After capturing our hearts with her American Idol win back in 2007 and creating chart-topping hits like “One Step At A Time,” “Tattoo,” and “Battlefield,” Jordin Sparks is ready to reintroduce herself with her new album No Restrictions.
Sparks’ new project is her first full-length album in almost a decade, with her album Right Here Right Now released in 2015. Since then, she has released multiple EPs as well as her 2020 Christmas album Cider & Hennessy. Between these projects, Jordin tied the knot and became a mother, welcoming a son into the world in 2018. We chatted with her to learn more about this album, how she continues to evolve, and what truly sparks inspiration for her.
You have a new album coming out called ‘No Restrictions.’ Can you tell me a little bit about how this album came to be?
When we had lockdown, I finally had time to be at home, and I really fell in love with music again, and that’s when I started recording and writing and things just started pouring out of me. We finally got the album done, it took a minute to figure out what we wanted to do because I wanted it to be right. It had been such a long time I didn’t want to put it out if it was missing a song or if the songs didn’t sound the way that they were supposed to. I’ve also always been about like, what’s meant for me will never miss me and timing is just perfect when it happens and so kind of like “One Step At A Time,” right it’s gonna happen when it’s supposed to happen.
So for me, putting this album out right now, it feels right. It feels good, my spirit is happy. The freedom I feel now that the music is out for the people to listen to is above anything I’ve felt in a while in terms of what’s been going on with my music. So I’m just really really grateful, to be honest. I’m just grateful I still get to do it, and people still want to hear me sing.
Speaking of No Restrictions, how did you choose the name? What really inspired the themes and everything with this album?
Yes, so “No Restrictions” is the title, it’s also one of the tracks on the album, and that song was constant throughout all the iterations and different versions of the album. I was like that has to be on there. And when I really started thinking about it, I was like this is actually where I’m at in my life. I feel very free, very unrestricted. Very much letting go of old beliefs and ideals. Old thoughts that I might’ve had about myself. I guess also free of other people’s opinions of me, to be honest. So it’s just been really lovely and it’s been a really freeing space, so No Restrictions that’s what it means in my personal life, and then it also applies to the music.
Everybody met me on [American] Idol when I was singing a different genre every single week, and I can sing everything, so I really wanted to bring that into this album. There’s country. There is R&B, there is pop. There’s dance. There’s power ballads. There’s a piano ballad. There’s an acoustic song. So there’s something for everyone, and there’s a mood for everybody. But I also, those are all bits and pieces of me from when people met me up until now, so I really wanted to kind of shine a spotlight on that.
I love that! Outside of No Restrictions, what song are you most excited for fans to hear? Or really touches your heart the most? Or really speaks to you right now?
It’s hard to pick one, to be honest, because it took so long to get to these fifteen. So I love all of them. But I feel like at this point in the world and how crazy things are. I really hope that people listen to “Give Love A Try” and kind of really absorb that message cause I think we need that now more than ever.
Are there any collaborations we can expect to see? Or is this a Jordin Sparks exclusive record?
Yes, well I thought about it. I thought about being [like] it’ll just be me, but then I got in contact with some really incredible people. And so, T-Pain is on the album. He opens up the first song it’s called “Forever.” There’s also a really pretty midtempo, but it’s like reminiscent of the early 2000s with Sean Stockman, that’s called “What Are We Doing”. And then I have an Afrobeats song called “No Cry” featuring Stonebwoy. So there’s a lot of great collaborations on there and I am currently working on a deluxe, so we’ll see who will hop on that.
Daria: That sounds like a dream. And it sounds so well rounded and we really need that because as Beyoncé said “people aren’t making albums anymore.” We need like full sets of work and that’s something we’ve all been missing.
J: I agree, thank you Beyoncé because it’s true.
You say you have so many different elements in this album. Outside of that, how is this album different from your previous work?
I think this album is different from my previous work because I’m different. I’m in such a different space in my life, and as a human being I feel like I’ve really stepped into my power as a human, a friend, a wife, a MOTHER, you know all of these different things. I feel like I’ve stepped into that, and it’s reflected in the music. I’m singing about things that people don’t really think of me. I’m just in this space where I’m gonna sing about the things that I feel like singing about and what I love because it’s been a while.
I won [American] Idol at 17, and that was 17 years ago so there’s been a lot of life that has happened since then. I’ve learned a few things, so it’s just different because now I’ve arrived at this space and this Jordin who I am now. I’ve never been this Jordin before, so it’s really fun to be open in that way and explore and figure things out. And I think the other thing is that my voice is different. I’ve utilized my voice in different ways that I wasn’t doing before. So when I push myself to what my voice can do, I think people can really hear that on this project.
D: I love that. I especially love when artists really express and challenge themselves because not everything [in music] needs to be easy.
J: Yes, you gotta put in the work right.
D: Exactly, that’s what we wanna hear. Because I can’t do it, I need you to do it.
Outside of your album, what are you currently listening to, and what’s currently on repeat?
Usher’s Coming Home Album, excellent. It’s really really good. Ariana Grande’s Eternal Sunshine. I love it, I’m obsessed with it. Victoria Monet’s Jaguar II. All the things Victoria Monet. Tori Kelly’s New Album [Tori].
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Along with the music she listens to in her personal time, Sparks has been listening to The Living Jingle by Kidde and has partnered with them for their Cause for Alarm campaign, bringing attention to the importance of fire safety.
This jingle that they have is all about getting to safety and knowing what to do when a fire starts or breaks out. So there’s a lyric that goes “When you hear beeps that last, you know it’s time to get out fast,” and I think that’s really important, it’s super sticky. My son can remember that easily. So that’s definitely something that I’ve been listening to so I can learn it, then I can teach it to him, and then he’ll have it stuck in his head. Cause I know for me as a kid, music was something that really helped me in my learning. I still remember songs that I listened to in the 5th and 4th grade that really stuck with me, so I’m really excited to be a part of this campaign, but it’s also something really precious to listen to. The one that’s online that’s on their official YouTube Channel is kids that actually had been in house fires and they experienced it so they’re singing the song.
Lastly, as you continue to evolve as an artist and as a woman, what makes you feel truly grown?
I think for me right now at this juncture of my life, what makes me feel grown is knowing that I don’t have to say yes to everything. And knowing that no is a complete sentence like: no, period. I don’t have to explain myself. It’s just no. And that’s a really powerful place to be in when early on in my career, I felt like I had to say yes to everything, and I felt bad if I said no to something. I was really concerned about other people’s feelings, which I still am. I’m very empathetic. But I’m also not going to sacrifice or say yes to something that doesn’t feel right in my spirit or doesn’t sit well with me. And I think that really makes me feel grown because it took a while to get to this space. Because you have to go through so much and you have to learn and it’s something that you learn.
It’s like a muscle. Being able to say no is something that I had to really work on, but that muscle is very strong now. So I think that definitely makes me feel grown as well as just knowing that you can change your mind at any point. When you’re younger, you feel like things are fixed, like you make a decision and it’s fixed and that’s it. And now I’m at this place where I’m like, that’s not true. We have the power to change and to shift and to decide either yes, I’m going to stay here or I’m going to move or I’m going to take this risk. We can decide that at any point and that’s really, really powerful and it opens up the world so much as well. So I think those two things would be what really made me feel grown.
