s test?

J. Sparks: Well my driver’s test I think I did pretty well. The permit test I kind of had a problem with, but then I went and studied and then I passed, so it was good.

How did you emotionally handle the shows’ various pressures throughout the season?

J. Sparks: It’s cool, because since I am a minor I have a guardian with me. And so I had my mom or my nana, because they would switch off, I would have them with me throughout the season. So it was cool to have them to lean on. … everything like that, so it was really cool to have everybody and …

And when during the season did you first feel that you could win?

J. Sparks: I felt like I could win, I guess, at top 12. Your chances improve as you keep going through the competition, and it’s better than one out of 15,000 at the Key Arena, so when I got to the top 12 I was like, “Hey, I have a one in twelve chance of winning.” It turned out pretty well.

What would like to sing on the American Idol Tour? Do you have any thoughts on what you’re going to sing?

J. Sparks: I have no idea what I’m going to do on it. Everything is happening so fast that I haven’t even had really a chance to think about it. But it’s going to be cool, because it’s going to be a different show and everybody is going to sing what is geared towards them and what suits their voice the best. So I have no idea; I haven’t really thought about it yet. I’m sorry.

And a follow-up question, has Blake taught you any be-bopping at all?

J. Sparks: He’s tried to teach me, but I’m really horrible at it. I try, and sometimes I entertain myself by trying to do it, but I can’t do it.

I wanted to ask you throughout the course of, specifically I guess the top twelve, different contestants go attention for so many different things, Melinda and LaKisha consistently for their terrific voices, Blake for his originality and then Sanjaya for just sort of being himself. Tell me what you think it was that eventually, finally put you over the top despite all the other attention everyone else was getting.

J. Sparks: I don’t know; I guess it’s just want America liked and they loved seeing it. It’s cool to have different story lines, and that’s what makes this show so great is because everybody is so different. I don’t know, I tried to top myself every week and I guess I just stayed the same. I’m just a quirky 17-year old… I don’t know, I guess people just started to see that.

I wanted to ask you what did Blake say to you immediately after the win?

J. Sparks: Well he just said, “Congratulations, honey.” He’s been so great; he’s been one of my biggest supporters since the beginning, I guess, and I’ve been one of his. So it was really cool that I got to share the stage with him. I felt very honored.

You sound like you’re losing your voice. Have you been constantly—?

J. Sparks: I am a little bit. Just—I don’t know.

So what has your schedule been like since you won?

J. Sparks: It’s been pretty crazy. The day before yesterday, the night of, I did a ton of press until about 11:45, and then didn’t really get home or to bed until 1:30, and then I had to wake up at 4:00. So I was running on two hours of sleep yesterday.

It’s been pretty crazy, but it was actually pretty easy yesterday. We did some affiliate stuff and we did Leno and Ellen, and it was really fun. I had a good time. And now I’m up talking to you guys.

And have you spoken to your best friend from school yet? The one we saw in your tape of going home?

J. Sparks: Yes, yes, I have actually. I’m sorry; I couldn’t hear. Yes, I did, I talked to her. She was telling me how proud she was of me, and that she was sad because she probably won’t see me as much anymore. I told her not to worry, because even though I am busy it will be okay and I still love her. We’ve been keeping in contact, and I’ve been talking to her all the time, so it’s good.

I know kind of now you’re going to be thrust even more into the spotlight as the winner. How have you prepared yourself for all of it?

J. Sparks: I don’t think you can prepare yourself for it. I’m kind of just taking it one step at a time and rolling with the punches and kind of just going with the flow.

Now that you are in the spotlight there are going to be a lot of pressures out there. How do you think you will keep yourself grounded? Like there are a lot of pressures to be super thin in Hollywood, there are a lot of pressures to do certain things, go out all the time; how will you keep yourself grounded from these types of—?

J. Sparks: Oh, that super thin stuff, Hollywood needs to get over it. I don’t know, I have a really good family around me and I love the people that I have around me. I’m pretty sure they’ll keep me grounded; I know they will, because they are always like, “Don’t let it go to your head, Jordin.” I’m like, “Okay.” I know that my mom and my dad and my grandparents, I’ll just keep them with me. As long as I have them with me I think I’ll be okay.

First of all, they showed a red on and blue one. Which one did you pick? And then did you actually get out and get to drive it at all yesterday?

J. Sparks: The night we got it I talked to Blake and I was like, “Blake, what color do you want?” because I wanted the red one and he was, “I want blue,” And that’s the first thing that came out of his mouth and I said, “Yes,” because I got the red one. So he took the blue and I got the red, but I haven’t seen it yet and I haven’t been able to drive it yet. It’s been kind of crazy.

And the other part I was going to ask you was about your schooling now. Have you finished your schooling for your junior year? And for senior year, since you’re going to be so busy, are you going to do something else like tutor or test out or something?

