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Access Atlanta > American Idol Buzz > Archives > 2008 > January > 21 > Entry
1/21: Talking with Jordin Sparks, who literally now has tattoos
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ABOVE: Jordin Sparks talking to Star 94’s Morning Mess CREDIT: Rodney Ho
I managed to snag a few minutes with Jordin Sparks today between interviews she had with Q100 and Star 94. We met at the Starbucks near the Disco Kroger off Piedmont and Peachtree.
She had a Caramel Macchiato. I had a decaf. What I like about her is how unaffected she is. No pretenses, no neuroses, no guile, no guard up. She possesses a true innocence about her that’s refreshing and hopefully she’ll be able to retain that as long as possible in this cynical, ugly world of show biz. I think there is a real-ness about her that helped her win, a genuine sweetness coupled with her formidable vocal skills. And it comes through in her first hit song “Tattoo,” which last week officially passed the 1 million download sales mark and is almost top 5 on the top 40 charts.
She said after she heard, she spoke to her mom about “going platinum” last week and her mom wasn’t impressed at all, probably because she didn’t know what that really meant. Jordin understands that although her CD has sold a relatively modest 437,000 copies so far, the world is different from what it was even just three or four years ago. CD sales are off more than 40 percent from 2002-03. People are buying downloads now, especially the demo she’s chasing.
As for the song “Tattoo,” which was created by the same guys who did Beyonce’s “Irreplaceable,” she admitted it has a similar vibe. But she loved it. “I didn’t even get through the first chorus when I said, ‘I have to have this song!’ ” She also loved that the song has become a true hit. Although she has already sung it publicly many many times on talk shows and other events, she doesn’t mind and knows she won’t be sick of it anytime soon. “It’s MY song! I’m not singing someone else’s song!” she said with youthful enthusiasm. It’s a breakup song and though “I haven’t gone through that horrible breakup, a couple of years from now, I might really feel it.”
When she turned 18 last month, she and several of her family members (including her mom and her grandparents!) went to a parlor and all had tattoos. She actually got one a day early: behind her left ear with her brother’s name “PJ.” During her “Idol” year when she was home barely 12 days the entire year until Christmas, she said “I kind of took my brother for granted. He’s 15 and I really missed him.” On her birthday, she got a second one: “Timothy 4:12.” This one is roughly translated as: “Don’t let anyone look down on you for being young. Instead, make your speech, behavior, love, faith, and purity an example for other believers.” In a sense, she sees herself as a role model given her “Idol” victory and wants to act in ways that make people respect her despite her youth. I saw both tattoos, stupidly forgot to take pictures of them. My apologies! They are both tiny and easy to hide if necessary.
One interesting thing that she said, seemingly sincerely, came when we first began talking. I had asked her how things went when she tried the hot videogame Rock Band at Q100 with Jeff Dauler and she said she failed as the vocalist in the game because she didn’t know the words well enough for a song that came out long before she was born: The Clash’s 1982 hit “Should I Stay or Should I Go.” “I failed,” she said. “I never fail at anything.” This could be perceived as arrogance but the way she said it, it was clear she was simply being honest. She’s lived a fairly charmed life, a comfortable existence with supportive family that pushed her to pursue her goals - in this case, singing. And she’s only 18. She hasn’t had a relationship so she hasn’t faced heartache. She has a lot to learn and she knows it.
Her dad Phillippi Sparks is a former New York Giant so she’s naturally psyched to be singing the National Anthem in two weeks in her home state. (She avoided saying anything negative about the New England Patriots but given her dad’s past, she naturally will be rooting for the Giants.). She is naturally nervous about doing the anthem because “if you mess up, they’ll talk about it forever.” When told she was the anthem singer, “I screamed, jumped up and down. We are such a huge football family! I’ve never been to a Super Bowl.” In fact, her dad has never played in a Super Bowl and teased her by saying she made it and he didn’t.
She will also never say a bad thing about “Idol.” (See Chris Daughtry.) She not only is eternally grateful for the opportunities the show has given her but she is, as noted before, “an Idol junkie.” She caught parts of both of last week’s shows despite her busy schedule and she’ll Tivo whatever she misses. (I didn’t have time to ask her about any specific contestants—or simply forgot given the limited time I had.)
