Artist: Jordin Sparks
Album: Jordin Sparks
Genre: Pop
Release Date: 11/20/2007
Label: Jive

Last years winner of American Idol has finally come out with her cd and I must say although I personally had no interest in wanting to own this cd I was suprised with the amount of good songs it has. Over all it's a fairly average cd and I like the fact that the content matter is age appropriate and they're not trying to make a grown woman out of a young lady. There are some really good and some not so good tracks on the album but for a debut cd by a new artist I must say it is something worth buying for those interested in this genre of music. Stand out tracks on this album are "Tattoo", "One step at a time" and "Next to you". Out of 5 stars I give this cd 2.5


1. Tattoo: As I stated before about this track, it sounds just like everything else produced by Stargate, also known for producing "Irreplaceable" by Beyonce, "With you" by Chris Brown, and "Go on girl" by Ne-Yo....hear the striking similarity? Frankly I'm getting bored with all the tracks that have this similar sound. Nevertheless the song is a catchy one and still audibly appealing and a great choice for a single. See Video

2. One step at a time : Nice smooth groove to this song. Definitely one to get your head nodding. Love the melody on this song and it was a great choice for Jordin's voice. The song is about taking your time to get where your trying to go in life and letting it happen when the time is right. I really like this song and I probably would have picked this one for a first single.

3. No Air duet with Chris Brown: Honestly I really like most things about this song except for the chorus. It gets really annoying to me repeating "No air, air". The beat is really good and the singing is good by both Jordin and Chris. I think they complement eachother vocally and one person doesn't overshadow the other.

4. Freeze : Dance track with a old skool rap kind of vibe to the beat. Overall a solid track that you can bump. Not too thrilled about the lyrics or about the annoying screech of the word Freeze as sung on the chorus. When you get towards the end of the track she sings it much softer and it sounds much better that way. The beat is solid and the melody is definitely a catchy one.

5. Shy Boy: Another uptempo kind of track. The beat is infectious with crazy synth sounds and weird movements flowing through it. Her singing is more subtle on this one but it works well with the track. I can't see this one being a single but it is definitely a song worth listening to. I don't even think I payed attention to the words though.

6. Now you tell me: This song takes another direction from the pop sound the other songs have. This has a little more of a pop/rock kind of vibe to it. This song shows the versatility in her voice and that she can still sound great over a very drum and melody heavy track. It also shows the great range her voice has. It's a pretty short song though, just over 3 minutes. The moment you feel like your really getting into the song, it's over.

7. Next to you : I like this song alot. Again, this one has a great melody and this is definitely the kind of song that works well with her voice. I can definitely see this one as a single. Has a pop with a little bit of R&B vibe about it. The lyrics and arrangement are really good on this song.

8. Just for the record: There something kind of different about this track and I like it. It has more of a bluesy kind of melody yet it was paired with a more Pop&B (Pop and R&B) type beat. Not an outstanding track but definitely one that would get multiple plays on the album. Something you can rock to.

9. Permanent Monday: One of the more slower songs on the album. More of a rock track that to me seems kind of out of place on this album. Vocally I think she sounds good but overall I was relatively unimpressed with this song and ready for it to be over with.

10. Young and in love : Sounds like something that was left off of Britney Spears' album. Her voice even sounds like Britney's a little bit. Clearly they were manipulating her voice on this track, but with a voice like hers is that something that really needs to happen? It's an ok track but I would have been more impressed with it if it was on Britney's album because Jordin can actually sing and this track doesn't make her sound like she can. At the breakdown of this track it has remnants of JoJo's "I'm coming for you".

11. See my side : I really had high hopes for this track when it started it out. Jordin singing her soft voice and this off beat synth heavy track reving up in the background. I just knew when the whole beat dropped I was going to be even more into this song. Sorry that was not the case. When the full beat dropped it completely ruined this song and everything I hoped for. Horrible beat and then the song really goes downhill from there as well.

12. God loves ugly: Just the title of this song alone makes me uneasy. It is an inspirational song about loving yourself as you are but does that really mean you ugly though? It is this reason why I don't like this song. Also the song is just ok, its a slower track and just seems to drag along without being very much interesting.

Bonus Track

13. This is my now: Another rock type track. I'm pretty unimpressed with the more rock sounding songs by her and feel like the pop songs are more of her strength on this album and showcase her voice much better. 



Aaron Fields is the Sales Marketing Coordinator for KSTW-TV in Seattle. All opinions expressed in this column are strictly his