Jordin Sparks (album)

Jordin Sparks
Studio album by Jordin Sparks
Released	November 20, 2007 (2007-11-20) (see release history)
Recorded	June–October 2007
Genre	Pop, R&B
Length	45:17 59:48 (deluxe edition)
Label	Jive, 19
Producer	Stargate, Jonas Jeberg, Cutfather, Robbie Nevil, The Underdogs, Erik "Bluetooth" Griggs, Bloodshy & Avant, Espionage, Emanuel Kiriakou, Klas Åhlund, Stephen Lipson
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
"Tattoo" Released: August 27, 2007 "No Air" Released: February 11, 2008 "One Step at a Time" Released: June 10, 2008

Jordin Sparks is the self-titled debut studio album by American pop and R&B singer Jordin Sparks. It was released on November 20, 2007 in the United States and November 27, 2007 in Canada and Christian music stores. In 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 8 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 runner-ups 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 tracklisting 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.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[11]
Billboard	(favorable)[12]
The Boston Globe	(favorable)[13]
Entertainment Weekly	(B+)[14]
Jesus Freak Hideout	[15]
The New York Times	(favorable)[16]
Rolling Stone	[17]
Slant Magazine	[18]
USA Today	[19]
Vibe	(mixed)[20]
The Washington Post	(mixed)[21]

The album entered the Billboard 200 at number ten, and has since sold over one million copies.^[22] It was released in the UK on April 14, 2008 but did not enter the UK album charts until July 2008, where it peaked at number 17. The album was certified Platinum in the U.S. on December 12, 2008.^[2]

Critical response to the album has been generally favorable.^[23] Billboard stated Jordin 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."^[24] Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B+ 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."^[25]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Tattoo"	Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, Amanda Ghost, Ian Dench	Stargate	3:53
2.	"One Step at a Time"	Robbie Nevil, Lauren Evans, Jonas Jeberg, Mich Hansen	Jeberg, Cutfather, Robbie Nevil	3:26
3.	"No Air" (with Chris Brown)	Harvey Mason, Jr., Damon Thomas, James Fauntleroy II, Erik Griggs, Mike Scala, Steve Russell	The Underdogs, Erik "Bluetooth" Griggs*	4:23
4.	"Freeze"	Jordin Sparks, Eriksen, Hermansen, Ghost, Dench	Stargate	4:13
5.	"Shy Boy"	Christian Karlsson, Pontus Winnberg, Henrik Jonback, Klas Åhlund	Bloodshy & Avant	3:22
6.	"Now You Tell Me"	Frankie Storm, Espen Lind, Amund Bjørklund	Espionage	3:07
7.	"Next to You"	Lindy Robbins, Emanuel Kiriakou, Jess Cates	Kiriakou	3:17
8.	"Just for the Record"	Johnta Austin, Eriksen, Hermansen, Lind, Bjørklund	Stargate	3:56
9.	"Permanent Monday"	Kiriakou, Robbins, Walter Afanasieff	Kiriakou	4:12
10.	"Young and in Love"	Karlsson, Winnberg, Jonback, Cathy Dennis	Bloodshy & Avant	3:24
11.	"See My Side"	Karlsson, Winnberg, Åhlund, Robin Carlsson	Bloodshy & Avant, Klas Åhlund	3:44
12.	"God Loves Ugly"	Christa Black	Stephen Lipson	4:15
13.	"This Is My Now" (bonus track)	Scott Krippayne, Jeff Peabody	Lipson	3:51

iTunes bonus tracks[26]
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
13.	"Virginia Is for Lovers"	Sparks, Eriksen, Hermansen, Ghost, Dench	3:25
14.	"Save Me"	Fernando Garibay, Kasia Livingston	3:40
15.	"No Air (Acoustic Version)" (with Chris Brown)	Mason, Jr., Thomas, Fauntleroy II, Griggs, Scala, Russell	4:13
16.	"This Is My Now"	Krippayne, Peabody	3:51

iTunes deluxe edition bonus tracks[27]
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
13.	"Virginia Is for Lovers"	Sparks, Eriksen, Hermansen, Ghost, Dench	3:25
14.	"Save Me"	Garibay, Livingston	3:40
15.	"Worth the Wait"	Sparks, Cates, Kiriakou, Robbins	3:37
16.	"This Is My Now"	Krippayne, Peabody	3:51

