Jordin Sparks signs with Jive Records group

Latest ‘American Idol’ champion to release single ‘Tattoo’ on Aug. 27

“American Idol” Season Six winner Jordin Sparks, the show’s youngest winner ever, has signed to 19 Recordings/Jive Records, becoming the first “Idol” winner to join the label group.

Her first single, “Tattoo,” will be released to U.S. radio on Aug. 27. Her debut album is due out in November. “Tattoo” was produced by the hit-making duo Stargate (Béyonce, Ne-Yo) and co-written with Amanda Ghost, whose impressive credits include James Blunt’s “Beautiful” and “Beautiful Liar” with Beyonce and Shakira.

Jordin is the first artist to sign with the Zomba Label Group — all past “Idol” winners and runners-up have signed with the RCA Label Group’s J (Fantasia, Ruben Studdard), Arista (Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks) or RCA (Kelly Clarkson, Chris Daughtry, Clay Aiken) labels.


“We’re thrilled to welcome the partnership with 19 Recordings and Jordin Sparks as the first ‘Idol’ winner to make her home at Jive,” stated Barry Weiss, CEO and president of Zomba Label Group (ZLG). “Her poise, her amazing vocal ability, her relentless optimism has been apparent to millions of fans all around the world. We’re honored to have this burgeoning worldwide superstar on Jive Records.”

Clive Davis, Chairman of BMG, U.S., also commented: “Jordin is a terrific young singer who has found a great home at Jive. Barry and his successful team know how to patiently nurture career artists, and Jordin Sparks hints of a legacy and longevity waiting to be fulfilled.”

“ ‘American Idol’ has truly been a life altering experience,” Jordin said. “Signing with 19 Recordings/Jive and Barry Weiss and his great team is hopefully the beginning of another dream opportunity for me to deliver the kind of meaningful music I love. I can’t wait to share this next chapter of my story with all the fans that have supported me so far.”

Simon Fuller, “American Idol’s” creator agreed: “You couldn’t find a better match in or out of this business than Jive Records, 19 Recordings and Jordin Sparks.”


The Zomba Label Group consists of record labels Jive, LaFace, Volcano, Verity, GospoCentric and Fo Yo Soul. These labels represent a varied group of artists including Justin Timberlake, R. Kelly, Usher, Tool, Ciara, Chris Brown, Pink, Britney Spears, OutKast, Kirk Franklin, Three Days Grace, 311, Nick Lachey, T-Pain, Byron Cage, Bullet For My Valentine, Buddy Guy, Living Things, Anthony Hamilton, Donnie McClurkin, John P. Kee, Fred Hammond, Hezekiah Walker, Marvin Sapp, Kelly Price, J. Moss and Backstreet Boys.

Jive is a division of the Zomba Label Group which is itself a part BMG U.S. (part of Sony/BMG). Clive Davis is the head of BMG U.S. and will also help mentor Jordin’s career.


Copyright 2007 by NBC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Jordin Sparks is ‘a normal, quirky 17-year-old’

'American Idol’ winner also admits to having a crush on Brad Pitt

Attention, Brad Pitt: “American Idol” winner Jordin Sparks has a crush on you.

“He’s just really cute,” Sparks, 17, said Friday, hastening to note that she doesn’t know the actor. Pitt is currently involved with an older woman, Angelina Jolie.

Two days after besting beatboxer Blake Lewis in the TV talent contest, Sparks took part in a teleconference in which she was grilled about everything from her favorite star to what she thought her earning power would be.


“I don’t know. I’m just looking forward to doing the best that I can do,” the teenage diplomat replied.

Sparks, the youngest “Idol” in the Fox show’s six seasons, is making the rounds of TV shows in Los Angeles and New York before she returns home to Glendale, Ariz., later next week for a break.

“It’s been pretty crazy,” she said, sounding hoarse but still as upbeat as the average teenager. Which is what she is, Sparks said.

“I’m just a normal, quirky 17-year-old,” she said. Her biggest moments before “American Idol” were getting rid of her braces and gaining her driver’s license.

