Jordin Sparks Inks Record Deal

08/17/2007 7:45 AM, E! Online


Jordin Sparks has jumped to Jive.
The youngest ever American Idol winner has inked a recording contract with 19Recordings/Jive Records, it was announced Friday.
The deal makes her the first alum of the talent competition to sign with the Zomba Label Group. All past Idol winners have inked deals with the RCA Label Group's Arista (Taylor Hicks, Carrie Underwood), J (Fantasia Barrino, Ruben Studdard) or RCA (Kelly Clarkson) labels.
"We're thrilled to welcome the partnership with 19 Recordings and Jordin Sparks as the first Idol winner to make her home at Jive," Barry Weiss, CEO and president of Zomba Label Group, said in a statement. "Her poise, her amazing vocal ability, her relentless optimism has been apparent to millions of fans all around the world. We're honored to have this burgeoning worldwide superstar on Jive Records."
The 17-year-old vocal powerhouse's first single, "Tattoo," will be released on U.S. radio on Aug. 27, while her debut album is due in stores in November.
"Tattoo" was produced by Stargate, the duo behind hits for Beyoncé and Neo, and was cowritten by Amanda Ghost, whose credits include James Blunt's "Beautiful."
With her career off and running, Sparks said she is looking forward to producing more music for her fans.
"American Idol has truly been a life-altering experience," Sparks said. "Signing with 19 Recordings/Jive and Barry Weiss and his great team is hopefully the beginning of another dream opportunity for me to deliver the kind of meaningful music I love. I can't wait to share this next chapter of my story with all the fans that have supported me so far."
American Idol creator Simon Fuller expressed his belief that Sparks had made a wise choice.
"You couldn't find a better match in or out of this business than Jive Records, 19 Recordings and Jordin Sparks," he said.
Sparks was crowned the winner of the sixth season of American Idol on May 23, beating out beat-boxer Blake Lewis for the title and securing herself a million-dollar record deal.
She is currently performing with the other top 10 finalists on the Idols Live tour. The trek wraps up Sept. 22 in Manchester, New Hampshire.
Meanwhile, auditions for the seventh season of American Idol are in full swing, with tryouts already completed in San Diego, Dallas and Omaha so far. Up next, the aspiring singers of Charleston, South Carolina, will do their best to impress the judges and make their way through to the next round.