Jordin Sparks (album)
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Jordin Sparks is the major-label eponymous debut album from the Grammy nominated 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. It has produced four top twenty singles, with "Tattoo" reaching the top ten (number 8) on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and "No Air" reaching the top three. The album has sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide to date. The album was certified Platinum by the RIAA in the U.S. on December 12th, 2008.[1]
Background
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.[2] 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, 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.[3] 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".[4][5]
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.
Album covers
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 (in stores and on iTunes) until "No Air" came out in that country. The US/Canada cover was originally released in Australia until "No Air" was released, in which the new cover was released.
Singles
- The first single released was "Tattoo", which was released to U.S. radio on August 27, 2007.[6] 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,[7] 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.[8] Both "Tattoo" and "No Air" have been certified platinum by the RIAA.[9] "No Air" has also reached number 1 in both the Australian and New Zealand singles charts. "No Air" was the #1 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 17 on the Hot 100 giving Jordin her fourth consecutive Top 20 single.[10] She is the only American Idol contestant to have their first 4 singles be a Top 20 Hit.
Year | Single | Chart positions[11][12][13] | Certification | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
U.S. | UK | AUS | CAN | IRE | NZ | GER | EU | |||||
Hot 100 | Pop 100 | R&B | ||||||||||
2007 | "This Is My Now" | 15 | 16 | — | — | — | 25 | — | — | — | — | — |
"Tattoo" | 8 | 6 | — | 24 | 5 | 3 | 48 | 12 | 19 | 28 | Platinum[9] | |
2008 | "No Air" (duet w/ Chris Brown) | 3 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 3 | Platinum[9] |
"One Step at a Time" | 17 | 5 | — | 16 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 2 | 55 | 9 | — |
Other notable songs
- 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.
Reception
Critical response to the album has been generally favorable. 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."[14] 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."[15]
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Tattoo" | Ian Dench, Mikkel S. Eriksen, Amanda Ghost, Tor Erik Hermansen | 3:53 |
2. | "One Step at a Time" | L. Evans, Mich Hedin Hansen, Jonas Jeberg, Robbie Nevil | 3:26 |
3. | "No Air with Chris Brown" | Harvey Mason Jr., Damon Thomas, James Fauntleroy Ⅱ, Erik Griggs | 4:24 |
4. | "Freeze" | Dench, Eriksen, Ghost, Hermansen, Jordin Sparks) | 4:13 |
5. | "Shy Boy" | Klas Åhlund, Henrik Jonback, Christian Karlsson, Pontus Winnberg | 3:22 |
6. | "Now You Tell Me" | Amund Bjorklund, Espen Lind, F. Storm | 3:07 |
7. | "Next To You" | J. Cates, E. Kiriakou, L. Robbins | 3:17 |
8. | "Just for the Record" | Johnta Austin, Amund Bjorklund, Espen Lind, Eriksen, Hermansen | 3:56 |
9. | "Permanent Monday" | Walter Afanasieff, Kiriakou, Robbins | 4:12 |
10. | "Young and in Love" | Cathy Dennis, Jonback, Karlsson, Winnberg | 3:24 |
11. | "See My Side" | Åhlund, Robyn, Karlsson, Winnberg | 3:44 |
12. | "God Loves Ugly" | C. Black | 4:15 |
Bonus Tracks (Bonus tracks edition released November 20, 2007)
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
13. | "This Is My Now" | S. Krippayne, J. Peabody | 3:51 |
14. | "Virginia Is for Lovers (Digital Bonus Track)" | Eriksen, Hermansen, Ghost, Dench, Sparks | 3:25 |
15. | "Save Me (Digital/Christan Store bonus track)" | Kasia Livingston, Fernando Garibay | 3:40 |
16. | "Worth the Wait (Digital/Wal-Mart bonus track)" | Cates, Kiriakou, Robbins, Sparks | 3:37 |
Personnel
- 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, and Emanuel Kiriakou
Production
- Producers: Stargate, Jonas Jeberg, Cutfather, Robbie Nevil, The Underdogs, Erik "Bluetooth" Griggs, Bloodshy & Avant, Espionage, Emanuel Kiriakou, Klas Ahlund, 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
Release history and charts
The album entered the Billboard 200 at number ten, and has since sold over 1.5 million copies.[16] 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 12th, 2008.[17]
Chart positions
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Release history
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References
- ^ http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&title=&artist=Jordin%20Sparks&format=&album=&perPage=25
- ^ "Archuleta signed with Jive". Jive.
- ^ Graff, Gary (August 13, 2007). "Season Six Idol Stars Prepping Debut Albums". Daily News. Retrieved 2007-09-20.
- ^ Graff, Gary (July 2, 2007). "Idol Sparks Juggling Touring, Recording". Daily News. Retrieved 2007-09-20.
- ^ Jordin Sparks AIM Interview - AOL Music
- ^ Jordin Sparks signs with Jive Records group - Access Hollywood - MSNBC.com
- ^ Release Date
- ^ Flo Rida Starts Tenth Week Atop Hot 100
- ^ a b c d RIAA search for Jordin Sparks. RIAA Gold & Platinum. Accessed April 22, 2008. Cite error: The named reference "RIAA" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ FMQB: Radio Industry News, Music Industry Updates, Arbitron Ratings, Music News and more!>Access Atlanta
- ^ a b "Jordin Sparks worldwide chart positions and trajectories". aCharts.us. Retrieved December 22, 2007. Cite error: The named reference "acharts" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ All Billboard Charts
- ^ Top 50 Singles Chart - Australian Record Industry Association
- ^ Jordin Sparks
- ^ Jordin Sparks | Music Review | Entertainment Weekly
- ^ [1]
- ^ http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&title=&artist=Jordin%20Sparks&format=&album=&perPage=25
- ^ Australian ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart. Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved on June 8, 2008.
- ^ http://www.rianz.org.nz/rianz/chart_facts.asp
- ^ http://www.ukchartsplus.co.uk/ChartsPlusYE2008.pdf
- ^ [2]
External links