Jordin Sparks
Studio album by
Jordin Sparks
ReleasedNovember 20, 2007 (2007-11-20)
Length49:08
Label
Producer
Jordin Sparks chronology
Jordin Sparks (EP)
(2007)		 Jordin Sparks
(2007)		 Battlefield
(2009)
Alternative cover
Australian, UK, and iTunes Deluxe Version cover
Singles from Jordin Sparks
  1. "Tattoo"
    Released: August 27, 2007
  2. "No Air"
    Released: February 11, 2008
  3. "One Step at a Time"
    Released: June 10, 2008

Jordin Sparks is the debut album by the American pop and R&B singer Jordin Sparks, released on November 20, 2007, in the United States, and November 27, 2007, in Canada. In the United States, it debuted at number ten on the Billboard 200 with sales of 119,000 copies in the first week. It has produced four top twenty singles, with "Tattoo" reaching number eight on the US Billboard Hot 100, and "No Air" reaching number three. The album has sold over 3 million copies worldwide, her best-selling album by far.[1] Sparks supported the album with the As I Am Tour and Jesse & Jordin LIVE Tour. The album was certified Platinum for sales in excess of 1,000,000 by the RIAA in the US on December 12, 2008.[2]

Background

Sparks won the sixth season of American Idol. On August 17, 2007, it was announced Sparks had signed to 19 Recordings/Jive Records/Zomba Label Group, becoming the first Idol to join the label group, the second being David Archuleta the following year.[3] All past Idol winners and runners-up are or were signed with the RCA Label Group’s J (Fantasia, Ruben Studdard), Arista (Justin Guarini, Taylor Hicks, Blake Lewis) or RCA (Kelly Clarkson, Bo Bice, Clay Aiken, Katharine McPhee, Chris Daughtry, Diana DeGarmo and idol successor David Cook) labels, with the exception of Carrie Underwood signed to Arista Nashville. Sparks has stated that she recorded some songs for the album but the bulk of the recording was done in Los Angeles after the tour was over.[4] She said the album would be "Top 40, radio-friendly, uplifting stuff" hopefully mixing "the pop rock sound of inaugural Idol Kelly Clarkson with the R&B edge of Beyoncé".[5][6]

Release and promotion

Jordin confirmed on her MySpace that the official track listing as well as the release would carry bonus tracks at Wal-Mart, Sony, and the iTunes Store. An exclusive video of the photoshoot for Jordin Sparks was posted on Sparks' YouTube channel in October, where snippets of "Permanent Monday", "Overcome" and "One Step at a Time" could be heard. There are two available covers of the album, one for the US and Canada, and one for the UK and Australia, although the US and Canada cover was available in the UK and Australia (in stores and on iTunes) until "No Air" came out in those countries, in which the new cover was released. The song "Permanent Monday" was featured in the Salt Lake City audition episode on the 8th season of American Idol. The song "Young and In Love" & "This Is My Now" were featured in spirit episodes of MTV's The Hills.

Singles

  • The first single released was "Tattoo", which was released to U.S. radio on August 27, 2007.[7] The song became the album's first top ten hit, peaking at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100.
  • The second single released was "No Air", a duet with Chris Brown,[8] which reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100. On February 28, 2008 Billboard stated that "No Air" was the top digital sales gainer after selling 73,000 downloads.[9] Both "Tattoo" and "No Air" have been certified platinum by the RIAA.[2] "No Air" has also reached number one in both the Australian and New Zealand singles charts. "No Air" was the number one song of 2008 in New Zealand.
  • The album's third single, "One Step at a Time" was released on June 10, 2008 and peaked at seventeen on the Hot 100 giving Sparks her fourth consecutive Top 20 single.[10] She is the only American Idol contestant to have all of their first four singles become Top 20 hits.

Other songs

  • "This Is My Now" was released after the victory of Sparks on American Idol. The song reached the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100, but never received official release as an album single.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic67/100[11]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[12]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[13]
Rolling Stone[14]
Slant Magazine[15]
USA Today[16]

Critical response to Jordin Sparks has been generally positive. At Metacritic, which assigns a rated mean out of 100 from mainstream critics, the album received a score of 67, which indicates "generally favorable reviews."[11] In his review for Billboard, Gary Graff stated that Sparks brought "a first effort that's all over the map—and works" while sounding "like exactly what she should be singing at this age and juncture in her career."[17] USA Today found that her debut played to Sparks' "strengths. Her clear, appealing vocals and bubbly enthusiasm are wedded to clean-cut pop songs, more mature than Disneypop but thoroughly wholesome and ultra-catchy. The usual raft of international producers combine to deliver a consistently captivating sequence of songs."[16]

Boston Globe critic Sarah Rodman called the album a "satisfying debut." She found that "on her self-titled debut, Sparks and a cast of au courant pop producers combine that sense of sparkle, striving, and her powerful pipes for an age-appropriate, uniformly pleasant release that shouldn't disappoint those voters."[18] Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B+ rating, saying her debut "is as much effervescent fun as any post-Idol bow" and added "Idol has crowned winners with even bigger voices, but it hasn't given us one who's any easier on the ears."[13] Sal Cinquemani, writing for Slant Magazine, described the album as "a savvy mix of the latest pop and R&B trend [that] truly soars."[15]