J. Sparks: I actually had my last block of school yesterday, so now I’m on summer break so I’m really excited about that. But for my senior year I want to graduate, but I’ve been home schooling for about two years now, so I think I’m going to keep doing that. And they brought a tutor for me during the season, so it was really cool. But I would love to graduate. I don’t know. I have to take each day by day, because I don’t know because I’ve been so busy. I would love to finish though.

So my question for you is what female pop star would you most like to collaborate with?

J. Sparks: Oh my goodness. Whoa, that’s a good question. There are so many; I have such a broad taste that there are so many that I would love to work with. I love Christina Aguilera and I love Martina McBride. I don’t know; there are so many. Those few I guess; I guess those were the first ones that popped into my head. I would love to work with them.

And have you ever thought about Broadway?

J. Sparks: Yes, I have actually. When my dad was playing football, since we lived really close, we would go to Broadway plays a lot. We saw The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast and Smokey Joe’s Café--one of may favorites. I don’t know, I love musical theater and I love the performance aspect of it. Singing will always be my number one, but on the side or maybe some day I’ll be able to do it. I don’t know yet.

And what are you planning to do when you get home?

J. Sparks: I think I want to sleep in my own bed and I want to play with my puppies and spend time with my best friends and read a book.

Could you explain to those of us, and maybe it’s only me, who don’t know how the mechanism of your record contract works? In other words, now that you’re the winner how does the arrangement with the record company work, and if you could explain some of the logistics of that?

J. Sparks: I don’t think I really even know that much. I guess Blake and I got the same contract. I don’t really know. We have the same contract and we get to put an album out and we get to tour; I don’t really know much more than that.

Do you have representation and have you contemplated what your earning power may be?

J. Sparks: Yes, I do. I don’t know. I’m just looking forward to doing the best that I can do.

I don’t quite understand the answer. You do have representation?

J. Sparks: Yes.

And can you say what agency you’re with?

Moderator: She can’t answer that question at this point.

My question is what sort of album would you like to make now?

J. Sparks: I love all different types of genre of music, so I would love to infuse everything into one. I love country and I love pop, I love R&B and I love rock and roll, so I would love to do just a little bit of each, but still make it so that people can enjoy it. I hope they enjoy that with my little Jordin flair added to it.

And are there any particular songwriters or producers you’d like to work with?

J. Sparks: Wow. There are a lot. I can’t think of any right now. I guess whoever is willing to work with me.

So my question for you is I just want to try to get some of an idea of like how much your life has changed from before the show started to now. What were you like in high school and with your friends, what did you guys like to do compared to what’s happening in your life now?

J. Sparks: It’s changed so much. When I was in high school I don’t know, I’d hang out with my friends and sometimes I had drama club. We had rehearsals because we did A Christmas Carol and Footloose, so we would do that, and that was, I think, my freshman year. I was just a normal kid.

I was excited to get my driver’s license, but I was way more excited to do American Idol. I talked about it all the time; I am a die-hard fan of the show. I was just normal; I think I’m still pretty much that way. I’m still a die-hard fan and I still keep in touch with my friends and stuff.

Would you say that you were popular in high school? Did you hang out mostly with the drama club people?

J. Sparks: I was kind of a floater; I hung out with pretty much everybody, because I had so many different friends. It was really cool. I wasn’t like in one sort of click. The drama club was always fun; that was like the after school, extra curricular thing that I would do, and I made tons of great friends in there. Then I have my basketball friends. I liked everybody.

Was there anyone, and you don’t have to name names specifically, but now that you’ve made it you kind of are like, “Ha ha,” like that kind of thing?

J. Sparks: Not that I know of. I tried to make friends with everybody, and if there was I’m sorry that they felt that way. I don’t know.

You’re the youngest ever person to win American Idol, and you’re being compared to Leona Lewis, who won the version in this country. Are you aware of Leona? Do you have plans to come over here?

J. Sparks: I actually heard that the other day; I think my mom was telling me about her the other day. But I would love to come over there. It would be really cool.

You’re now seen as an Idol, because obviously millions of young kids watched it. Who are your kind of inspirations? Who made you want to sing in the first place?

J. Sparks: I guess I’ve always loved to sing, but I remember watching an award show, and I think it was Mariah Carey performing. I remember watching her and I was like, “Oh my gosh, she looks so beautiful and I want to do that, mom. I want to do that.” I don’t even remember the exact year, I just remember seeing her and wanting to perform.

My first question is would you have been more nervous if you had been competing against Melinda in the final?

J. Sparks: I don’t know. Actually I thought it was going to be Blake and Melinda, so I was just like, “Whoa. Cool.” Melinda is one of my best friends ever, and I love her to death. If I would have been up against her I would have been so happy if she won, because she is just so amazing and I just love her. I don’t know if I would have been nervous.