‘Hollywood needs to get over it’How will she stay grounded, resisting entertainment industry pressures that can include an extreme emphasis on weight?

“Oh, that super-thin stuff — Hollywood needs to get over it,” she said lightly.

Asked what she’ll sing on the “American Idol” concert tour with other finalists, she wasn’t ready with an answer. But she probably won’t focus too much on Lewis’ specialty of beatbox sound-effects.


“He’s tried to teach me but I’m really horrible at it,” Sparks said.

In a separate teleconference Friday, Lewis, 25, of Bothell, Wash., was asked if he thought the contest might be permanently more hip because of him.

“I can only hope that it keeps the contemporary edge,” he said, including when it comes to the recording artists brought in to advise contestants.

This season, golden oldies singer Barry Gibb and Peter Noone were among those playing “Idol” mentor.

When it came to his choice of songs, Lewis said he stayed true to the music he’s been making for years, with influences including ’80s dance tunes and hip-hop. He deliberately picked one song, Keane’s “Somewhere Only We Know” to show he was more than a beatboxer.

He was using “my ‘strategery,’ as George Bush would say,” Lewis said, becoming perhaps the first “Idol” contestant to crack a politically aware joke.


He admires candor, Lewis said a few moments later, responding to a question about the on-air support he got from “The View” hosts Rosie O’Donnell and Elisabeth Hasselbeck. (O’Donnell left the show Friday after a dustup with Hasselbeck.)

“I love Rosie O’Donnell. She just says whatever she wants,” he said, adding that’s his style as well. “I’m pretty honest and blunt and sometimes a little tactless.”

© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed

Jordin Sparks becomes youngest "American Idol" winner

Seventeen-year-old diva Jordin Sparks won the 2007 "American Idol" television singing contest on Wednesday, beating an older, more offbeat, male rival to become the youngest ever winner of the coveted title.



Sparks, who captured the hearts of viewers of the most popular U.S. TV show with her bubbly personality and big voice, beat 25-year-old Blake Lewis in a contest that was decided by a telephone vote in which record 74 million votes were cast.

The two finalists embraced after host Ryan Seacrest announced the result with Sparks, dressed in a long, flowing gold gown, having difficulty catching her breath.

"Thank you so much for everything -- Mom and Dad, I love you!" said the emotional teenager.
In its sixth season, "American Idol" has grown from a cheesy summer talent competition into a cultural phenomenon that draws about 30 million viewers twice a week to the Fox network, owned by News Corp.

The show puts contestants through auditions and performances that showcase musical genres ranging from country to hard rock and has produced a list of successful stars from both its winners and losers. About 100,000 people auditioned for the show's sixth season.

On Wednesday night's show at Hollywood's Kodak Theater, four of the show's five previous winners -- Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Ruben Studdard and Taylor Hicks -- performed a medley of Beatles tunes with the show's top 12 finalists.
"American Idol" has also become a coveted forum for established artists to be seen, a

nd Wednesday's star-studded event included performances by Gwen Stefani, Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight, Tony Bennett and Green Day.

American Idol: Hell to the ''Now''!

In the last performance show of season 6 of ''American Idol,'' Jordin may have clinched her victory over Blake with her version of a cheesy custom-made song, ''This Is My Now''

By Michael Slezak
Blake was kicked around by the judges tonight, but on the other hand, he underperformed. Jordin got overhyped, but a year or two from now, she's probably going to be giving Kelly and Carrie a run for their record sales. And I still kind of miss Melinda — but not nearly as much as I do Elliott.

