Bio
Jordin Sparks is an American pop and R&B recording artist, songwriter and occasional actress who rose to fame as the winner of the sixth season of the reality television competition American Idol, in 2007.
Sparks was born in Staten Island, New York to Phoenix, Arizona-native Jodi Wiedmann and Phillippi Sparks, a former NFL football player. Her father is African American and her mother is Caucasian.
She has a younger brother called PJ ( Phillippi Sparks, Jr). Sparks is managed by maternal grandmother, Pam Wiedmann. Her aunt Shari is an actress & model. Sparks is currently homeschooled.
She is a fan of football, reading, and music. Sparks is a Christian and often performs at Calvary Community Church, having been singing since she was 18 months old. She is a resident of Glendale, Arizona.
In 2007, Sparks appeared on the January 17th broadcast of the sixth season of American Idol, earning a "gold ticket" and the right to appear in the Hollywood Round. Before going on to AI, she won Arizona Idol.
In 2006, Sparks was one of two winners who won the Phoenix Torrid search for the "Next Plus Size Model". She was flown to California where she was used in a number of Torrid ads and promotional pieces.
A full-page ad for Torrid featuring Jordin ran in the December, 2006 issue of Seventeen magazine.
Sparks finished second in 2004 at the coveted Music in the Rockies national competition for aspiring Contemporary Christian Music artists.
In 2004, Sparks appeared in America's Most Talented Kids twice, and won in her first appearance. She was one of seven to appear in a special championship edition of the show.
This appearance followed two noted auditions in 2003, one with American Juniors and the other, Star Search.
Sparks has performed the national anthem at various sporting events, notably the Phoenix Suns, the Arizona Cardinals, and the Arizona Diamondbacks.
She has also sung in such events as Country Thunder, a famous country music venue.
She has appeared with celebrities Alice Cooper (in his 2004 Christmas show) and has twice toured with Christian contemporary singer Michael W. Smith.
Smith has shown support of Sparks by encouraging Idol viewers to vote for her on his website.
Sparks recorded an album titled For Now in 2003, a five-song album at the age of thirteen, working with Matthew Ward, a legendary Christian music artist, and Gary Leach, an engineer who has worked on several of LeAnn Rimes' albums.
She appeared in a compilation album titled Live at Mr. Lucky's in 2004.
As an actress, Sparks has appeared in several plays, starring in a dual role as characters Deborah and Bea in Magdalene at the Plumbline Theater in Franklin, Tennessee.
She has also performed several times with Valley Youth Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona. Her first appearance was in March 2002 as an Emerald City dancer and as a poppy in The Wiz.
She also appeared in VYT's production of Cinderella in June 2002 and another production of The Wiz in August 2002.