Jordin Sparks - Jordin Sparks

Now I don't know if I'm the right person to be reviewing this CD as it's not my type of music, but I borrowed this CD from a friend as I enjoyed her music on American Idol but I dind't know if she would be as good.

Who is Jordin Sparks?

Jordin Sparks is a 18 year old American pop/RnB singer from America, the sixth season of American Idol was what she found fame in, when she found herself being the youngest ever winner of the show at just 17 years old.

She released this album in 2008, here is my review:

Track 1: Tattoo

I like this song, I hate when she goes hey at the beginning it makes the song sound really tacky, however I really do love the drum beat throughout the track. Her voice is amazing, I didn't think she deserved to win on American Idol, but I think I might change my mind at the moment.

I remember the first time I heard this song and it was on MTV and I was watching the video which is very brilliantly done, and fits with the song. I really think this is a great start to the album, her voice is not ever going to be the best voice ever known, however it is pleasant to listen to and this song is just brilliant.

A very catchy and nice track to listen to, a great start to hopefully a good album.

Track 2: One Step at a Time

This is another track that I saw the video to in the first place, I remember that I liked it because they were walking to the drum beat, however the song in my opinion wasn't fantastic, for me her vocals were brilliant on American Idol, however she wasn't good at songs like this, her main calling is ballads or songs like Tattoo where she can show off her vocal range.

This is a good song however, but I was more interested in the drum beat throughout than her voice, despite the fact her voice wasn't brilliantly powerful and I don't like how the song goes, I did find it very catchy and listenable.

Track 3: No Air

I knew if I reviewed this album, I would have to review this song. I hate it right out, I can't stand Chris Brown, and of course this song features him and that's what makes it good. I'm going to ignore Mr Nasal as he is called in my eyes, and concentrate on Jordan and the music.

I do love the beat to this track, I think the midi file would sound brilliant and Jordin's voice works brilliantly with the song she is given and she takes so much away from Mr Nasal it is almost, almost bareable to listen to. This is the track that got Jordin Sparks known and good on her, it is a good production, she could have shown off her vocal range that I know she has a little more, but she is powerful within this track.

Track 4: Freeze

So far the highlight of this album for me, has been the base line beat throughout the tracks and this is no exception, however I hate some parts of it. As like quite a few people who might be listening to the album, will know how powerful Jordin's voice is, but this song is probably the best to show off this however it is the weakest on the track so far, even behind No Air.

The fact that it is weak is the fact that I will never listen to it again, this is because of the chorus when they sing Freeze, god this is painful to listen to. I am disappointed that she hasn't let go, but I think this song would be brilliant without that Freeze bit through the track.

Track 5: Shy Boy

I love the start of this song, the beat again is just amazing, however I think her vocals are quite weak in this song, it doesn't sound like her. I think this could be counted as a disadvantage for Sparks, because if I heard this song on the radio, I would probably not only turn it over, but I wouldn't realise it was Sparks at all.

Think she could do better, her vocals are not up to par on this track and it's the weakest track so far, but still it fits in with the rest of the album.

Track 6: Now You Tell Me

We almost get a ballad within this album, it's a lot slower than the other tracks, she has tried to do an RnB track with a different style and for me it doesn't work brilliantly. If you are going to do a slow song then don't go for the RnB style as well cause it just doesn't work.

The drum beat in the background doesn't work with her voice which like always is just good, that's the one problem I have with the album so far, I know how powerful her voice is and I know how good her vocal range is, but no, you don't really get to hear that in this album, you get little glimmers in this song, but for me, none of this song works well together.

Track 7: Next To You

When it first starts it sounds like another RnB slow song, but the beat unlike the previous song actually sounds pretty good, however of course, where the hell is her voice? I really am starting to get annoyed with the fact she is holding back with her vocals, as she can sing way better than this, you can hear it on other songs on the album, but she's almost pulling back with this track and letting the music overpower her.

This song had the potential to be the best on the album however her voice was no where near good enough and to be honest the song bored me.

Track 8: Just For The Record

Another sap love song, I have to say I've had enough of these tracks. Again though her voice is overpowered by the rest of the music and the song is very boring and it would be one that I would skip over as it's just quite a boring and predictable track that is a waste of my time.

A good sung song, however it's too sappy and it's not fun to listen to.

Track 9: Permanent Monday

At the start this sounds really good, it starts quite acoustically, and Jordin's voice is shining, it's not the best I've heard her but it's still good. It's probably the slowest song on the album and for me, this is when Jordin shines but of course, she doesn't let it all go, it's like someone told her to pull her voice back a bit and not show her vocal range, and for me this is a great disappointment.