If all that sounds a little conflicted and contradictory, well, that's because those two words sum up exactly how I'm feeling at the end of a final performance night — and, indeed, an entire Idol season — that's continuously tested my allegiances, alternately enraged me, bored me, and thrilled me, and left me never quite certain where I stood. On most matters, that is.
Thankfully, there are at least three subjects where I'm willing to throw down a definitive opinion:

For starters, this wasn't (as some media pundits have suggested) the worst group of Idol finalists ever; it's just that they suffered by comparison with the extraordinary folks of season 5, and from the producers' decision to devote way too much airtime to guest mentors, man-on-the-street interviews, and so much other hooey that had nothing to do with the actual contestants. I'd argue that every one of this season's top six was a stronger performer than at least one corresponding finisher from season 4 (Scott Savol and Constantine Maroulis), season 3 (Jasmine Trias and John Stevens), season 2 (Carmen Rasmusen), and season 1 (Nikki McKibbin).

Second, and with all due respect to Simon and Randy, if Idol really and truly is a singing competition, then the winner went home last week.

And finally, if the best song that America's aspiring tunesmiths can come up with is ''This Is My Now,'' then bring back the people who gave us ''Do I Make You Proud.''

I mean, if the goal here is to produce a viable hit single, then why not let Blake release ''Time of the Season'' and Jordin go with ''I (Who Have Nothing).'' Because no radio station I know (or want to know, anyway) is going to play a record with a chorus that goes, ''My fears behind me/Gone are the shadows and doubt/That was then/This is my now,'' especially when it's paired with a melody that tastes like a fondue made of melted Smarties, Skittles, and Jujyfruits.
Why not just drop the last ''w'' in the song title and call it ''This Is My No''?
Ugh!

As far as I'm concerned, it would be prudent to toss both Blake and Jordin's renditions of this so-called song directly into the same musical landfill where Katharine McPhee's ''My Destiny,'' Bo Bice's ''Long Long Road,'' and Clay Aiken's ''This Is the Night'' are quietly decomposing.

But since I imagine most voters are considering all six of tonight's performances, I'd have to give the ''This Is My Now'' round to Jordin. Granted, the opening three or four lines of Jordin's performance were almost as rocky as Ryan's failed attempt to score a laugh with that awful ''So the bitch is okay'' joke about Paula's Chihuahua. And of course, none of the judges seemed to feel it was their duty to call Jordin on it. But the last two-thirds of the performance was strong and sure — especially that massive, victory-sealing glory note. Oh, how I wish the kid had ended it there, instead of attempting the ''I'm overcome with emotion'' voice crack on her final two lines.

Seriously, I might buy Jordin's first album come the holidays, but I am in no way buying her sob-sister act. On the plus side, though, Jordin's limited acting skills will probably dissuade Nigel Lythgoe from greenlighting From Blake to Jordin.

On the same note, Blake's not much of a thespian, either, seeing that he could barely hide his ennui while wobbling his way through ''This Is My Now.'' Yeah, the song was about as well suited to his style as Jordin's lacy black dress with organza overlay, but I still subscribe to the principle that if you're gonna bring it, you better sing it. Instead, as Blake opened the number seated at the back of the stage, his urge to lean all the way back and welcome a visit from the Lunesta butterfly was palpable, at least until he started that spastic bouncing fit. My guess is that Blake's inner hipster was overcome with the desire to infuse the moribund track with some of that beatboxing all the kids are talking about, while his inner nerd lobbied for a respectful line reading. The result was musical turmoil; it occasionally seemed that Blake was singing in a different key than the backing vocalists, and compared with Jordin's oil tanker of a big note, the spiky-haired underdog's was more of a dinghy.

Lucky for Blake, he defeated his rival in the ''greatest hits'' portion of tonight's battle — which was no small feat considering that Jordin's encore of ''A Broken Wing'' was every bit as strong as her stellar country-night performance of the track. I'd have to dispute Randy's claim that it was ''better than the original,'' but Jordin's emotional connection to the material (not to mention her ability to hit every note) was so impressive that I quickly stopped paying attention to the distracting eagle decal on her navy blue blouse, as well as the lighting and camera angles, which seemed to be signaling that the 17-year-old contestant was a glorious gift from above.

