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Access Atlanta > American Idol Buzz > Archives > 2008 > January > 21
Monday, January 21, 2008
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!
