Jordin Sparks
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Jordin Sparks will make one of her first major appearances since winning American Idol next week during Macy’s Fourth of July Spectacular, the annual holiday special on NBC. She’s excited and nervous about the opportunity.

“I’m so excited to do this program,” Sparks said. “I have no idea what I’m going to be doing on it, and right after that, I leave to start the tour. It’s going to be so much fun, I can’t wait to get started on all of it.”

Fellow finalists Blake Lewis and Melinda Doolittle will also perform on the Independence Day show. Also scheduled to appear are Martina McBride and Joss Stone, while Natalie Morales and recent NBC hire Tiki Barber will host.

“It’s kind of tripping me out,” Sparks said. “You watch it on television and think it’s such a big event. I love the fourth of July. Melinda actually was the one who told me we were going to be doing this, and I said, ‘What are we going to (sing)?’ She said, ‘I have no idea. We’ll talk about it later.’ I just love her and Blake; we have such a good time when we’re all together.”

The occasion will allow Sparks to be in one place for a while. A few weeks ago, “everything was going so fast, I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh. I really just need to sit down.’ So I did, and I thought of everything I’d done, and it all just hit me. It was unbelievable, and it’s still a whirlwind sometimes. It’s just this crazy cycle.”

It won’t abate with the American Idol Live tour that launches July 6, in Sunrise, Florida, and continues through late September.

“It’s going to be a blast,” Sparks said. “Most of us are going to be doing songs we know we can succeed in doing and that we love to perform. There will be different groups and duets. I went to the season-four Idol tour, and this is so much different. It’s going to be really intense, so I hope people come out and see us.”

We’re somehow guessing that won't be a problem.

Super Bowl XLII will be held in Glendale, Arizona next year.

Jordin Sparks is from Glendale, Arizona.

It doesn't take an American Idol expert to do that math. Rumors are already swirling that this season's champion might sing the national anthem at the world's most televised sporting event. Helping the cause?

The game will be broadcast on FOX.

"You could almost rule it out if it was CBS or some other network, but I'd say there is a good chance," said Ellman Cos. and Westgate City Center spokesman Jeff Hecht told The Arizona Republic about Sparks singing the anthem.

The game often attracts local talent. At Super Bowl XXXVIII in Houston, Houston-native Beyonce Knowles sang the national anthem. Detroit-raised Aretha Franklin sang when Super Bowl XL was played in the Motor City in 2006.

"It would be absolutely perfect seeing that Phillippi (Jordin's dad) played football and because the game will be held at the new stadium," Sparks family friend Stephanie Rigby said. "I almost can't think of why she wouldn't."

Jordin Sparks sports a platinum band on her wedding finger - but don't expect to see the American Idol sixth-season champ walking down the aisle anytime soon.

"This isn't a wedding ring, and there's no boy anywhere," Sparks told Us in the magazine's June 18 issue.

Instead, the 17-year-old Glendale, AZ-native said she's worn the "purity ring" with the inscription "True Love Waits" since she was 13.

Sparks is the youngest American Idol winner; and while other champs and finalists are reportedly smitten by everyone from professional athletes to television news anchors, Sparks says she isn't in any rush to get involved in a romantic relationship.

"I haven't been in love yet," she said. "I am saving myself for marriage."

Due to her Christian upbringing, virginity is just one of the values that Sparks says she believes in.

"I think that [abortion] is wrong," Sparks told Us. "I'm not going to try to debate people on it; that's just my opinion... I believe what I believe."

Jordin Sparks may have won American Idol, but Blake Lewis is definitely coming out on top in the U.S. singles charts.

His cover of Bon Jovi's "You Give Love A Bad Name" just cracked the top ten this week, coming in at #9.

Meanwhile, Sparks' "This Is My Now" lingers at #14.

Jordin Sparks has a few reasons to celebrate this summer.

