Print This List    Email to a Friend  

Jordin Sparks Memorable Moments on the Way to her Win  
PEOPLE 

Tags: jordin sparks, american idol, winner, memorable moments, singer

What a ride it was as Jordin Sparks worked her way to the top in the 2007 American Idol competition. Look back on the moments that led to her stardom, chosen by EW.com.

1.	HER SEATTLE AUDITION: Idol viewers met the then-16-year-old from Glendale, Ariz., on the Jan. 17 episode, as she wowed Paula and Randy with her rendition of Celine Dion's ''Because You Loved Me.'' While Randy called her audition ''perfect,'' Simon was harder to convince: ''Sometimes I like to put one sugar in my coffee, to make it slightly sweeter. That was the equivalent of putting 11 spoonfuls in.''
2.	SEMIFINALS WEEK 2: Overcome after singing Christina Aguilera's ''Reflection'' — which she had dedicated to her little brother during an emotional pre-performance interview — Jordin wiped away tears as the judges praised her for being, in Paula's words, ''one brilliant, talented girl.''
3.	SEMIFINALS WEEK 3: Jordin cut back on the sugar to show an edgier side with her cover of Pat Benatar's ''Heartbreaker.'' While Paula and Randy continued to gush over her youth and talent, Simon pulled out the criticism he's had for Jordin throughout the season: ''shrieky.''
4.	DIANA ROSS WEEK: ''A lot of people maybe think this is a two-girl, Lakisha-Melinda race...Tonight, with that, you just made it a three-girl race,'' predicted Randy after Jordin's performance of ''If We Hold on Together.'' Though Ms. Ross advised her to connect more with the audience, she recognized that Jordin's spark would get her far: ''To me, she has star quality...You see that glitter and the shine in her eyes.''
5.	BRITISH INVASION WEEK: ''I don't even have a boyfriend!'' Jordin joked to guest mentor Lulu about taking on Shirley Bassey's dramatic ballad ''I (Who Have Nothing).'' That little detail, however, didn't keep her from connecting powerfully with the song on the March 20 show: Debuting a sleek, sophisticated 'do and what would become her signature performance style — planting herself at the mic and belting it out to the rafters — Jordin unleashed a version so believably desperate it caused Simon to comment, ''You sang it beautifully, but I feel like jumping off a bridge.''
6.	GWEN STEFANI WEEK: After the high of British Invasion week, Jordin lost some momentum with a wobbly version of ''Hey Baby'' that seemed to hint she has difficulty singing in key while moving on stage. Still, the judges praised her for the risk she took in covering such a contemporary song.
7.	COUNTRY WEEK: And they say Melinda was annoyingly humble.... ''It's her song, so I hope I make her proud,'' Jordin shrugged in her pre-show interview of covering ''A Broken Wing,'' originally sung by that week's guest mentor Martina McBride. Jordin's powerhouse version did one better by impressing even Simon: ''This is the first time since we have met where I actually believe, based on that performance, you could win American Idol,'' he said.
8.	'IDOL GIVES BACK': Every year, Ryan Seacrest seems to pull a cruel fake-out on an elimination night — and this season, Jordin was on the receiving end of it. After telling every other singer that he/she was safe, Seacrest took his time informing Jordin — who by this time was crying and being comforted by her fellow contestants — that she was continuing on as well (no cuts were made during a charity event).
9.	BON JOVI WEEK: ''The second it was announced we were doing a Bon Jovi week, [Jordin] requested her song early. She knew exactly what she was going to sing,'' Idol's music guru Michael Orland told EW. Perhaps she shouldn't have been so rash in going with the dude-rock ''Livin' on a Prayer'': Weighed down by a scary-big mop of red-streaked hair (''like something out of The Addams Family,'' Simon carped), Jordin looked utterly unconvincing stomping about and sidling up to her accompanying guitarists. And the singing? ''Terrible,'' Simon said. Her worst moment of the season by far.
10.	BEE GEES WEEK: Could a significant portion of Jordin's votes be traced back to Barry Gibb's cell phone? You'd think so, after the gushing comments he made about her while serving as guest coach. Of her ''To Love Somebody'': ''I know a couple hundred people have sung this song, but I haven't heard a greater version than Jordin's.'' Of her ''Woman in Love'': ''This is going to be, I think, one of our greatest female recording artists.''
11.	FINAL THREE: For the first time, Jordin threw Simon some attitude when he criticized her for performing an ''incredibly old-fashioned'' song — ''I (Who Have Nothing),'' again — at such a critical point in the competition. ''Wasn't, um, Rose Royce in the '70s?'' she mused aloud to Ryan, referring to Simon having chosen ''Wishing on a Star'' for her to sing earlier that night. ''He's pulling me kinda back!'' Idol fans didn't seem to mind her temporary case of the sassies, though; the next night, they sent her to the finals instead of Melinda Doolittle.
12.	THE GRAND FINALE: After a two-hour show that was alternately cheesy (Sanjaya with...Joe Perry?), shameful (the ''Golden Idols''), and charming (Tony Bennett! The African Children's Choir!), Jordin was named the season 6 winner — at 17, the youngest champ ever. As expected, she got choked up through her victory performance of the new Idol single, ''This Is My Now,'' and as her fellow contestants rushed the stage to congratulate her.

Lister: buccicone.2
Source: EW.com

Other lists of interest:

American Idol: Ten Facts You Didn't Know About The Top Three IDKT  (0)

Best of the American Idol Winners BESTS  (1)

Remaining American Idol Contestants (Season 6) PEOPLE  (2)

Most Grammys Awards Ever TOP #  (1)

Rose Bowl Results IN THE PAST  (0)

This list not rated yet – be the first to rate it 

There are no comments for this list. Be the first to post!