Blake got no such love from the camera crew on ''You Give Love a Bad Name,'' most of which seemed to be shot either through the crook of the drummer's elbow or from somewhere on the left side of row 37 in the Kodak Theater. But who cares? Simon was right that the beatboxer's nifty twist on the creaky Bon Jovi anthem was the performance of the night; I'd say of the entire season. I was worried that a second helping (on only three weeks' rest) would be less invigorating, but boy, was I wrong. Blake's beatboxing was faster and funkier, he seemed more confident and connected with the crowd, and, without the ''Wha?'' factor in play, it was even more obvious how Blake's ''Bad Name'' stands on its own as a modern, chart-worthy pop track, and not just as a gimmicky performance in the confines of a reality TV competition. (And Randy's ''just aiight'' critique merely proved that he's vastly less relevant than Paula — even on her loopiest night.

Speaking of She Who Tripped Over Her Yipper, I'm going to do something really shameful (but honest) and, with the score tied at one-one, declare a dead heat between Jordin and Blake in the last category we're discussing tonight, the ''contestants' choice.'' Because, really, while both were perfectly good, neither performance was so definitively awesome that it's likely to sway voters from their predetermined candidates.

Jordin's choice of Christina Aguilera's ''Fighter'' was certainly the gutsier of the two. All season long, the perky teenager has struggled with up-tempo numbers, and syncopation has not been her strong suit. Indeed, Jordin was just a smidge behind the beat from the very start of ''Fighter,'' fell even further back on the bridge, then missed the words ''so cruel'' and found herself ahead of the music. But all that aside, the kid proved willing to return to the rock-tinged genre where she failed so absolutely on Bon Jovi night. And while she was really just coloring inside Xtina's lines, she did it well enough that it didn't quite smell like karaoke, either.

And, hey, her rival's cover of Maroon 5's ''She Will Be Loved'' wasn't his most innovative performance, either. Granted, Blake's vocal was slightly more laid-back than Adam Levine's original, and I loved the falsetto twist he put on that final ''broken smile,'' but as Simon said, it wasn't exactly the showstopper you'd expect for the finals — especially considering Blake had just covered the same artist exactly seven days ago. I mean, is this a man who dreams of, say, winning a Grammy someday or of fronting a Maroon 5 cover band? I know, I know, a lot of Blake fans have been saying their guy doesn't actually want to win the whole thing, but riddle me this: Four out of the five previous Idol runners-up (Justin, Diana, Bo, and Katharine) have all failed to go platinum, so how will second place benefit Blake? Given the fact that Jordin had a more sizable fan base heading into tonight's show, and seeing that Blake didn't do nearly enough to sway the Sparks-pluggers in his direction, I'm guessing we'll find out. Here's hoping Paula's ''we're all winners!'' mantra extends to the top two or, better still, the top four.

What did you think of tonight's show, and who's going to take home the big prize on Wednesday? What was more of a shock — Blake winning the coin toss and choosing to go first, Randy appearing on national television in that hideous gray jacket with the gold chains, or Paula's un-be-weavable hair? And who was your favorite bizarre celebrity sighting for the night? (My vote goes to Kathy Griffin!)

‘Idol’ 101: Who's who, and how does it work?

Jumping on the bandwagon? Your guide to everything from Abdul to a'ight

By Craig Berman
MSNBC contributor

“American Idol,” which completes its sixth season this week, has become a pop-culture phenomenon, and anyone not familiar with it risks being left out of all the conversations and speculation at the office and over the Internet. But despite what the ratings may say, not everyone in the known universe watches the show.

Haven’t been able to tear yourself away from “Criminal Minds” long enough to get a sense of what this strange obsession is all about? Here’s a quick primer on what everyone else is talking about.

The Format“American Idol” isn’t rocket science. Singers sing. Judges make comments. Viewers pick the winner.

Essentially, it’s just that simple. “Idol” has become a ratings juggernaut by taking the plain old talent show, polishing it up with glitz and glamour, and making it look like something new and different.

