| Jordin Sparks |
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The Girl has talent! At an age when most teens are looking forward to a carefree summer break, Jordin Sparks at 17, graced the stage as the youngest American Idol winner and spent the summer months crafting her eponymous debut album. Honing all the confidence, class and breathtaking range of emotion that put her at the epicenter of the entertainment world for most of 2007, Jordin is pouring everything into her upcoming album due out on 19 Recordings/Jive Records in November.
Sparks was born in Phoenix, Arizona to Jodi Weidmann and former NFL defensive back Phillippi Sparks. She has a younger brother PJ (Phillippi Sparks, Jr) who plays football himself. She lived briefly in Ridgewood, New Jersey, and attended Orchard Elementary School. After living in New Jersey, Sparks attended Northwest Community Christian School in Phoenix, Arizona through the eighth grade. Sparks attended Sandra Day O'Connor High School until 2006, then she was homeschooled to better concentrate on her singing. She is of African American and Caucasian descent, and stands 5'10" tall. [2] Sparks is a committed Christian and attends Calvary Community Church in Phoenix, Arizona. On her "American Idol" biography, she thanks her parents and God for her win.She wears a purity ring that symbolizes her desire to remain pure until marriage. She also appeared on the cover of World, an Evangelical Christian news magazine. She won an award for best young artist of the year in Arizona for three years. On her MySpace page, she displayed a picture of herself posing next to a sign that said "Stop Abortion Now", creating some controversy.] In 2006, Sparks won second place in the 2006 Drug Free AZ Superstar Search. Sparks appeared on the January 17, 2007 broadcast of American Idol, earning a "gold ticket" and the right to appear in the Hollywood Round. American Idol judge Randy Jackson made the offhand prediction that, "Curly hair will win this year," which he admitted wasn't Sparks. Before going on to American Idol, she had won Arizona Idol. In 2006, Sparks was one of six 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 Sparks ran in the December 2006 issue of Seventeen magazine
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