Jordin Sparks

Jordin Brianna Sparks was born on December 22, 1989, in Phoenix, Arizona, to Jodi Wiedmann Sparks and Phillippi Sparks, a former professional American football player who served as a defensive back for the New York Giants. Sparks has a younger brother, Phillippi "PJ" Sparks Jr., who played football at Arizona Christian University. Her father is African American and her mother is of German, English, Scottish, and Norwegian descent. During her father's time with the Giants, the family lived in Ridgewood, New Jersey, before eventually returning to Phoenix, where Sparks attended Northwest Community Christian School through eighth grade and later Sandra Day O'Connor High School. She was subsequently homeschooled by her maternal grandmother, Pam Wiedmann, to allow greater focus on her singing career. Wiedmann had managed Sparks from the age of nine onward. Sparks is an evangelical Christian and attended Calvary Community Church in Phoenix.

Before her national breakthrough, Sparks built an early performance record in Arizona and beyond. She regularly sang the national anthem at events for the Phoenix Suns, Arizona Cardinals, and Arizona Diamondbacks, and appeared with Alice Cooper in his 2004 Christmas show. In 2006 she toured with Christian contemporary artist Michael W. Smith. That same year she won talent competitions including Coca-Cola's Rising Star, the Gospel Music Association Academy's Overall Spotlight Award, America's Most Talented Kids, Colgate Country Showdown, and the Drug Free AZ Superstar Search. She was also selected as one of six winners in the Phoenix Torrid search for the Next Plus Size Model, resulting in a full-page advertisement in the December 2006 issue of Seventeen magazine.

Sparks auditioned twice for the sixth season of American Idol in the summer of 2006, first in Los Angeles, where she did not advance past the first round, and then in Seattle after winning Arizona Idol, a talent competition run by Phoenix Fox station KSAZ-TV. On May 23, 2007, at age 17, she won the sixth season of American Idol, becoming the youngest winner in the series' history. A self-titled EP featuring four songs she had performed on the show, including the coronation single "This Is My Now," was released on May 22, 2007, the day before the finale. "This Is My Now" peaked at number fifteen on the Billboard Hot 100. Sparks subsequently participated in the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2007, which ran from July 6 to September 23, 2007.

Following her Idol victory, Sparks signed to 19 Recordings/Jive Records, becoming the first Idol winner to join the label. Her debut single, "Tattoo," was released on August 27, 2007, peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100, and was certified platinum in both the United States and Australia, with over two million copies sold in the U.S. Her self-titled debut studio album followed on November 20, 2007, debuting at number ten on the Billboard 200, earning RIAA platinum certification, and selling over two million copies worldwide. The album's second single, "No Air," a duet with Chris Brown, peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. It remains the third highest-selling song by an American Idol contestant, with three million digital copies sold in the United States.

Her second studio album, Battlefield, was released in 2009 and debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200. Its lead single of the same name reached number ten on the Billboard Hot 100, making Sparks the only American Idol contestant to have their first five singles peak within the top twenty of that chart. Following a five-year absence from recording, Sparks signed with Salaam Remi's label Louder Than Life, an imprint of Sony Music, and released her debut mixtape, #ByeFelicia, in 2014. Her third studio album, Right Here Right Now, followed in 2015, and her fourth album, Cider & Hennessy, was released in 2020. A fifth album, No Restrictions, followed in 2024. As of February 2012, Sparks had sold 1.3 million albums and 10.2 million singles in the United States. Her accolades include an NAACP Image Award, a BET Award, an American Music Award, a People's Choice Award, and two Teen Choice Awards. In 2009, Billboard ranked her 91st Artist of the 2000s Decade, and in 2012 VH1 placed her at number 92 on its list of the 100 Greatest Women in Music.

Sparks has also released several fragrances, including Because of You... in 2010 and both Fascinate and Ambition in 2012. She made her feature film debut as the titular character in Sparkle in 2012.

Sparks expanded into stage work between 2008 and 2016, appearing on Broadway in productions including In the Heights and Waitress. She made her Broadway debut as Nina Rosario in In the Heights in 2010.