Washington Post journalist Kevin O'Donnell called Jordin Sparks "a fairly consistent disc of polished pop" that includes "more misses than hits."[19] Kelefa Sanneh from The New York Times felt that Jordin Sparks "sounds like a mirror-image version" Britney Spears's Blackout (2007), with both projects reyling on "adventurous electronic pop."[20] Rolling Stone critic Rob Sheffield was critical with Sparks' vocal performance on the album, writing that her "ballad voice is nowhere near as strong as it was on the show." He also noted that the "album shrewdly positions her in hip-hop-flavored R&B; which is interesting because it's one style she never touched on [Idol] (unless No Doubt counts)."[14] Jason King from Vibe found that Jordin Sparks honors her "Wal-Martsafe image – and it reeks of generic blandness. Norway's Stargate crew produces a quarter of the album, and their synths bury the natural charisma that made Sparks a weekly Idol favorite."[21]

Commercial performance

The album debuted and peaked at number ten on the US Billboard 200 chart, with first weeks sales of more than 119,000 copies.[22] It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on December 12, 2008.[23][2] By May 2011, the album had sold more than 1.0 million units domestically.[24][25] In the United Kingdom, Jordin Sparks was released on April 14, 2008, but did not enter the UK Albums Chart until July 2008, where it peaked at number 17.[26]

Track listing

Jordin Spark track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Tattoo"
Stargate3:53
2."One Step at a Time"
3:26
3."No Air" (with Chris Brown)
4:23
4."Freeze"
Stargate4:13
5."Shy Boy"
3:22
6."Now You Tell Me"
Espionage3:07
7."Next to You"
Kiriakou3:17
8."Just for the Record"
Stargate3:56
9."Permanent Monday"
Kiriakou4:12
10."Young and in Love"
  • Bloodshy & Avant
  • Wyatt[b]
3:24
11."See My Side"
  • Bloodshy & Avant
  • Åhlund
  • Wyatt[b]
3:44
12."God Loves Ugly"Christa BlackStephen Lipson4:15
13."This Is My Now" (bonus track)
Lipson3:51
Walmart edition[27]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
13."Worth the Wait"
  • Cates
  • Kiriakou
  • Robbins
  • Sparks
Kiriakou3:37
14."This Is My Now"
  • Krippayne
  • Peabody
Lipson3:51
iTunes Store edition bonus tracks[28]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
13."Virginia Is for Lovers"
  • Sparks
  • Eriksen
  • Hermansen
  • Ghost
  • Dench
Stargate3:25
14."Save Me"
Garibay3:40
15."No Air" (acoustic version) (with Chris Brown)
  • Mason, Jr.
  • Thomas
  • Fauntleroy II
  • Griggs
  • Scala
  • Russell
  • The Underdogs
  • Griggs[a]
4:13
16."This Is My Now"
  • Krippayne
  • Peabody
Lipson3:51
Reissued digital deluxe edition bonus tracks[29]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
13."Virginia Is for Lovers"
  • Sparks
  • Eriksen
  • Hermansen
  • Ghost
  • Dench
Stargate3:25
14."Save Me"
  • Garibay
  • Livingston
Garibay3:40
15."Worth the Wait"
  • Cates
  • Kiriakou
  • Robbins
  • Sparks
Kiriakou3:37
16."This Is My Now"
  • Krippayne
  • Peabody
Lipson3:51

Notes

  • ^[a] signifies co-producer(s)
  • ^[b] signifies additional vocal producer(s)

Personnel

Musicians

  • Vocals – Jordin Sparks (tracks 1-2, 4, 6-9), (Lead- 3, 5, 10-12)
  • Featuring vocals by: Chris Brown (track 3) (Jive)
  • Background vocals – Tracy Ackerman (track 12), Sheree Ford Brown, Cathy Dennis (10), James Fauntleroy (3), Steve Russell (3), Chau Phan (5, 11)
  • Guitar — Dave Rainger, Henrik Jonback, Corky James, Andrew Hey, and Ian Dench
  • Bass — Henrik Jonback, Alex Al, Emanuel Kiriakou, and Walter Afanasieff

Production

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for Jordin Sparks
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[44] Gold 35,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[45] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[46] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[23] Platinum 1,045,000[24]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release dates and formats for Fantasia
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States November 20, 2007 [47]
Canada November 27, 2007
Australia March 29, 2008 Sony Music
New Zealand
United Kingdom April 14, 2008
Brazil April 20, 2008 CD
Germany July 4, 2008
  • CD
  • digital download
Poland September 1, 2008 CD
Italy February 6, 2009 [48]

