Tag: Jordin Sparks (1-10 of 13)

Jul 24 2012 01:01 PM ET

Full 'Sparkle' soundtrack now streaming; Jordin Sparks calls experience 'Bittersweet'

SPARKS-HOUSTON

Image Credit: Alicia Gbur

The release of Sparkle is still a month away, but the soundtrack album is hitting several weeks earlier, on July 31.

Written largely by R. Kelly and Curtis Mayfield, the album features vocal contributions from Jordin Sparks, Cee-Lo Green, and the late Whitney Houston. A handful of the songs have already been released, and now the entirety of the soundtrack is currently streaming at Essence.

EW spoke to Sparks this weekend about the experience of making Sparkle and dealing with the aftermath of Houston’s sudden passing. “It is hard because it is bittersweet,” Sparks says. “I worked with my idol and that was a dream come true. I used to watch the Cinderella adaptation with her and Brandy every day after school. But she should really be here promoting it with me and [it's] really hard for me to be doing it alone.”

“Singing her song at the Billboard awards was the hardest thing I have ever done,” she explained. “I think the only reason I got through it without sobbing was because she’s up there watching over me.”

Check out the Sparkle soundtrack streaming exclusively over at Essence. The album is in stores next Tuesday, with the movie hitting theaters on August 17.

Additional reporting by Carrie Bell

Read More on EW.com:
‘Sparkle’ soundtrack listing: Whitney Houston’s final recordings coming July 31
‘Sparkle’: Video for Whitney Houston-Jordin Sparks duet ‘Celebrate’ debuts — WATCH
Whitney Houston duets with Jordin Sparks for ‘Sparkle’ track: Hear it here

Additional reporting by Carrie Bell

Jul 2 2012 11:26 AM ET

'Sparkle' soundtrack listing: Whitney Houston's final recordings coming July 31

sparkle-whitney-houston

Image Credit: Alicia Gbur

When Whitney Houston passed away on February 11, there were rumors that she had been working on new music for her own solo album. Since it seems as though said rumors are little more than hopeful speculation, for now we can only assume that the tracks recorded for the upcoming soundtrack to Sparkle will be her last recordings.

The soundtrack listing to Sparkle, which comes out on July 31 in advance of the film’s August 17 theatrical release date, features a total of 11 tracks, including a pair of Houston songs (the solo track “His Eye Is On the Sparrow” and the Jordin Sparks duet “Celebrate”) and a total of seven contributions from Sparks.

Check out the entirety of the soundtrack listing below.  READ FULL STORY »

May 21 2012 12:47 PM ET

Whitney Houston duets with Jordin Sparks for 'Sparkle' track: Hear it here

SPARKS-HOUSTON

Image Credit: Alicia Gbur

When Whitney Houston passed away back in February, she had already finished working on her final film Sparkle, a remake of a rags-to-riches flick from 1976 co-starring Jordin Sparks. That toil included Houston’s final new recordings, including the duet “Celebrate,” which just surfaced this morning.

Like all the music from Sparkle, this tag-team between Houston and Sparks was produced by R. Kelly, and his fingerprints are all over the bubbly backing track and unfussy arrangement.

Houston isn’t asked to do all that much, but the song drives home how authoritative her voice could still be and just how much Sparks’ approach owes to Whitney’s. Give “Celebrate” a spin below. READ FULL STORY »

May 21 2012 05:27 AM ET

2012 Billboard Music Awards: 20 essential takeaways from the show

BILLBOARD-LMFAO

Image Credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Like most music awards shows, the Billboard Music Awards are so not about the statuettes that are doled out. The show — which aired live last night on ABC from the MGM Grand Hotel, with hosts, Modern Family stars Julie Bowen and Ty Burrell — is typically more about everything but the awards: performances, tributes, collaborations, and other sundry craziness.

Hell, even the fashion — hello to Miley Cyrus’ barely-there suit jacket — is more important than the prizes! And that was no different this year. Just a handful of the 46 awards were actually given out during the show (LMFAO dominated), which was jolted to life with performances from Katy Perry, Cee Lo Green, and Linkin Park; tributes to Robin Gibb, Donna Summer, Whitney Houston, the Beastie Boys’ Adam Yauch, and Stevie Wonder; a collaboration between Stevie Wonder and Alicia Keys; and a heartfelt speech by Houston’s daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown.

Here are 20 essential takeaways from the evening:

READ FULL STORY »

Apr 4 2012 09:45 AM ET

Some details on Whitney Houston, Jordin Sparks, and R. Kelly's 'Sparkle' soundtrack, including that Whitney-Jordin duet

SPARKS-HOUSTON

Image Credit: Alicia Gbur

The trailer for the upcoming remake of the 1976 musical drama Sparkle (which stars Jordin Sparks and Whitney Houston) features a few promising snippets of the movie’s music, including bits of “Hooked on Your Love” and “Something He Can Feel,” which Aretha Franklin sang on the original film’s Curtis Mayfield-produced soundtrack. Intrigued? We talked to Sparks and Sparkle director Salim Akil about what to expect from the soundtrack.

