Jordin Sparks may have been the youngest American Idol when she won the title on the reality show’s sixth season, but the Glendale, Arizona, resident had already packed plenty of accomplishments into 17 years. By her early teens, Sparks was singing, acting in plays and modeling and already winning acclaim for her talents. In 2006, Sparks auditioned for American Idol; while she didn’t make the cut, she later won Arizona Idol, which allowed her to audition again for the show. Ultimately, Sparks beat out Blake Lewis to become the sixth American Idol on May 23, 2007. The single “Tattoo” preceded her self-titled debut album, which arrived in time for the 2007 holiday season. It also spawned the 2008 hit “No Air,” which featured Chris Brown and peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Sparks returned in summer 2009 with Battlefield, which was heralded by its namesake single. Throughout her career, Sparks has won numerous awards, including a NAACP Image Awards, a BET Award, an American Music Award, a People’s Choice Award and two Teen Choice Awards. As of February 2012, she has sold 1.3 million albums and 10.2 million singles in the United States alone, making her one of the most successful American Idol contestants of all time. On July 22, 2013 it was announced that Sparks would make her return to the music industry after a four-year solo material hiatus. RCA Records released the first promotional single, “Skipping a Beat,” on August 1, 2013 on SoundCloud. Jordin released Right Here Right Now in 2015. Jordin Sparks is just getting started and she’s a hot act on the road.
