January 15, 2008 @ 11:53 am

Jordin Sparks, "Jordin Sparks"

by: Jason King

Reviewing the debut album by an American Idol teen queen. From VIBE's February 2008 issue.

JORDIN SPARKS
Jordin Sparks
(Jive)

Seventeen-year-old Jordin Sparks boasts the distinction of being American Idol''s youngest winner in six seasons. But she's also the first one to get passed over for a record deal by Clive Davis' RCA Label Group. Even though the Glendale, Ariz.-reared Sparks has a rangy, Disney-style voice that Idol judges praised for its maturity, it's conceivable that her squeaky-clean MOR persona might have been a serious mismatch for Davis' edgier, street-influenced approach to urban crossover.

Sparks' debut honors that Wal-Mart-safe image — and it reeks of generic blandness. Norway's Stargate crew (of Beyoncé's 2006 "Irreplaceable") produces a third of the album, and their synth-driven, one-size-fits-all approach buries the natural charisma that made Sparks a weekly Idol  favorite. And then on Bloodshy and Avant's electro-pop "Shy Boy," Sparks fades into a wallflower while rejecting dance-floor advances from "fly" and "bad" boys — but she can't generate the lustiness required to carry off the sexy club joint. Only "No Air," a lilting mid-tempo Underdogs-produced duet with Chris Brown, manages to project a little spunk. Sparks should tear at least one page from the book of label mate/train wreck Britney Spears, who somehow gave us one of this year's most raucous pop albums, bursting with effervescent, adrenalizing beats. For now, Miss Sparks struggles to live up to the promise of her surname.

Article tags: American Idol, Chris Brown, Jordin Sparks 

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