Jordin Sparks was only 17 years old when she won season 6 of “American Idol,” becoming one of the youngest champions in the show’s history, and later launching a successful music career.
Now, nearly two decades later, and at the age of 35, Sparks revealed in an interview with People that she still keeps in touch with her season’s Top 10 finalists. That’s a rarity, considering most contestants lose touch after all those years.
Jordin Sparks’ Group Chat With Her Season’s Top 10 Finalists Is Going Strong Today
GettyIt’s been nearly 20 years since Jordin Sparks won “American Idol,” and while that might feel like a lifetime ago to fans, it doesn’t seem so distant for the songstress. While speaking to People, Sparks revealed that she still keeps in touch with her season 6 Top 10 contestants through a group chat that is still going strong.
“We all still talk to each other, ‘Happy Birthday,’ or, ‘This is my new project,’ or, ‘Here’s my kids,'” she shared of her group chat, adding, “Different things like that. So we keep up.”
To prove that the “No Air” singer still connects with her former cast, she told the outlet that they all wished former season 6 contestant, Melinda Dolittle, a happy birthday on Oct. 6
“Melinda, my beautiful, loving Melinda, she just celebrated a birthday and so we were all making sure that we told her about that, but it’s really cool to be able to keep in touch with them because… I feel like I can’t speak for other seasons, but for my season we really all got very close, and I don’t know what I would’ve done without all of them,” she expressed.
Sparks was the youngest contestant during her Idol journey. Despite being only 17, she was able to connect with the other contestants who all had the same dream of being pop stars.
“Nobody knows except for other contestants that have been on. It’s almost like an alumni group. You just see each other and you have this understanding like, ‘Yeah, we went through that,'” she said.
Kelly Clarkson Inspired Sparks To Focus on a Singing Career
GettySparks recently launched her podcast, “What’s Your Spark?” on Oct. 12, and in the first episode, she opened up about how she found herself auditioning for “American Idol.”
“I was such a huge fan of the show. I honestly couldn’t wait to audition, more than getting my drivers license,” Sparks began.
The singer shared that she knew music was going to be a career for her, and started singing locally at her church and at competitions. For there, she took her singing ability to a more national level, even competing on ‘Star Search.’ “That all led up to auditioning for ‘American Idol,'” she shared.
Sparks admitted that watching Kelly Clarkson win the first-ever season of Idol not only inspired her, but made her realize just how much she wanted to be a performer.
“I remember watching Kelly Clarkson win and her winning moment, the pyrotechnics were going off and people were crying, she was crying. She’s singing this song and everybody’s just so affected by what she’s doing, and I remember looking at her and I looked at my mom, and my dad, and I was just like, ‘I want to do that.'” Sparks shared.
1 thought on “Beloved ‘American Idol’ Winner Reveals She Still Talks to Her Top 10 Nearly Two Decades Later”