Jordin Sparks shared insights into her forthcoming album.
On Thursday, 34-year-old Sparks, alongside Marcella Araica and Carly Pearce, participated in PEOPLE’s Women In The Mix panel, emphasizing the need for increased female representation in the music industry. Sparks discussed this on the red carpet before the event.
This new music is all about stepping into the woman I am now, stepping into my power, my confidence, who I am as a woman, a human, an artist, a mom, a wife, a friend, a woman,” the American Idol alum exclusively shares.
She reveals that her upcoming album will feature snippets inspired by various music genres, such as country, R&B, and a touch of her gospel roots.
The singer expresses that her upcoming album provides a sense of “freedom” within herself. Throughout her career, freedom has been a consistent theme, whether within the creative process or appearance. However, this time, she aims to embrace and feel that freedom within her music.
“I want to be able to record the music that I want to record because I want to record it, not because it has to meet certain criteria,” confesses the singer. “I want to make it for me, and I want to believe in it, and I want to love it.”
“But the album is going to be amazing because I don’t want to put any limits on myself,” Sparks adds.
In the Women In The Mix Q&A with Araica and Pearce, the “No Air” singer delved into establishing boundaries for herself within the music industry.
She clarified that joining the industry at 17 after winning American Idol’s sixth season made her realize that not everyone within the industry has positive intentions. “I have an old colleague of mine said, ‘Jordin, This is music business, not music friendship.’”
Sparks affirmed that while there are opportunities for friendship, she learned that, for many, music is primarily a job.
“People have different goals and it might not exactly align with yours,” added the singer. “So the boundaries are so important and it’s OK to hold them, we have to hold the boundaries.”
“‘No’ is a complete sentence,” elaborated the singer. “You do not have to explain yourself. You don’t have to give a reason why you’re saying no, why it’s not gonna work, [or] why you can’t make [a] meeting.”
Establishing firmer boundaries, Sparks highlighted during the Q&A that it enables her to safeguard her family, energy, peace, and peace of mind and heart. Protecting these aspects has become her top priority, taking precedence over everything else.
She added that after making “that decision,” everything she dreamed of began materializing because she wasn’t distracted by other factors.