This is a nice song to listen to but I have to say, like the previous track it's quite boring and I'm pretty sure I won't be listening to it again and this is one of the best on the album.

Track 10: Young and In Love

I was just about to call up the record company and say they the bloody let Britney sing this song as this who she sounds like. It's awful, really awful; they have put synthesisers on the track which makes it even worse.

Why does she go for songs like this? She has a very soulful voice but then she lets her voice be drowned out and lets it sound like this, another bummer track.

Track 11: See My Side

Not really expecting much, let me guess what this track is going to be? RnB, techno and boring, well it's another slowish song, the xylophone in the background sounds awful, don't think I've ever heard one of these being use in a modern track, but yes Jordin has done so.

The song is not enjoyable to listen to, her voice is pulled back and she hasn't shown off her pipes to say the least, just a boring track which is nowhere near going to be a hit or anything like that.

Track 12: God Loves Ugly

In this song, Jordin is talking about someone telling her she is not pretty. From what I've heard in the media, I think she is talking about the press, I know a lot of people said she was fat and was not a good role model for young girls. I have to disagree, I would rather look like Jordin than bloody Britney or something like that.

This song is nice, however there is something missing, nothing seems to gel, I think this song could have been done acoustically or something, as for me it's ruined by the instrumentals and the choir and stuff like that. An okay song, not brilliant however.

Track 13: This is My Now

This is a good song which is not brilliant, I recognise this song and have a feeling this was the song she released after Idol or something like that, but this is probably the most powerful vocal on the whole album, and for me she doesn't sing as brilliantly as I know she can in this track.

Another great song, and her vocals are so much more powerful than they are on other tracks, but it doesn't gel as much as I would like. An okay album, not brilliant to say the least.

My Opinion

Jordin follows in the footsteps of some fantastic singers, and for me when she won, she was too young, too juvenile to cope with not only producing an amazing album but to cope with the media. She was like a moth to a flame with the media as soon as she became known, with them saying she was fat and not a good role model and you can hear a lot of her hurt within this album.

For me Jordin as the youngest ever winner of Idol, was always likeable on the show. I enjoyed listening to her sing and everything like that, but for me, Season 6 was the weakest Idol yet as the two in the final were just okay, Jordin could sing well, but I had heard it all before.

I had managed to borrow this CD from a friend who seems to have all Idol CD's and I have already given this CD back to her, even before I have written the opinion, not only will I not be willing to listen to the album again, but I won't be putting any of the songs onto the album.

The album is really spilt into two different genres, you have the RnB section which you can hear at the start of the album and then she goes into what I thought would be the best part for her and that is the ballad type music however, in the end it turns out the songs I almost enjoyed were at the beginning and were RnB style songs.

For me there are only two great songs on the album, Tattoo is brilliant, I already have that on my IPod but however I can't believe I'm saying this but her duet with Mr Nasal aka Chris Brown, who can't sing for anything, was actually one of the best on the album.

For me the biggest letdown was the fact she didn't show of her voice enough, she has strong pipes however she just lets her voice be pulled back or overshadowed.

Originality/Comparison

You have heard it all before with this singer, to compare her to her other Idol contenstants, she is a mix of Kelly Clarkson, Fantastia and Jennifer Hudson, however like them she doesn't show off her powerful voice, she is almost afraid to let go and for me, that makes this album a waste of space I have to say.

Lyrics

I have to say I didn't even notice that she had any good lyrics in the whole album so they can't have been that good at all. I have to say the idea behind the Tattoo lyrics and the video produced is very good, so this is one good point about the lyrics.

Quality & Consistency of Tracks

This is another CD where it is again one hit and the rest are all pretty bad I have to say, the song Tattoo has to be my favourite, and I have to admit I did think No Air was good, even with Mr Nasal. It's a shame that this album wasn't very good because I was expecting quite a lot from her.

Value For Money

You can get the album for £6.98 and in my opinion it is not very good value for money, this is because there is one or two songs that sound bareable, the album is way too juvenile and alright to be counted as a good album, so it is not very good value for money, I think if it gets to about £3 then maybe you might as well take a listen.

Should You Buy The Album?

It's very juvenile album and this is one of the reasons I wasn't a fan of her in the first place when she won Idol and she has pulled of some good songs. For me I think she should do what Kelly Clarkson did and pull away from her record company as they seem to be letting her create some quite awful tracks.

Hope this helps

(C) Kirsty