{alltv} Jordin Sparks' cup is overflowing

NEW YORK — "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!"

The daughter of former NFL player Phillippi Sparks attributes her can-do enthusiasm — and her lack of self-consciousness — to her dad's example. "I would watch him do interviews, sign autographs, interact with fans. Then when I started on Idol, he said to me, 'Jordin, there's always going to be someone else who wants the same thing you do. You just have to work hard and make sure you do the best you can.' "

Sparks continues to take other wholesome virtues to heart. She still wears a promise ring, indicating that she intends to practice abstinence until she's married. Asked if she's dating anyone, she alludes to her long-distance relationship with Steph Jones, whom she met on the Idols Live tour three years ago, while he was writing songs for runner-up Blake Lewis.

"He's very athletic, and really funny, and we've become really good friends," says Sparks, who doesn't mention Jones by name. "But we're taking it really slow. It's hard when someone's across the country, and you don't see him every day."

Alan Light, director of programming for public television's Live From the Artists' Den, has no problem with Sparks' squeaky-clean image but thinks she would do well to show "more of an edge" creatively.

"Part of the reason Carrie Underwood has gotten so big is that she can credibly do a song like (Underwood's morning-after lament) Last Name. She can play the bad girl, even though we still think of her as a good girl."

Predictably, Sparks has nothing but kind words for all her fellow Idol alumni ("It's like a big club") and the series itself. "Idol will always be a part of who I am. Being on it was exhilarating — slightly traumatic, but a lot of fun."

Sparks admits she's "really sad" about the departure of original judges Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell, "because they were on my season. I'll miss them, but I wish them the best. And Ellen (DeGeneres) — hers was one of the first TV shows I did after winning, and she was so sweet. But you can tell she doesn't like hurting people's feelings."

Sparks is well aware that another change on the show — lowering the eligibility age to 15 — threatens her personal record as Idol's youngest winner yet.

"Oh, well," she says, her smile chipper as ever. "Guess we'll just have to see what happens!"