Her promotion schedule, save for Christmas, has been virtually nonstop since October. I’m amazed she’s still at it but that shows how aggressive Sony and Jive is in pushing her out there. Besides “Tattoo,” she looks like she has a second hit in her hands with the duet “No Air” with Chris Brown that some stations began playing without record label promotion. That’s always a healthy sign that there’s a demand for the song, which is just starting to chart, has sold quite a few downloads already and could quite possibly become her second top 10 single by March. If it sells as well as I anticipate, her CD could pass Taylor Hicks in sales of 699,000 by April or May and she might bag her second million selling download.
As I write this, she has probably already touched down in New York and has just met up with Chris Brown to do the video for “No Air.” She said she had to record “No Air” separately from Brown last fall but met him at both the BET Awards and the AMAs. She also joked with the Morning Mess about him being her boyfriend but that’s wishful thinking, not reality.
She isn’t sure who she’s going to tour with yet later this year. She is going to do an international promotional tour, too, probably to Asia and Europe in early spring, another sign that the label is confident in her abilities. I asked her about Taylor and Ruben losing their contracts and she said she’d be “devastated” if that happened to her but would keep going on. “I’d be okay,” she said. “I’d just have to go with it. I’d never give up on music,” even if she pursues, say, Broadway or acting like other Idols. Later, with the Morning Mess, she noted, “It could be all taken away in a second. I’m really trying to enjoy everything while I can.” Given her current trajectory, I’d say Jive will certainly give her a second CD when the time comes.
She is also holding her first charity event next week in Arizona, inspired by “Idol Gives Back.” Melinda, Chris Richardson and LaKisha will all be there. More details here..
And congrats to Round Rock, Texas blog reader Bill Parcells, who was the first one to contact me for an autographed Jordin Sparks CD for his sister. It will be in the mail Tuesday, Bill!
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Comments
Commenting is now closed for this entry.
By ,,,=^..^=,,,
January 21, 2008 3:11 PM | Link to this
Looking forward to your report, Rodney :-)
Disco Kroger & Starbucks. Oh Yeah. That brings back memories!!!! I worked for many many years within walking distance!
and god knows, i’m certainly old enough to remember when it truly WAS “Disco Kroger” … really. with the Limelight next door. complete with tigers. and other weird stuff.
ok.
i’m going to go now…. i need to find my wheelchair!!! ~¿@
By Deirdre
January 21, 2008 4:16 PM | Link to this
Ummm! Bill Parcells? Texas???? I thought he moved to Florida! :-)
Looking forward to hearing what Jordin had to say. Tattoos??? Where are her parents?
By ,,,=^..^=,,,
January 21, 2008 4:28 PM | Link to this
LOL!!! good catch Deidre, on the Parcells name…. i looked at it and was like “that name’s familiar…” but… did NOT link it!!! you REIGN, woman!
and yeah…Rodney….tattoos…. when is the Jordin article coming out, LOL!!! does she SHOW you tattoos??? or just talk about ‘em, eh?
By Deirdre
January 21, 2008 4:36 PM | Link to this
I may be old, linny…but I’m still sharp as a tack!!! :-)
By X
January 21, 2008 5:41 PM | Link to this
Jumpin’! 4 posts! Own it! Yeah!
By Deirdre
January 21, 2008 5:50 PM | Link to this
This thread didn’t start until late this afternoon. We did more chatting today on the previous thread…in case you missed it! :-)
By Flats
January 21, 2008 9:47 PM | Link to this
X…..HOLIDAY???PEOPLE BLOG MOSTLY FROM?????..WORK!!!!!
By europa
January 21, 2008 10:40 PM | Link to this
Good grief.The cartoon generation has grown up.Cartoons all over the body….and mind……got to be a joke!A reality check is past due!
