Jordin rules ‘American Idol’ winner Sparks is flying

While most 17-year-olds are busy juggling homework with part-time jobs and mall excursions, the most recent and youngest “American Idol” has a new job that gives her cross-country tours, little sleep and less time at home.

Since Sparks was crowned the latest Idol in a victory over beatboxing, spikey-haired Blake Lewis, her life has been a nonstop itinerary of “Idol” touring and work on her self-titled debut album, which drops Tuesday on 19 Entertainment/Jive Records.

“The whole process was very, very, very crazy,” Sparks said from Los Angeles. “Right after the show, I did the tour. And the days I had off I was recording, so it was like five shows a week, and then recording on a day that I was supposed to be resting. It was very insane. But (the CD) turned out very, very well, and I’m very excited.”

The album’s musical slant is hard to define: a mix of pop, r & b and even ’80s flair, a nod to Sparks’ influences, which include Whitney Houston, Bon Jovi, gospel music, teen pop pin-ups Hanson and her personal idols, Nat King Cole and Etta James.

“I’ve got a really, really, really broad taste,” she said. “If you saw my iPod, it’s full of the most random things. I didn’t really have a specific sound, actually. I love so many different things that I didn’t really want to be put in a box. I kind of wanted to have a mix of everything.”

Sparks’ powerful pipes belie the fact that she had no formal vocal training before her “Idol” run. She says that contrary to horror stories about “Idol” artists being handcuffed to the creative direction of their albums by professional handlers, she was pleasantly surprised by the collaborative process.

The Glendale, Ariz., native was heavily involved in shaping the album’s sound and co-wrote “Freeze,” a song about her great-grandmother, who died a week before Sparks was introduced to the musical track.

“I was writing this poem about her,” she said. “So when this song came up, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is so perfect. We were totally meant to write this song.’ So there are some lines in there that are actually from what my great-grandmother said. It’s very cool; it’s very personal.”

Sparks says her family has helped to keep her grounded. Her rare trips home prove that although her life has shifted into overdrive, she hasn’t changed.

“I’ve only been home about a week and a half out of this whole year since ‘Idol’ started, so it’s been pretty crazy,” she said. “It’s been like two days here, half a day there. But when I do go home I get to see some of my closest friends, and the cool thing is they don’t treat me any different. They treat me exactly the same.

“Because I am still the exact same person,” Sparks said. “It’s just that things around me have changed.”

source: http://news.bostonherald.com/entertainment/music/general/view.bg?articleid=1045375