There are a few key wrinkles. This isn’t a one-viewer, one-vote affair. It’s more like stereotypical Chicago politics, where partisans are encouraged to vote early and often. Those with a tendency to obsess over their favorite entertainers have a natural outlet for their fanaticism.

But at its roots, “Idol” is the talent competition every town has at the local civic center, except that it’s on national television and the prize isn’t a gift certificate to Applebee's.

The show is also a global phenomenon. The program began in Britain, as "Pop Idol," and has expanded across the globe. At this point, it’s hard to find a country that doesn’t have its own version of the show, so any complaints about this being a sign of low-brow nature of American entertainment doesn’t wash. Turn to “My Super Sweet 16” for those discussions instead.

The Judges

Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul, and Simon Cowell have been the ruling troika since the show’s first season. Occasionally a guest judge joins them, but normally they look as out of place as a mom tagging along to a senior prom.

Once they've selected the 24 semifinalists, the judges' role in the competition is limited to offering commentary. But they still have a lot of power because their opinions carry significant weight. As the competition tightens, the talent difference between the contestants tends to shrink. If they tell the audience to vote for Pedro, a significant crowd will do just that. So the contestants have to smile and pretend to take the judges seriously even as they’re wondering how any of them can, for example, claim to have never heard of a contemporary hit that’s on the radio 12 times an hour.

Randy is the first to give comments. If he likes a contestant, look for him to use “dawg,” “hot” and “the bomb” in various combinations. The more of those words he uses, the better he likes the performance. “You were the bomb, dawg – that was hot” is the generic compliment of choice. On the other hand, a contestant never wants to hear Randy start off with “Keeping it real.” That’s almost always followed by either “it was just a’ight for me” or “it wasn’t good.”

Anyone daring to sing something by Stevie Wonder, Whitney Houston, or anyone else Randy either worked with or idolized is a good bet to get those kind of comments.

Paula is the cheerleader, and as such she smiles and says nice things even as it sometimes appears that she isn’t really paying attention in class. Her comments on the vocals tend to be a mirror of whatever Randy just said, but she’s always good for an additional compliment on how nice the contestant looks (they all look "beautiful" or "fabulous".) Even when Paula offers criticism, she does so with good cheer and makes them sound more palatable, offering a glassful of sugar to help the medicine go down. Any contestant who hears Paula’s feedback and doesn’t feel good about themselves is probably in serious trouble.

Simon is the only judge who matters. Don’t believe it? Just ask him.

Simon’s main talent is saying critical things in a nasty way and getting away with it because he’s usually right and he always says it in a British accent. A contestant doesn’t sing poorly, he sings like a bad cabaret performer in a nightclub in Lisbon. He’s gotten away from creative similes this season, which may be why the ratings are a little down.

On the other hand, Simon tends to be looking for a specific sound from a specific singer, and that changes every week depending on his mood.

He’ll tell people to take more risks one week, and then complain that he hasn’t heard of the song selected or he doesn’t like the arrangement when the singer actually takes his advice. Anyone who picks an alt-rock or college-radio song written in the past decade does so knowing that Simon’s going to comment that he’s unfamiliar with it. On the other hand, those who stick to the standards will probably get gripes about sounding old.

The contestants take Simon’s comments more seriously than the rest, because the perception is that his words carry more weight. They’ll nod as Randy and Paula make their observations, but the big smile breaks out only if Simon also approves.

Blake Lewis or Jordin Sparks? Idol viewers equally divided

Now that Melinda Doolittle has been eliminated, the remaining two contestants on “Idol”, finalists Blake Lewis and Jordin Sparks, are pitted against each other in this week's final showdown.

Either way, whoever wins or loses is guaranteed a recording contract, the stakes being that high for the top finalists each season. Look at Jennifer Hudson, Carrie Underwood and Chris Daughtry's successful careers.

“I want to win it, but at the same time, I find it’s not going to be the end of the world if I don’t,” said 17-year-old Sparks in a phone interview with various media outlets. “I would be happy if I won and I would be happy if Blake won.”

