Jordin Sparks review (gua.com.my)

Originally published in gua.com.my
9 February 2008



by Max Koh

Album:
Jordin Sparks

Ratings:
6/10

Genre:
Pop, R&B

Review:
We were all shocked when Ruben Studdard, Taylor Hicks and Katherine McPhee were dropped like hot cakes from their record labels. Okay, maybe not so shocked. We knew that they weren't doing well on the charts.

While they serve as sober reminders that winning ‘American Idol' does not guarantee sales success (Hicks sold less than 1 million records while Studdard sold a disappointing 230,000 copies), attention has shifted to last year's winner Jordin Sparks who has just released her debut album.

Fans will be pleased to know that everything we loved about Sparks is here: big vocals, wholesome image, and her infectious bubbly personality that was such an appeal during the show. (the surly Simon Cowell deems it as “being too cute.” Whatever, Simon.)

Unlike Daughty's soaring debut, “Jordin Sparks” has been climbing up the charts slowly but surely. It reached the Top 10 on the US charts and it appears that Sparks is here to stay for a while.

Lead single “Tattoo” is infectious but is not the best track on the album. It merely hints at the R&B/electronica/pop elements that have been stylised to suit her youthful voice.

“Now You Tell Me” is a soaring ballad and her duet with Chris Brown on “No Air” is a pretty upbeat ditty that is poised for greatness.

Elsewhere, you'll find no fault in the easy-listening “Next To You” and “Just For The Record” where her saccharine vocals come to the fore.

The standout must be “Permanent Monday” which sounds like a cross between a power ballad and an indie rock song. It is easily the best track on the album and has a stirring string section.

The album could have been excellent if not for the forgettable electronica-pop numbers like “Freeze” and “Shy Boy” which are not that appealing, I must say.

All in all, this is still one of the better debuts to have come out of the show. Whether she has the staying power to be a Kelly Clarkson or Carrie Underwood remains a question that only time can answer.

What others say …
“Jordin may still be a juvie, but she's a bona fide pop star. She earns her props as convincingly here as she did on TV.” Amazon.com

“Despite the misfires, Jordin Sparks is as much effervescent fun as any post-Idol bow.” Entertainment Weekly