Jordin Sparks News

We'll learn tonight about the efforts of Jordin Sparks and Melinda Doolittle to help children in Africa, but the pair of season six finalists spoke to Us Weekly about their experiences, as well.

They first learned of the Malaria No More initiative on last year's Idol Gives Back and were moved to act as soon as their schedule would allow. Doolittle partnered with the organization in 2007, traveling to Zambia in June; Sparks followed suit in February 2008 visiting Ghana.

Both women traveled with First Lady Laura Bush.

“One day my Mom called me up and said ‘Laura Bush is wondering if you would like to go with her [to Ghana].’ And I was like ‘What?!’ You don’t get a message like that every day,” Sparks said.

Doolitttle concurs.

“[Traveling was] the perfect opportunity for me. We were in rehearsals for the tour and I missed a few, but it was more than worth it.

“It just blew my mind the things that we take for granted, like clean water or the fact that we can put on bug repellent and not be worried about mosquitoes around us. However, even though the community [in Zambia] is stricken by something like Malaria, they have a hope like no other. Just $10 [for a bed net] can save a family. You’d spend that if you went to Starbucks twice!”

Hear that, readers? Get ready to donate tonight!

Like Al Gore endorsing a democratic candidate (come on, Mr. Gore, just give your props to Barack Obama already), the opinion of a past American Idol on this season's candidates can go a long way toward influencing viewer voting.

With that in mind, consider who Jordin Sparks wants to win:

"Based on last week, David Cook went way up in my book," last year's champion said, obviously impressed by Cook's rendition of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean."

Does Sparks watch American Idol regularly?

"I'm an Idol freak!" she added. "I watched the show before I was on it, and I watch now."

This can only help American Idol winner Jordin Sparks get noticed:

The young singer will open for Alicia Keys on her As I Am tour of North America. The concerts kick off April 19 in Virginia and wrap up June 18 at New York's Madison Square Garden.

Both artists have had songs on Billboard's Hot 100 recently: Keys ''No One'' hit Number-one, while Sparks' ''Tattoo'' peaked at number-eight. Many consider Alicia to be the most talented R&B crooner out there, so this ought to be major exposure for Jordin.

Congratulations to Jordin Sparks!

The American Idol champion won the Outstanding New Artist award at this year's NAACP Image Awards.

Here's the clip of American Idol winner Jordin Sparks singing the national anthem before Super Bowl XLII. She looked nervous, didn't she? And almost a tad too serious?

We know it was a big stage, Jordin, but you could've smiled a little more...

While new American Idol contestants - such as Michael Johns and Syesha Mercado - battle for her crown, Jordin Sparks is still out to prove why she deserved last year's title in the first place.

She'll be performing the National Anthem before this year's Super Bowl between the Giants and the Patriots. Kickoff is scheduled at 6:30 p.m. So we can expect Sparks to take the field around 6:15 p.m.

We didn't know there was a magazine called Your Prom, either.

But there is. And Jordin Sparks is its latest cover girl. Here are highlights of the interview with last year's American Idol:

On her wardrobe secret: “I always wear spandex shorts under any dress because there could be a breeze. I could sit the wrong way. It’s a safety issue.”

On her fashion weakness: “I have a ton of shoes. I have a pair of Adidas that I just bought. They’re really, really cool. They go with everything!”

On her fave dance music: “I love stuff with really driving beats. I love Justin Timberlake’s songs, [and] Kanye West is good to dance to.”

As we get set to start the path toward a new American Idol in two weeks, let's look back at last year's two finalists.

How have Jordin Sparks and Blake Lewis fared on the charts?

Jordin Sparks
Album sales: Her eponymous debut disc has sold 283,000 copies since Nov. 20, after starting with the lowest sales by far for an Idol winner.
Track downloads: 1 million (567,000 for the single Tattoo).
Radio airplay: Tattoo is No. 14 on the national all-format airplay chart, No. 8 in the top 40 format.
Creative control: Jordan co-wrote one song on her album, par for the course for Idols, whose strong point is usually singing, not writing or producing.
Promotional activities: Set to sing the national anthem at the Super Bowl.

Blake Lewis
Album sales: Audio Day Dream has sold 156,000 copies since Dec. 4, a middling pace for an Idol runner-up.
Track downloads: 505,000 (34,000 for single Break Anotha).
Radio airplay: Break Anotha hasn't hit the national chart but is close to entering the top 40 format chart.
Creative control: Blake co-wrote all but one of the songs on his album, an unprecedented degree of involvement for an American Idol.

New Year's Eve will be chock full of American Idol stars.

As previously reported, Carrie Underwood will ring in 2008 as part of Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve.

Now, FOX has announced today that Blake Lewis and Jordin Sparks will join the band Lifehouse to perform on the network's New Year's Eve Live special.

New Year's Eve Live will be hosted by So You Think You Can Dance host Cat Deeley, along with Spike Feresten from Talk Show with Spike Feresten.

These American Idol finalists will ring in 2008.

More bad news for Jordin Sparks:

Her self-titled album dropped 57% in its second week, according to Nielsen SoundScan. It fell from number-10 to number-18 on the Billboard chart.

Given that holiday season tends to soften a lot of second-week sales declines - and that Jordin didn't sell all that much in her first week - this is far from encouraging. The American Idol champ sold 52,000 copies; her two-week total is 171,000.