Lewis has only the kindest praise and admiration for Sparks too. This season had some scandalous stuff occur, with New Jersey girl Antonella Barba’s photos on the internet to Sanjaya Malakar.

Time to predict the winner, who will be this year's Idol?

American Idol: Jordin vs Blake in the final

In one of the most shocking results in any American Idol season, the odds-on favourite Melinda Doolittle got voted out. After moments of anguish, PHILIP LIM regains his composure and talks about what happened on Wednesday night.

ALL three contestants, Melinda Doolittle, Jordin Sparks and Blake Lewis sang their hearts out. In my book, Blake was the weakest of the trio. A major part of the Idol watchers population thought it was going to be a Melinda-Jordin final, and Melinda was way, way out in front.

But by early Thursday morning, news filtered through that Melinda got the boot. A minor pandemonium broke out in parts of America and in some offices in Malaysia. What can this be? Melinda was easily the best. Simon believed so himself, so did I and millions of others standing in her corner.

I just have to say it: America, what were you thinking? Journalists, bloggers and even betting syndicates were all rooting for Melinda. The word out on the street was Melinda’s the one to beat in the final. And now this. This piece of shocking news is almost like a tsunami coming in unexpectedly at the break of dawn.

Now that the force of Melinda’s dramatic exit has dropped to Category One, let’s talk about what happened on the night when all three gave it their best shot.

Each of the three remaining contestants had to sing three songs. The first was chosen by one of three judges: Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell. The second song was picked by the producers and the third was the contestant’s own choice. Jordin was the first on stage and Simon picked Wishing On A Star for her. If anyone had expected Jordin to falter at this stage, they were disappointed.

Her vocals rose to the occasion and impressed all her fans, family and friends in the audience. I, for one, keep on forgetting that she’s just 17 years old. At this late stage of the competition, it’s good to be reminded that she’s the youngest of the trio.

Her splendid rendition of the song justified all the singing trophies she had won over the years.

This time, she clearly went for broke. Randy, not one for superlatives, remarked “that was a very good vocal”.

Kind-hearted Paula made Jordin break into a smile with “you did a beautiful job”. Even Simon had to give credit to a brilliant performance. However, he said he didn’t like the musical arrangement.

Since Wednesday night was the semi-finals, I suspect the three judges had agreed beforehand not to be too harsh with the contestants.

Thus when Blake sang his first song Roxanne, picked by Paula, I thought he sounded quite unspectacular. This is the American Idol after all, and I had expected nothing less than great from everyone.

Paula chickened out and refused to commit herself, thereby earning a verbal swipe from Simon — “cop-out!”

Simon didn’t hide his feelings at all — “I want to see my girl Melinda in the final!” My instant reaction was “me, too!”

So now the showdown will be between Jordin and Blake, right down the wire. It could go either way. Jordin has a lot of young fans her age. Blake also has a lot of young fans, mostly girls. It should be fairly interesting but minus the oomph, now that Melinda’s not around.

I am going out now to calm down my nerves with a big bowl of wantan noodles and a glass of hot Chinese tea.

Ryan Seacrest thinks Sanjaya will get the boot, Jordin Sparks will win

The American Idol host is confident outside attempts to hijack the contest cannot stop the vocally challenged Sanjaya Malakar from eventually getting the boot because, "America hones in and gets rid of who needs to go and the best usually stay."

"Everywhere I go, people have been screaming at me to get rid of Sanjaya," Seacrest told People. "And I say, 'Too bad, you're doing it.'"

It is believed Sanjaya, 17, has survived in the contest so far because of the ability of websites like votefortheworst.com and satellite radio host Howard Stern to manipulate the show simply as a joke.

Seacrest is confident the viewers will eventually assert themselves.

"America hones in and gets rid of who needs to go and the best usually stay," he said.
He believes 17-year-old Jordin Sparks stands the best chance of being the next American Idol.

"She represents fantastic qualities," he says. "She's a great singer and a pretty girl. She's non-threatening, cute and attractive. Plus, she has this sincere likeability that is rare and genuine."