–The film will include new versions of most of the original songs, including “Something He Can Feel” (which En Vogue scored a hit with in the early ’90s), “Look Into Your Heart,” and “Jump.” But not the classic title track? “No, not the song ‘Sparkle,’” says Sparks. “Which actually could change, because we’re still working on getting songs on the soundtrack. That could be a possiblilty. I was wondering about that too! I’m actually meeting with people who are working on the soundtrack today. You know what, I’m going to mention that.”

–In addition to some arranging work, R. Kelly wrote two brand-new songs for the movie. READ FULL STORY »

Mar 1 2012 04:07 PM ET

'American Idol' roundup: New music from Kris Allen, Jordin Sparks, Haley Reinhart, and more!

Kris-Allen

Image Credit: Charley Gallay/Getty Images

Yes, a new season of American Idol is just kicking into high gear — but Idol obsessives have ten other seasons worth of contestants to follow, too.

Below, check out a few musical updates from some noteworthy contestants of Idol seasons past.

THIS… is American Idol roundup! READ FULL STORY »

Jan 12 2012 01:59 PM ET

Kelly Clarkson pulls off national-anthem hat trick with slated Super Bowl appearance

Kelly-Clarkson

Image Credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Last year, she sang it at the NBA Finals. The year before that, she sang it at the World Series.

And this year, Kelly Clarkson will get to sing the national anthem at the Super Bowl.

While it hasn’t been officially announced yet — and her publicist told EW that she is unable to confirm it yet — it’s been reported that the inaugural American Idol winner will be on “Star-Spangled Banner” duty at Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis on Feb. 5th. The broadcast will also feature Madonna, Nicki Minaj, and M.I.A. during the halftime show.

This will make Clarkson only the third Idol winner (after Jordin Sparks and Carrie Underwood) to belt the Francis Scott Key tune on Super Sunday, despite the fact that her widely praised vocal talents have always made her a natural candidate for the job.

Then again, Super Bowl organizers might be going the Idol route as a way of playing it safe this year, given Christina Aguilera’s much-criticized blunder last year.

What about you guys? Are you happy with the selection, or are there artists out there who you think deserve it more — or would simply be more interesting — than Clarkson?

Read more on EW.com:
Taylor Swift, Nicki Minaj, Kelly Clarkson, Foo Fighters and more join Grammy performance slate
Madonna enlists Nicki Minaj, M.I.A. for next album
Today in Kelly Clarkson: Yes, she’s ditching ‘Idol’ for the ‘Voice’; no, Ron Paul didn’t actually affect her sales

Jul 6 2011 09:07 AM ET

Jordin Sparks to sing anthem at All-Star game

Tags: , , TV

American Idol champion Jordin Sparks will sing the national anthem at next week’s MLB All-Star Game in her hometown of Phoenix, according to the Associated Press. It won’t be the first major sporting event performance for Sparks, who also sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” before the 2008 Super Bowl.

Sparks and other celebrities, such as Nick Jonas and Chord Overstreet, will also participate in a softball game during All-Star week, leading up to the game on July 12.

May 3 2010 01:50 PM ET

Jordin Sparks to join 'In the Heights' cast on Broadway

Jordin-SparksImage Credit: Daniel Locke/PR PhotosJordin Sparks is the latest American Idol headed to Broadway. The season six winner announced today that she’s joining the cast of In the Heights, the Tony- and Grammy-winning musical set in the Dominican-American community of N.Y.C.’s Washington Heights. She will play key character Nina Rosario.

Sparks’ 12-week stint in the show runs from Aug. 19 to Nov. 14. Do you think she’s a good fit for this show? Anyone looking forward to seeing Sparks’ Broadway debut?

(Follow the Music Mix on Twitter:@EWMusicMix.)

More from EW.com’s Music Mix:
Ozzfest is back: Ozzy Osbourne, Motley Crue, Rob Halford to headline
New Glee music: Hear Jane Lynch and Olivia Newton-John cover “Physical”
Max Weinberg NOT dropped from Conan’s TBS show… because no one’s been added yet.
U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan do Lady Gaga’s ‘Telephone’: Army strong!
Christina Aguilera’s ‘Not Myself Tonight’ video: Gone totally (Lady) Gaga, Madonna, or just desperate for relevance?

Jan 5 2010 04:45 PM ET

What did we leave off our list of Best Songs by 'American Idol' graduates?

This just in from the Department of American Idol Blasphemy: Earlier today, I posted a gallery of 28 of the best songs ever recorded by the show’s alumni, and my omission of not just one, but two Idol champs, as well as three Idol runners-up, resulted in the launching of many strongly worded emails and Tweets in my general direction. “You included LaKisha Jones but not **a*a *e*a***?” “How could you leave off *a*ha**ne ***hee?” “Where the heck is **be* S****a**?”  some of you demanded to know. And, to my shock, I even managed to offend myself by overlooking season 8′s tragically early evictee Deanna Brown and her bluesy little number “Sometime Ago,” from her recent indie release Traveler. (I’ve tried to make amends by embedding it below.) But hey, that’s how it goes when it comes to the graduates of American Idol U: There are former contestants out there making a whole lotta music, and when a definitive list of some sort or other gets compiled, there are gonna be inadvertent (and, yes, overt) omissions. Click here to check out our randomly ordered playlist, then head on down to the comments section below to tell us which songs and artists you think should’ve made the cut. (Yelling at your humble listmaker is both allowed and encouraged, as long as you follow me on Twitter @EWMichaelSlezak!)

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