She’s the newest champion of American Idol, on the path to being rich and famous, has a national tour lined up with her fellow finalists - and she got a hot new car!

Not bad for 17.

Sparks chatted with Us Weekly about her newfound fame, what went on during her Idol “girls’ night” tradition and more. Here are some excerpts:

Us: You have frequently said how when you turned 16, it wasn’t the chance to drive a car that excited you, but rather the chance to audition for American Idol.
Jordin Sparks: It was. It’s been really amazing because having watched the show for so long, I’ve just been like, ‘I want to do that,’ but I was too young. So I just watched the show and I saw what songs really got people going and what songs didn’t. Being up on that stage was one of the most amazing things ever.

Us: Has the fact that you're the American Idol hit you yet?
Jordin Sparks: It hasn’t really set in yet. It’s been crazy. People keep saying, ‘Hey, we’re on the air with the new American Idol, Jordin Sparks’ and I’m like, ‘What!? Can you repeat that?’ It’s crazy, I’ve always wanted to do it and now that I have, I can’t believe that I did. I couldn’t ask for anything more. It’s so much fun.

Us: Not only did you take American Idol’s crown, but you were also gifted with a new Ford Mustang on the final results show.
Jordin Sparks: I woke up on my 16th birthday and I was more concerned about auditioning for American Idol than driving a car. I did get my driver’s license eventually, but now I can drive and I am the American Idol and I have a new car! This is so weird. I haven’t driven it yet. I know driving will be kind of scary, because the paparazzi will follow me. Crazy!

Us: Your father played in the NFL, so you must remember the media attention during his football fame. What advice did he offer about your own celebrity?
Jordin Sparks: Since my dad has been famous-ish and has gone through having paparazzi and stuff like that, he told me “It’s fun, but at the same time you’ve got to be careful. People will try and use you. It’s scary, it’s hard, but if you just handle yourself well, and trust the people around you, you’ll be fine.’ So far, so good.

Us: On the show you were very close with Melinda Doolittle, who finished in third place. Since you two were roommates, what types of things did you discuss during your “girls’ nights?”
Jordin Sparks: It stays in girls’ night! We did talk about boys and stuff like that. [smiles] We talked about life in general and about each others’ lives. We were living under the same roof for I don’t know how many weeks. I asked her how she grew up and what advice she can give me, because she’s so much more experienced than I am. I just love her so much – she’s so amazing! So yeah, we talked about boys, the competition, and crazy fan things that happened.

[SIDE NOTE: Boys? Who here thinks they discussed their mutual adoration for Sanjaya Malakar? Yeah, we agree. Who doesn't love that goofball.]

Us: Did Blake Lewis happen to teach you how to beatbox?
Jordin Sparks: He tried really hard to teach me. He goes “Okay, do this [starts beatboxing].’ And that’s how I beatbox. That’s all I can do.

As if they didn't cause enough fireworks through the season of American Idol.

Three of your favorites will perform on NBC when the network celebrates America's 231st birthday on July 4.

Martina McBride will also be there, but she may be upstaged by champion Jordin Sparks and the first two runner-ups: contestants Blake Lewis and Melinda Doolittle.

The live broadcast will be hosted by Natalie Morales, NBC's Today National Correspondent and Tiki Barber, Today Correspondent and Football Night in America Studio Analyst.

Forget Antonella Barba for a second.

Is Blake Lewis making a move on this year's American Idol champion?

We doubt it. But Jordin Sparks and everyone's favorite beat boxer sure do look chummy during MTV's Total Request Live yesterday. They were just making fans swoon, of course. There's no real love connection here.

Or is there?!?

Jordin Sparks won a lifelong battle to accept herself when she was crowned American Idol champ last week.

"I think it really helped boost her self-esteem and made her realize she's beautiful as she is," her grandmother, Pam Weidmann, tells People magazine. Jordin's mom, Jodi, says of her daughter's May 23 victory: "It was huge to see her confidence level grow. ... She's standing taller now."

