More than music?
When it came down to her and Blake Lewis in the finale, it felt like everyone was watching. It’s easy to forget how huge the show used to be. Seventy-four million votes were cast in the finale, and more than 30 million viewers tuned in to see her win. “This is My Now” was her victory song.
“When I won, all of a sudden I was like the most recognizable person on the planet for like 24 hours,” she recalls. “It was absolutely insane. I just remember thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, this really just happened.’ And then my whole world turned upside down.”
It was a whirlwind that she says caught her off guard.
“A lot happened really quickly,” she says. “For a little bit, I had bad anxiety and panic attacks and pressure and stress. I mean, I went from being with my mom and family every single day to only seeing them every couple of months. That’s a lot for a kid to take on.” At times, she says, it’s been tough. “The down side is a lot of sacrifice and being alone — not lonely, but alone,” she says. “I’m a huge family person and not being able to make some things — that’s not easy. But my family has been completely understanding and they are so great and supportive. There are times when I want to go to see my nieces and, ‘Crap, I have an interview and I can’t go.’ So it’s hard, but I’ve learned how to balance things. It took awhile, but I think I’ve got the hang of it and I’m happy about it now.”
‘No Air’
She has no regrets. Though her recording career has quieted a bit in recent years, she launched it with a bang: Her self-titled debut album sold a million copies and produced two platinum-selling hits, “Tattoo” and “No Air.”
If subsequent releases didn’t attract the same attention, much of it was beyond her control. She was launched during one of the most turbulent times in the music industry, just as old business paradigms began to fall away.
“Honestly, nothing ever stays the same, and here I am in the middle of it,” she says. “I’m just grateful people want to hear me sing. It’s really hard for me to rush and be like, ‘OK, I need to make five albums in five years.’ I don’t work that way. I really think about what I’m saying and what I want it sound like and how I want it to feel.”
She’s working on some tracks and hopes to have new music available soon.
“For the first time in my adult life, I have complete control to do what I want musically,” she says. “I’ve done one oldschool R&B song that’s completely raw. Another one is a rock thing and it’s crazy. I’m kind of experimenting. I love every genre, and I feel like this is my time to be able to experiment with that. I mean, I may go in next and do a country song. I’m just excited.”
At this point, music seems to be just one part of her career. She made her film debut in 2012, playing the title role in the musical drama “Sparkle,” with no less than Whitney Houston starring as her mother. Sparks appeared on Broadway in “In the Heights,” better known as “that other show by Lin-Manuel Miranda.”
She’s also done a lot of TV work and made a name for herself as someone who gives talent and time to charitable causes. And there are always public events and red-carpet affairs to keep her in the public eye. Could music be moving to the back burner?
‘Music will always be No. 1,” she says. “I don’t care about the glitz and glamour. I don’t honestly care if another person takes my picture on a red carpet or not. Music and singing to me are like breathing. It’s something I have to do. I am compelled when I wake up every day to sing a song. That phrase ‘I have a song in my heart?’ I live it every day, whether it’s in the shower or in the car. Maybe it’s a theater, maybe it’s a club, maybe even an arena — I don’t care, just as long as I get to sing.
“I’d love to go back Broadway. I love to act. It’s fun. You get to dive into another character. I like co-hosting things. I really love everything that falls under the arts, but music is something I need. It’s not about the industry, it’s about that I need to sing.”
Indeed, she always come back to her love of music when it comes to her career.
“The greatest thing is I get to sing for my job. I get to do what I love every day. I have people who tell me a certain song of mine was their wedding song or got them through a hard time. I had one girl tell me her music kept her from committing suicide. It’s extremely heavy and overwhelming, but is such an integral part of our everyday lives, and I’m a part of it in really the best way.”
She says something that reminds you why the public fell in love with her 10 years ago.
“Fame was never my goal,” she says. ‘I just knew I wanted to sing in front of people. I just wanted to tell stories that moved people.”