References

  1. ↑ Parker, Lyndsey (2010-11-24). "Does Winning 'American Idol' Even Matter Anymore?". Music.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on 2011-12-06. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
  2. 1 2 3 "Recording Industry Association of America". RIAA. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2012-02-26.
  3. ↑ "Archuleta signed with Jive". Jive. Archived from the original on 2008-08-20.
  4. ↑ Graff, Gary (August 13, 2007). "Season Six Idol Stars Prepping Debut Albums". Daily News. Retrieved 2007-09-20.
  5. ↑ Graff, Gary (July 2, 2007). "Idol Sparks Juggling Touring, Recording". Daily News. Retrieved 2007-09-20.
  6. ↑ "Jordin Sparks AIM Interview". Music.aol.com. Archived from the original on 7 May 2009. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  7. ↑ "Jordin Sparks signs with Jive Records group - Access Hollywood - MSNBC.com". Today.com. 2007-08-17. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
  8. ↑ "Release Date". Fmqb.com. Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
  9. ↑ "Flo Rida Starts Tenth Week Atop Hot 100". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
  10. ↑ FMQB: Radio Industry News, Music Industry Updates, Arbitron Ratings, Music News and more! Archived 2013-09-21 at the Wayback Machine>Access Atlanta Archived 2008-09-02 at the Wayback Machine
  11. 1 2 "Jordin Sparks Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  12. ↑ Thomas, Stephen (November 20, 2007). "Allmusic review". Allmusic.com. Retrieved May 20, 2012.
  13. 1 2 Willman, Chris (November 16, 2007). "Jordin Sparks". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  14. 1 2 Sheffield, Rob (November 29, 2007). "Jordin Sparks: Jordin Sparks". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 7, 2008. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  15. 1 2 Cinquemani, Sal (November 20, 2007). "Review: Jordin Sparks, Jordin Sparks". Slant Magazine. Retrieved May 20, 2012.
  16. 1 2 "This week's reviews: Jordin, MercyMe, OneRepublic, Freeway, Seal, Saves the Day, Queensryche". USA Today. Archived from the original on October 4, 2008. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  17. ↑ Graff, Gary. "Billboard review". Billboard. Archived from the original on 18 November 2007. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  18. ↑ Rodman, Sarah (November 20, 2007). "'American Idol' winner makes satisfying debut". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on October 7, 2008. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  19. ↑ O'Donnell, Kevin (November 20, 2007). "With a Little Push, A Rookie Idol Shows Her Range". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 20, 2012.
  20. ↑ Sanneh, Kelefa (November 11, 2007). "New CDs". The New York Times. Retrieved May 20, 2012.
  21. ↑ King, Jason (March 3, 2008). "Jordin Sparks, "Jordin Sparks" (Music)". Vibe. Archived from the original on March 8, 2008. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  22. ↑ Kaufman, Gil (July 29, 2009). "Demi Lovato Achieves First #1 Debut With 'Here We Go Again'". MTV.com. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
  23. 1 2 "American album certifications – Jordin Sparks – Jordin Sparks". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  24. 1 2 De Moraes, Lisa (May 23, 2011). "American Idol finale: After 10 years, the beat goes on". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 12, 2011.
  25. ↑ "Idol Chatter: American Idol News, Rumors, & Information". USA Today. May 7, 2010. Archived from the original on June 26, 2008. Retrieved May 7, 2010.
  26. 1 2 "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  27. ↑ "Jordin Sparks – Jordin Sparks (2007, Walmart Exclusive Edition, CD)". Discogs.com. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  28. ↑ "Jordin Sparks (Bonus Track Version) by Jordin Sparks on iTunes". 4 July 2008. Retrieved 26 December 2021 – via Apple Music.
  29. ↑ "Jordin Sparks (Deluxe Version) by Jordin Sparks". 20 November 2007. Retrieved 26 December 2021 – via Apple Music.
  30. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Jordin Sparks – Jordin Sparks". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  31. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Jordin Sparks – Jordin Sparks" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  32. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Jordin Sparks – Jordin Sparks" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  33. ↑ "Jordin Sparks Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  34. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Jordin Sparks – Jordin Sparks" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  35. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Jordin Sparks – Jordin Sparks" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  36. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 48, 2007". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  37. ↑ "Charts.nz – Jordin Sparks – Jordin Sparks". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  38. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  39. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Jordin Sparks – Jordin Sparks". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  40. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Jordin Sparks – Jordin Sparks". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  41. ↑ "Jordin Sparks Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  42. ↑ "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 2008". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
  43. ↑ "Billboard 200: Year End 2008". Billboard. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  44. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2008 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  45. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Jordin Sparks – Jordin Sparks". Music Canada. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  46. ↑ "British album certifications – Jordin Sparks – Jordin Sparks". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  47. ↑ "Jordin Sparks (Album) by Jordin Sparks". iTunes Store. Apple. Retrieved 2012-05-02.
  48. ↑ "Jordin Sparks - Jordin Sparks - cd di Jordin Sparks - - disco di Jordin Sparks - IBS". Ibs.it. 2012-02-06. Retrieved 2012-02-26.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.