By ,,,=^..^=,,, from home
January 21, 2008 11:27 PM | Link to this
Rodney…just got through reading your Jordin interview report…. so she really IS the cool, level headed young lady she seemed. That is so nice to hear! You just never know these days what people will be like “up close and personal” when all you see is what the editors let you see, LOL!
just a note, kf, Mitch, anyone who’s interested…watched Dance Wars and frankly am a little disappointed in the first night of competition… Dancing was pretty ok, albeit not exactly what i was hoping for, from both teams; choreography was just… “ok” … to me; and the singing, overall, well i thought MOST of the performances vocally were average to good, with only a few outstanding moments. I think, however, it has a LOT to do with nerves, and I’m hoping things will get better. It’s a hard call, but i think that Carrie Ann’s team did the most consistently good job. Bruno’s had some outstanding highlights. One BIG huge factor will be if the audience understands the technical glitch that happened during Team Carrie Ann’s first number when Chris’ mic went totally out… he kept singing and performing as if nothing were wrong, which is earns him and the team high marks in my book. Will the average viewer understand that, or count off for the fact that there was no sound from him in that number? Only time will tell!
We were discussing earlier, kf, about the team member being removed by the losing team. Are they to prepare all week for 6 members, then the loser has to perform for the competition with only 5? That could be in interesting situation! Again, I am curious how well it will be handled! It’s a strange notion to me!
We’ll see!!!
Nite nite to anyone who happens to be lurking…. see you guys tomorrow! Day 3 of AI auditions… need i say more?
By Deirdre
January 22, 2008 7:57 AM | Link to this
If Jordin ends up selling more than Taylor…..I liked Taylor a lot but I agree with Simon that Taylor won based more on his popularity than his ability to be a ‘pop star’. However…if I was going to pick who I’d want to listen to in the car driving an hour…Jordin or Taylor…I’d pick Taylor. I like Jordin to…lovely voice but a personality doesn’t come through while she’s singing. I think her age has a lot to do with that.
Morning fellow bloggers! I watched the first hour of DAnce Wars last night and wasn’t all that impressed. When CarrieAnn calls them ‘raw’, I have to agree. I enjoyed the dancing BUT…it seems the outcome will rely more on the personalities of Bruno and Carrie Ann more than the ability of the dancers.
By ,,,=^..^=,,, from home
January 22, 2008 8:13 AM | Link to this
BINGO! astute and probably dead-on accurate assessment, D. Of course we still have 4 weeks i think of dancing…how much can these kids polish up? will this ultimately be a train wreck? i have some serious doubts about the voting/elimination method as to how it will affect the other team members…. the public is SO fickle, and someone’s feelings could be crushed by the whim of who decides to… or not to…. call/email in a vote!
By DJSlim
January 22, 2008 8:20 AM | Link to this
so where is the picture of her Tattoo???
By Deirdre
January 22, 2008 8:25 AM | Link to this
DJ…if you read the article instead of just looking at the pictures…you’d know what happened.
By flats
January 22, 2008 8:26 AM | Link to this
Good morning everyone!!!!Don’t let the special ones ruin it for the rest of us!
By Deirdre
January 22, 2008 8:39 AM | Link to this
Ya know…I think we waste a lot of time worrying about post counts and whether this blog will survive. Of course it will..it already has. As long a idol is on the air, the blog will be active.
Will it be the way it was the last couple of years? Probably not, but that’s not bad news for us or the blog. The blog has changed and will probably change again at some point. Roll with the changes and make the most of them rather than dwelling on the past.
By War Eagle
January 22, 2008 8:58 AM | Link to this
Morning all. It’s good to be back at work so I can get some rest.
By ,,,=^..^=,,,
January 22, 2008 9:02 AM | Link to this
D, were you reading my mind? Of course you were! I was thinking “quality, not quantity”…
back later, apparently today will be a running start!
caio!
By fatma
January 22, 2008 9:07 AM | Link to this
omg jordin is doing an international tour shez coming to Asia in spring! i cant believe!!! omg im so happy! i live in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates I hope jordin comes here!!! :D :D YAAAAY
By fatma
January 22, 2008 9:09 AM | Link to this
omg jordin is doing an international tour shez coming to Asia in spring! i cant believe!!! omg im so happy! i live in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates I hope jordin comes here!!! :D :D YAAAAY
By fatma
January 22, 2008 9:14 AM | Link to this
omg jordin is doing an international tour shez coming to Asia in spring! i cant believe!!! omg im so happy! i live in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates I hope jordin comes here!!! :D :D YAAAAY
By fatma
January 22, 2008 9:16 AM | Link to this
omg jordin is doing an international tour shez coming to Asia in spring! i cant believe!!! omg im so happy! i live in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates I hope jordin comes here!!! :D :D YAAAAY
By War Eagle
January 22, 2008 9:23 AM | Link to this
Hey fatma, If she does come over there it’s OK if you keep her a while. I don’t think she would be missed here very much.
