Singer/actress Jordin Sparks makes her debut in "In The Heights" on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on August 19, 2010 in New York City.
"I'm really excited," says Jordin Sparks, for the umpteenth time in half an hour. And why shouldn't she be? The American Idol-groomed recording artist is, by her own account, embarking on "a whole new chapter, in terms of everything."
Careerwise, Sparks is adding Broadway star to her résumé with a stint in the celebrated musical In the Heights. And since she's scheduled to remain in the show through Nov. 14, the singer, whose life has been a whirlwind of traveling and touring since she auditioned for Idol at 16, is settling into her first apartment.
"I still call it a hotel," Sparks says. "I'm like, 'Hey, let's go back to the hotel -- I mean, apartment.' It's quite an adjustment to make New York City, of all places, the first place where I live on my own."
Chatting in a restaurant near the theater, Sparks, who has released two albums and enjoyed several top 10 singles, including No Air, is still very much the wide-eyed ingénue. She gushes about decorating her new digs: "My friends and I drove up to Bed Bath & Beyond and came out with three shopping carts full of stuff. My comforter is orange -- bright orange. It's my favorite color."
She brightens suddenly, an even happier thought having bounced into her head. "Oh, and I have a kitchen! I am so excited about that. Being on the road, you don't really get a chance to cook."
She is just as effusive discussing professional plans, which include another album or EP in the not-too-distant future. (Her most recent, 2009's Battlefield, sold 173,000 copies, far fewer than her self-titled debut, which has sold more than 1 million since its 2007 release.) "Once I get accustomed to the Broadway schedule, I'll probably start recording new music. So if anyone out there has some good songs, you know who to call!"
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SOURCE: USA Today
