Jordin Sparks; Jordin Sparks

Jordin Sparks won the sixth season of American Idol on May 27th 2007 against the beat-boxer, Blake Lewis. And ever since then, her debut album has been highly anticipated by the pop crowd. Being the first in the series to own the image of a pop artist perfectly, Sparks had a large crowd of devoted followers.

The album was released on November 20th 2007 and has plummeted Sparks to stardom. The album spawned four Top 20 Billboard singles, one Top 10 Billboard singles and one Top 3 Billboard singles. Sparks worked with the crowd who have previously written songs for the likes of Destiny's Child, Beyonce, Mariah Carey, Britney Spears and the more recent Katy Perry. Two more collaborators worth mentioning are the young hip-hop star, Chris Brown: and the swedish Grammy nomiated artist, Robyn. With such a talented bunch behind her, Sparks no wonder gave one of the best pop albums of all time. The song choices were perfect, her vocals were spot-on, the singles were chart-toppers. What more could a person ask for?!

The tracklisting for the album are as follows;

1. Tattoo
2. One Step at a Time
3. No Air ft. Chris Brown
4. Freeze
5. Shy Boy
6. Now You Tell Me
7. Next To You
8. Just For The Record
9. Permanent Monday
10. Young and in Love
11. See My Side
12. God Loves Ugly
13. This Is My Now

As mentioned earlier on, the song choice is remarkable. All of the songs have given Sparks the base she needed to propell herself into the air waves. Upbeat tracks like 'Young and in Love' and 'Shy Boy' express the hip-hop orientated side of Sparks extremely well, they really make you want to dance. 'See My Side' which happens to have Robyn as one of featured writers on the album is a pop song, which seems to fit extremely well. Sparks can handle pop tunes with the proficency of a skilled craftsman, it's no wonder that track like 'Tattoo' and 'One Step at a Time' gained success quickly.

Further on the album, Sparks displays her R&B friendly side more with the likes of tracks like 'Next To You', 'Just for the Record' and 'Now You Tell Me'. Her soulful side, which was the primary reason she was my favorite in the sixth season comes across like a breath of fresh air in song like 'Permenant Monday' and 'No Air'. The latter is a particular favorite of many people, the collaboration with Chris Brown was a stroke of genius. They both seem to push eachother to the better ranges of their voice. Inputted are the required emotion and the melody is strings the heart. It's one of the most beautiful songs of 2008.

'God Loves Ugly' seems to be picked up from the Disney shelf, and is a tongue-in-cheek tuned to melody response to the numerous shout-outs made to the general public accusing Sparks of being over-weight when she was on Idol. 'This Is My Now' is the main reason she managed to take the crown from Blake Lewis, is the last track on the album and is the perfect closing material. It encapsules the idea that Sparks is headed for fame and recognition. The debut album was definitely a success. Great going, Sparks!

Copyright © Saad Khan 2009 (Karachi, Pakistan; saadkhalidkhan@gmail.com)