Jordin Sparks was born in Phoenix, Arizona in 1989, the daughter of former professional football player Philippi Sparks. Though only 17 years old at the time, Sparks had enough charm and talent to beat out thousands of other competitors to win first place in the sixth season of the popular FOX musical variety show American Idol. Since her American Idol debut, Sparks’ fame has been rising steadily worldwide, compounded by multiple TV appearances and the release of her first album, Jordin Sparks.

The young songstress started her musical career early, drawing inspiration from Beyonce Knowles, Aretha Franklin, and Whitney Houston. Before becoming the youngest contestant to ever win American Idol, Jordin Sparks won a number of other musical competitions including the statewide Arizona Idol event and the 2006 Drug Free Arizona Superstar Search. In the wake of her American Idol victory she signed a record deal with Jive Records (home label to fellow rising R&B star Chris Brown) and released her first self-titled album on Jive in late 2007.

Proving that her American Idol success was no fluke, Jordin Sparks’ first album debuted respectably at the #10 spot of the Billboard Top 200 and went on to sell over a 600,000 copies to date, earning a coveted gold certification from the RIAA. The album’s first single "Tattoo" (her first top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100) was quickly followed up by "No Air", a duet with Chris Brown that reached the #5 spot of the Hot 100 list. Sparks plans to release her next single, "One Step At A Time", sometime in 2008.

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