It's a useful talking point to note that Jordin Sparks is the youngest winner in the history of "American Idol." Just 17!
Unfortunately, her first CD proves she's also the most unformed.
Sparks comes to her maiden recording as perhaps the only top idol winner unarmed by a signature style. Past winners - or near winners - have each had a particular forte, or at least an allegiance to a style, that gave them something akin to character. See: Kelly Clarkson's faux rock, Taylor Hicks' pseudo-soul, Bo Bice's Hollywood Southern rock, Fantasia's backwoods R&B, Carrie Underwood's big-voiced country and Clay Aiken's Broadway schmaltz.
No matter how compromised - or dubious - those styles may have been, each helped listeners know who exactly the singer is. Or at least who they wanted to be.
But who, exactly, is Jordin Sparks?
From all evidence of her self-titled debut, she's a girl with a voice as flawless as it is flavorless. It's a big and pretty voice, but, like the talents of a workaday model, its beauty allows no distinction in the features.
It's hard, at first, to understand how this could happen. Sparks seemed so winning on the show. When you watch her perform, she brims with charm, aided by a broad-faced smile and a total lack of guile. But none of that shows in the studio. Her demeanor, it seems, had more character than her voice.
The material on the album doesn't do her many favors. It's competent, but nothing more.Almost every track is a ballad, which cuts down on Sparks' youth appeal. Kids should know there's nothing to dance to here, though the result does effectively sell her as a naif.
"Shy Boy" has her ignoring a thug in favor of a wallflower. "Young and in Love" makes her youth crassly obvious, while in "God Loves Ugly" she plays the earnestly homely girl.
There's no evidence of that in real life - at least when we see Sparks. But in a medium where we can't, it's amazing how much of her fades away.
Article from: Jim Farber http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/2007/11/25/2007-11-25_american_idol_winner_jordin_sparks_has_f.html
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