By Deirdre
January 22, 2008 9:23 AM | Link to this
omg is right…fatma…hands off the ‘post’ button!
By kellyfan
January 22, 2008 9:33 AM | Link to this
Good morning, y’all!
Linny, I watched Dance War last night, and I have to say that I was quite disappointed. I enjoyed when all 12 performed better than the teams. I don’t know if it was nerves, but the singing wasn’t up to par. The dancing was ok, but I was expecting a bit more. Of course, it was the first week, we’ll see how they improve. And here is hoping they do, otherwise, this show will go down in flames quickly.
So, did anyone catch Ryan and Simon on Leno last night?
By Deirdre
January 22, 2008 9:38 AM | Link to this
I love Bruno in small doses(like his brief critiques on DWTS). There’s WAY too much of him on this show. If I had been Carrie Ann last night, I don’t think I would have been nearly as diplomatic.
By Rodney Ho
January 22, 2008 10:53 AM | Link to this
Traffic is definitely down on this blog year over year, reflective of the show itself. We can only hope for a season five-like crew of contestants to pep things up, I’d fathom. And yes, DJ Slim, I stupidly forgot to take pictures of the tattoos. Duh….!
By Deirdre
January 22, 2008 11:09 AM | Link to this
We’re in the middle of the horrible auditions period, Rodney. Not much to talk about…once the voting starts, we tend to get rowdy! :-)
By ,,,=^..^=,,,
January 22, 2008 11:10 AM | Link to this
D, I agree… although you did miss the second half, she was not quite so “nice” to the other team! I have a feeling before another whole episode has passed, she’s going to be bringing out the claws!
And Rodney…. you didn’t say, i don’t think, where the Timothy tattoo was, you said PJ is behind her ear… getting a picture of a tiny tatt behind an ear might have been funky, lol!
By Deirdre
January 22, 2008 11:21 AM | Link to this
Also, Rodney…I think the blog format change has both helped and hurt. Some people(especially our detractors) feel more comfortable coming on a non-registered blog…while others are so put off by the posting delay that they have drifted away.
By ,,,=^..^=,,,
January 22, 2008 11:34 AM | Link to this
i never thought i’d say this… but i MISS the “code guy” !!!
By Deirdre
January 22, 2008 11:49 AM | Link to this
I just watched Clay Aiken on The View. He was terrific…full of energy, chatty. He has a healthy respect for the Claymates…indicating that they used to freak him out but he’s gotten used to them. He was very self-deprecating especially when talking about learning how to dance for Spamalot. He was asked if he watches Idol….he said(and I’m paraphrasing) No..and I have to be very careful because I wouldn’t be here without American Idol..nobody would be hiring me…but, it’s like getting an education…you go to high school and college so that you can be where you want to be. I equate American idol with getting my education…I needed it to get me where I am now, but I don’t go back and watch my HS football games. In other words, he, IMO, gave a really good answer to what American Idol does for it’s contestants.
By War Eagle
January 22, 2008 11:57 AM | Link to this
How do you hook up a wireless router???? I got a cable modem for my desk top, does the router plug into the modem??
By Deirdre
January 22, 2008 12:02 PM | Link to this
My modem plugs into my router and the router plus into my computer….that’s all I know…my kid installed it!
By Deirdre
January 22, 2008 12:03 PM | Link to this
Ok…the typo makes it confusing…modem plugs into router…router plugs into computer.
By MItch
January 22, 2008 12:03 PM | Link to this
Hey all.
WE, I have cable internet at home. I have the cable from the wall into the modem. Then a cable from modem to the router and then the router to the PC.
By MItch
January 22, 2008 12:09 PM | Link to this
D, I promise not to complain about the slowness of this blog again. I submitted a post to another blog at 10:10 AM and it posted 5 minutes ago.
By War Eagle
January 22, 2008 12:09 PM | Link to this
OK, I got a new laptop so I need a wireless connection along with a line connection.
By Deirdre
January 22, 2008 12:11 PM | Link to this
Once again, Mitch and I prove that we were separated at birth! :-)
By Shaun
January 22, 2008 12:13 PM | Link to this
Morning all, or should i say afternoon…. WE, call the geek squad, they came out and made my whole house wireless, Yes Deirdre, I am no longer on dial up… yeahhhhh.
