Thirty-one million viewers watched live as she became the reigning American Idol. But, despite the Nielsen ratings, Jordin Sparks still insists her face isn't nearly as recognizable as her name. Hours before she took the stage in Sunrise, Florida, with the American Idols Live tour, the Season 6 winner spoke with TV Guide.
TV Guide: When did you get to Florida?Jordin Sparks: We got to Florida on the 1st, so we've been here for a week, you know, tanning and soaking up the sun and rehearsing....
TV Guide: Have you done any sightseeing yet?Jordin: We had a day off where I rode the WaveRunners and we all just kind of chilled. It was really fun.
TV Guide: Was that your first time on a WaveRunner?Jordin: It's like a Jet Ski, which I
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American Idol may be over but Idol Gives Back is still going strong. In an exclusive interview with TV Guide, Melinda Doolittle revealed she’s traveling to Africa this week with First Lady Laura Bush. The top 10 finalist will represent the reality show in an awareness campaign to help curtail the spread of malaria. “We’re giving out half a million bed nets,” says the former backup singer, who will spend a week on the trip. “Mosquitoes normally bite between 10 pm and 4 am. So the best-case scenario is to have this net, which is interwoven with insecticides. Not only do they land on it, but they die, so they don’t spread it to other people.”Doolittle will also perform “Amazing Grace” with a children’s choir, which she calls “a lifelong dream.” “We think it is terrific that Melinda Doolittle is joining Mrs. Bush in Zambia," says Sally McDonough, Mrs. Bush's spokesperson. "Viewers of one of America's favorite television pr...
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A trio of American Idol finalists — runner-ups Melinda Doolittle and Blake Lewis, and winner Jordin Sparks — will celebrate our nation's birthday in song on NBC's Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular. Just two days later, they will join their fellow finalists to launch the Idols Live tour in Sunrise, Florida.
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What is running through the respective minds of Jordin Sparks and Blake Lewis, as American Idol's big finale looms? Might Blake pull an upset and win this thing? And how does this Idol showdown compare to years past? We asked Rosanna Tavarez, who with Kimberly Caldwell cohosts TV Guide Channel's Idol Chat, Idol Tonight and Reality Chat, for her ta
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Jordin's got pipes that cannot be beat. Blake rocks a contemporary beat. For that reason alone, Simon Cowell has no prediction to make about the forthcoming American Idol finale. "I can't call it, because I think they’ve both got different strengths," he told TVGuide.com during a conference call to tout the new (and totally improved) season of that other AI, ABC's American Inventor (premiering June 6). "One is a better entertainer, and one is a better singer. It will come down to what they do on [Tuesday]."Later in the call, Cowell dissed the dismissal of critical darling Melinda Doolittle, but stopped short of saying it cripples Idol's credibility. "I didn’t agree with the vote, but more people should have dialed for Melinda," he said plainly. "When you allow the public to choose, you’ve got to live and die by the vote. It's as simple as that."Reflecting on Idol's season gone by — one marked by a famously coiffed crooner — Simon confessed, "I like crazy. Th...
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