Jordin: The official review
Here's my official review of Jordin's self-titled album, which I was pleased to find was not being held back in fear of bad reviews, as several other Idol albums (including Carrie's latest) have been. Track-by-track look Tuesday, I hope.
Jordin Sparks: * * * Idol pleasure
It may not sell as well as Kelly Clarkson's perfectly pitched pop on Breakaway, or Carrie Underwood's cleverly constructed country, or Daughtry's mega-commercial Nickelback knockoffs, but the debut of current American Idol champ Jordin Sparks (at 17, Idol's youngest winner) plays to her strengths.
Her clear, appealing vocals and bubbly enthusiasm are wedded to clean-cut pop songs, more mature than Disneypop but thoroughly wholesome and ultra-catchy. The usual raft of international producers combine to deliver a consistently captivating sequence of songs.
A few quibbles: It wasn't necessary to showcase Sparks' vocal gymnastic abilities so frequently at song's end; she sounds just fine without running up and down the scale. The obvious borrowing of tics from current hits (Say It Right, Umbrella) is a minor distraction. And including Idol coronation song This Is My Now - one of the less offensive trophy songs, true, but that's like being one of the least infections forms of avian flu - ends the album on a sour, clichéd note. Those cavils aside, Jordin Sparks may be the most likable Idol album yet.
>>Download: cotton-candy pop ditty One Step at a Time, pretty Chris Brown duet No Air, Freeze >>Skip: This Is My Now, cloying power ballad Permanent Monday