By War Eagle
January 22, 2008 12:21 PM | Link to this
How much did that run ya Shaun? If you don’t mind me asking.
By Deirdre
January 22, 2008 12:23 PM | Link to this
Congrats, Shaun!!! Speedy internet AND a Wii! You’ve been busy!!!!
Mitch…I thought the Access Atlanta blogs were the only slow ones. When will they move into the 21st century!
By MItch
January 22, 2008 12:28 PM | Link to this
It is an Access Atlanta blog. It is Cynthia Tucker’s blog.
By Shaun
January 22, 2008 12:35 PM | Link to this
WE $99. And that included the modem, and worth it, we can share files, I can print remotely from anywhere in the house.
By Deirdre
January 22, 2008 12:36 PM | Link to this
So, Access Atlanta is the problem….you’d think a publication that was moving toward enhancing their on-line division woulda fixed the blogs by now, wouldn’t you?
By MItch
January 22, 2008 12:45 PM | Link to this
It does say (and thankfully not here) that Your comment will appear after it has been approved
By War Eagle
January 22, 2008 12:46 PM | Link to this
I’ll check into it Shaun. Doesn’t sound bad for $99.
By Deirdre
January 22, 2008 12:51 PM | Link to this
Can you imagine having to get comments ‘approved’ here??? I mean, it would help with some things but…how would you react the first time you got a disapproval on a comment????
With as much trouble as it causes…I still like the lack of censorship here.
By War Eagle
January 22, 2008 12:59 PM | Link to this
I’d probably couldn’t blog if what I said had to be approved.
By Deirdre
January 22, 2008 1:20 PM | Link to this
I know there are some people who feel that comment approval might have been a good thing over the summer and into the fall. However, I don’t agree! As annoying and ugly as people can be, I believe that we’re all capable of dealing with situations as the pop up. That doesn’t mean that the culprit will be banned or even get punished. It just means that we’re all smart enough to take what is being said and understand just how insignificant it is.
By ,,,=^..^=,,,
January 22, 2008 1:27 PM | Link to this
hear hear!
By Deirdre
January 22, 2008 1:30 PM | Link to this
Besides..War Eagle probably couldn’t blog if what he said had to be approved! :-)
By ,,,=^..^=,,,
January 22, 2008 1:42 PM | Link to this
LOL!!! i, too, am grateful to Rodney for avoiding THAT restriction on our blogging!
speaking of “too”… a co-worker pointed out to me that you cannot write the sentence “There are three ways to spell [the word pronounced ‘tu’]” … because no matter which way you choose to spell it, there are two more ways, too!
By War Eagle
January 22, 2008 2:14 PM | Link to this
I got class again today so everyone let me know how the show goes tonight.
KellyFan, I expect a report on the women from you tomorrow since we have the same taste.
By War Eagle
January 22, 2008 2:29 PM | Link to this
THE EMPTY BOX
The story goes that some time ago a man punished his 5-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of expensive gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and he became even more upset when the child pasted the gold paper so as to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree. Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift box to her father the next morning and said, “This is for you, Daddy.” The father was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction, but his anger flared again when he found the box was empty. He spoke to her in a harsh manner, “Don’t you know, young lady, when you give someone a Present there’s supposed to be something inside the package?” The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and said, “Oh, Daddy, it’s not empty. I blew kisses into it until it was full.” The father was crushed. He fell on his knees and put his arms around his little girl, and he begged her to forgive him for his unnecessary anger.
An accident took the life of the child only a short time later and it is told that the father kept that gold box by his bed for all the years of his life. And whenever he was discouraged or faced difficult problems he would open the box and take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there.
In a very real sense, each of us as human beings have been given a Golden box filled with unconditional love and kisses from our children, family, friends and God. There is no more precious possession anyone could hold.
By Deirdre
January 22, 2008 2:35 PM | Link to this
And on that note(wiping tears away) there’s a new thread up! (just so X can think that’s all the talking we’ve done all day) :-)
By ,,,=^..^=,,,
January 22, 2008 2:43 PM | Link to this
WE, i love that story, it should be read/heard by everyone at least once a week, i swear!
sniff sniff
see you on the up side!