At 5'10" and size 12 by the time she was in junior high school.

"I stood out everywhere," says the singer, who used to hunch, wear oversized clothing and search in vain for her size at teen mall stores. "I'd look at my friends who were just naturally tiny, and maybe they weren't even a size 2, but they were smaller than me and that was good enough. I was like, 'Oh, why can't I look like that?' "

Sparks says she tried dieting every now and then, but failed because"I like food too much to do it. I would try, like, 'Hey I'm going to diet and I'll be a size 8 by the end of the summer,' but it never worked out."

One day at their local mall, Jordin and her mom came across the newly launched plus-size store Torrid.

"It was like angels – 'ahhhhhhhh!' – shining down on it because it's sizes 12 and up. They have clothes for girls who aren't an average size so they can totally feel cute and flirty and still keep up with the latest trends," Jordin says, noting that being the store's smallest size was "great for my self-esteem."

In fact, just before auditioning for American Idol, Jordin landed a modeling gig for Torrid. "I think it really helped boost her self-esteem and made her realize she's beautiful as she is," says her grandmother.

Her parents' attitudes also helped Jordin feel good about herself. "My mom and my dad always were saying, 'You're beautiful, Jordin,'" says the Idol winner, whose father Phillippi,, a former star cornerback for the New York Giants, is 5'11" (mom is 5'6").

After nailing her audition, Jordin's confidence began to soar. For the first time in her life, she embraced her right to bare arms.

Before the show, "I liked to wear sleeves because they would cover up my arms," she says. When the show's stylists made suggestions, "I'd go, 'This dress is way too beautiful. If I add sleeves it will ruin it.' So I just got over it."

These days, "I'm really comfortable in my own skin," Jordin says with her signature wide smile. "I learned that I'm not ever going to be a size 2. I would look so weird as a size 2. Somebody would blow and I would fall right over. It just wouldn't be healthy."

Attention, Brad Pitt: American Idol winner Jordin Sparks has a crush on you.

"He's just really cute," Sparks, 17, said Friday, hastening to note that she doesn't know the actor also known as Angelina Jolie's baby daddy.

Two days after besting Blake Lewis in the TV talent contest, Sparks took part in a teleconference in which she was grilled about everything from her favorite star to what she thought her earning power would be.

"I don't know. I'm just looking forward to doing the best that I can do," Jordin said.

Sparks, the youngest American Idol in the show's six seasons, is making the rounds of TV shows in Los Angeles and New York before she returns home to Glendale, Ariz., later next week for a break.

"It's been pretty crazy," she said, sounding hoarse but still as upbeat as the average teenager. Which is what she is, Sparks said.

"I'm just a normal, quirky 17-year-old," she said. Her biggest moments before American Idol were getting rid of her braces and gaining her driver's license.

How will she stay grounded, resisting entertainment industry pressures that can include an extreme emphasis on weight?

"Oh, that super-thin stuff - Hollywood needs to get over it," she said.

Asked what she'll sing on the American Idol concert tour with other finalists, she wasn't ready with an answer. But she probably won't focus too much on Lewis' specialty of beatbox sound-effects.

"He's tried to teach me but I'm really horrible at it," Sparks said.

The folks at iTunes have made available five singles and an EP of studio performances by Jordin and Blake of songs they sang during the season. Here's the rundown:

Jordin Sparks EP: This Is My Now (interesting that it's not a single on its own; that probably comes later), I (Who Have Nothing), A Broken Wing, To Love Somebody, Wishing on a Star.

Singles: If We Hold On Together, You’ll Never Walk Alone, Rhythm Is Gonna Get You, On a Clear Day, Hey Baby.

Blake Lewis EP: You Give Love a Bad Name, Time of the Season, I Need to Know, Love Song, When The Stars Go Blue.

Singles: You Should Be Dancing, Mack the Knife, Imagine, This Love, You Keep Me Hangin’ On.