Did you feel that confidently you could have won against her?

It would have been anybody’s game I guess, because I guess we both kind of have the powerful voices. But I think we reach out to different people, so it could have been anybody’s game.

And my follow-up question is who is your celebrity crush?

J. Sparks: I’m going to have to say Brad Pitt.

Why Brad? It’s quite obvious, really, but—

J. Sparks: I don’t know, he’s just really cute. I don’t know him, so I don’t know anything else except he’s just really good looking.

When is your song, This Will Be Now, to be released? And what is it about the song that will resonate with the fans?

J. Sparks: It’s already out, actually, on iTunes and americanidol.com, so it’s already out. Did you ask what my plans are?

No. What’s going to resonate with the fans? What about the song?

J. Sparks: Oh, I’m so sorry; I couldn’t understand. For me the song is just so perfect, speaking to everything that I’ve dreamed about. It so crazy just talking about there was a time when you didn’t feel like you could do it and now you can. It’s so amazing and I love the song so much. And hopefully they like it.

How are you handling all this sudden fame and what are the good and the bad parts?

J. Sparks: I don’t think anything can really prepare you for it, so it’s still kind of weird to me. It’s crazy. I don’t know, I’m just taking it step-by-step and being careful. I don’t know about any good and bad parts yet, because I’ve only been doing this for one day, so I’m still getting used to it.

Now I’m just wondering, what is the greatest lesson you learned from the American Idol experience?

J. Sparks: I don’t know, this whole process has kind of made me a better person and everything. I’ve loved everything about it. It’s taught me how to emote better and it’s taught me to be a better performer and it’s definitely taught me how crazy a week’s schedule can be. It’s made me a better person, and I wouldn’t have traded it for anything.

And my second question is who has been the greatest influence in your life?

J. Sparks: I guess that would definitely have to be my family. They all are just so amazing and they’ve been so encouraging, and have been supporting me since I told them that I wanted to sing. It was so awesome seeing them in the audience that night. They deserve all the credit, because they’ve been there pushing behind me 100%.

I wanted to ask you a little bit more about your family and what you remember about your dad being a New York Giant and growing up and spending time in New Jersey and in the city of New York.

J. Sparks: I remember is pretty well. I loved that he was playing football, because I love the sport myself. When he was playing it was really cool because we would go to the games and we would watch. It was just so amazing, because my dad, he’s such a people person and he’s so nice. Afterwards we’d have to walk around and he would sign autographs and stuff. He was just one of the nicest people you could ever meet, and so I really looked up to him for that.

He actually told me the other day how weird it was that he was watching me sign autographs, because I used to watch him do the same thing. So … kind of came full circle.

How many times did you come into the city itself? Did you used to come and spend the weekends in the city? Were there favorite spots you had that you used to go hang out in?

J. Sparks: We lived pretty close, like a 20-minute drive from Manhattan, so we were there quite a lot. We went to Broadway, obviously, and we love the All Star Café. That was an awesome place to eat; oh my gosh, I love that place. I think when I go out there hopefully I’ll get to stop by; I would love to.

We’re wondering, obviously the big American Idol victory was the pinnacle of your life; you couldn’t even imagine something so big. But by contrast, what were the pinnacles of your life before Idol? What were the greatest moments before this?

J. Sparks: You’re going to laugh at me, but getting my braces off. I’m just a quirky 17-year old girl, and getting my braces off was awesome. I did get my license, and that was cool eventually. And then just making it through the first round of the auditions, it amazed me because I didn’t think I had a chance because so many people auditioned. But just the normal things--braces and getting my license.

And other than the minute you were declared the winner, what was the most memorable American Idol moment for you?

J. Sparks: Singing with Gladys Knight was just so amazing; I can’t even put into words how amazing that was. I remember she walked out on the stage during rehearsal and I couldn’t believe that I was going to be singing with her. When she came out that night me and Melinda just looked at each other like oh my goodness, I can’t believe this is happening. It was so amazing.

Thank you to FOX for allowing us to participate in this media call. I also want to thank all the FORTers for the great question contributions this season. I tried to get as many in as possible but as we got down to the end I had a hard time getting any in.

[Google]

 

[Unklescott]

Thanks for taking the time to do all of these interviews this year Gnome.
I don't know, do you think Jordin could have said I don't know just a little bit more. God love her I hope she stays she as sweet and innocent as she is now.

[jasmar]

She seems to have a lovely, huge heart, but boy what cheesy taste in music! I hope she grows well as a musician, and wish her the best. She's a sweetie. Thanks, YG.

[Blues Songstres]

Oh, to be 17, and like, not know anything.

She wasn't my choice to win, and I'm not likely to buy her CD, but I wish her the best.

Great job all season with these interviews, Yardgnome. It's been truly enjoyable!

[famita]

Yardgnome, great recaps this season! Looking forward to next season!!!