Wal-Mart bonus track
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
14.	"Worth the Wait"	Cates, Kiriakou, Robbins, Sparks	3:37

Christian Store bonus track
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
14.	"Save Me"	Garibay, Livingston	3:40

(*) Co-producer)

Personnel

Musicians

• Vocals – Jordin Sparks
• Featuring vocals from: Chris Brown (Jive)
• Background vocals – Tracie Ackerman, Sherree Ford Brown, Cathy Dennis, James Fauntleroy, and Chau Phan
• Guitar — Dave Rainger, Henrik Jonback, Corky James, Andrew Hey, and Ian Dench
• Bass — Henrik Jonback, Alex Al, Emanuel Kiriakou, and Walter Afanasieff

Production

• Producers: Stargate, Jonas Jeberg, Cutfather, Robbie Nevil, The Underdogs, Erik "Bluetooth" Griggs, Bloodshy & Avant, Espionage, Emanuel Kiriakou, Klas Åhlund, Stephen Lipson
• Vocal Producer: Andrew Wyatt
• Mastering: Tom Coyne
• Engineers: Mikkel S. Eriksen, Matty Green, Dabling Harward, Andrew Hey, Adam Kagen, Emanuel Kiriakou, Robert Smith, Brian Sumner, Pat Thrall, Tim Weidner and Eric Rennaker
• Assistant Engineers: Jeremy Garrett, Clint Lawrence, Mike Laza, and Eric Rennaker
• Mixing: Henrik Edenhed and Serban Ghenea
• Mixing Assistant: Josh Houghkirk and Nik Karpen
• A&R: Nancy Roof and Jeff Fenster
• Photography: Mary Ellen Matthews

Charts

Chart positions

Country/market	Peak position	Sales	Certification
Austrian Albums Chart	41	30,000	Gold
Australian ARIA Albums Chart[28]	17	50,000	Gold
Belgium Albums Chart	66
Brazil Albums Chart	19	4,000
Canadian Albums Chart	12	70,000	Gold
German Albums Chart	42
Irish Albums Chart	19
Netherlands	41
New Zealand RIANZ Albums Chart	10	7,500[29]	Gold
Swedish Albums Chart	57
Swiss Albums Chart	29
UK Albums Chart	17	120,000	Gold[30]
US Billboard 200[31]	10	1,100,000[32]	Platinum[2]

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label
United States[33]	November 20, 2007	CD, digital download	Jive
Canada	November 27, 2007
Australia	March 29, 2008	CD, digital download on iTunes only	Sony Music
New Zealand
United Kingdom	April 14, 2008	CD, digital download
Brazil	April 20, 2008	CD
Germany	July 4, 2008	CD, digital download
Poland	September 1, 2008	CD
Italy	February 6, 2009[34]

References

External links

• Official Jordin Sparks website
• Jordin Sparks MTV page

Jordin Sparks Discography Awards and nominations Singles Tours Studio albums Jordin Sparks Battlefield Right Here, Right Now EPs and mixtapes Jordin Sparks ByeFelicia Soundtrack Sparkle: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Fragrance Because of You... Fascinate Ambition Tours American Idols LIVE! Tour 2007 As I Am Tour Jesse & Jordin LIVE Tour Jonas Brothers World Tour 2009 The Circus Starring Britney Spears Battlefield Tour NKOTBSB Tour Related articles American Idol (season 6) Jordin Sparks Book Filmography RCA Records Jive Records