BREAKING NEWS: "American Idol" Jordin Sparks to join In the Heights Aug. 19
BREAKING NEWS: 'American Idol' winner Jordin Sparks to join In the Heights #25
Posted: 5/3/10 at 3:47pm
"It's too bad her second album has not performed very well."
Exactly why she is scrambling into a Broadway show. She needs the work.
BREAKING NEWS: 'American Idol' winner Jordin Sparks to join In the Heights #26
Posted: 5/3/10 at 4:00pm

BREAKING NEWS: 'American Idol' winner Jordin Sparks to join In the Heights #27
Posted: 5/3/10 at 4:49pm
Anyone else think the slow de-Latinification of "Heights" is odd?
And on a side note, I always cringe thinking of an "evangelical Christian who wears a purity ring" taking a Broadway role away from a sane person.
BREAKING NEWS: 'American Idol' winner Jordin Sparks to join In the Heights #28
Posted: 5/3/10 at 4:54pmI think Jordin is Latina somewhere.
BREAKING NEWS: 'American Idol' winner Jordin Sparks to join In the Heights #29
Posted: 5/3/10 at 4:56pmPerhaps... Wikipedia just says "Caucasian" mother and "Africa-American" father. (checked before making my catty comment) :)
Featured Actor Joined: 8/13/05
BREAKING NEWS: 'American Idol' winner Jordin Sparks to join In the Heights #30
Posted: 5/3/10 at 4:58pm^I'm pretty sure she's half African-American, half Caucasian. Just like Corbin though, she wouldn't look out of place with the cast so that's not my concern. Jordin's not the greatest singer ever but she should be able to do well with the vocals in this role. I don't know about the acting but she might be ok. This is a good "get" for ITH. Jordin's had a number of pop hits so she should have a decent effect on the box office.
BREAKING NEWS: 'American Idol' winner Jordin Sparks to join In the Heights #31
Posted: 5/3/10 at 5:27pmAboy...: agreed, appearance wise. And I'm usually not too sensitive to stuff like this, but listening to the OBCR just reminded me how much the characters' ethnicities and countries of birth play a part in the story.
BREAKING NEWS: 'American Idol' winner Jordin Sparks to join In the Heights #32
Posted: 5/3/10 at 5:46pm
"I always cringe thinking of an "evangelical Christian who wears a purity ring" taking a Broadway role away from a sane person."
Oh... you must be one of those "tolerant of everybody" liberals. Smart kiddo
BREAKING NEWS: 'American Idol' winner Jordin Sparks to join In the Heights #33
Posted: 5/3/10 at 5:55pmYeah & you're an "evangelical Christian who wears a purity ring."
BREAKING NEWS: 'American Idol' winner Jordin Sparks to join In the Heights #34
Posted: 5/3/10 at 6:09pm
In theory she could sing the score well, but doing it 8 times a week, I'm not so sure...
Updated On: 5/3/10 at 06:09 PM
BREAKING NEWS: 'American Idol' winner Jordin Sparks to join In the Heights #35
Posted: 5/3/10 at 7:54pm
"Kiddo": I'm a gay atheist living in the buckle of the Bible Belt. Someone going beyond "Christian" and self-identifying as an "evangelical Christian" scares the hell out of me.
BREAKING NEWS: 'American Idol' winner Jordin Sparks to join In the Heights #36
Posted: 5/3/10 at 8:29pm
I saw Jordin Sparks open for Britney Spears at Madison Square Garden last year. She sounded terrible, and she has been sidelined at various times from tours for the past several years because of vocal injury. How in the world is she going to do eight shows a week on Broadway?
We were wrong about Corbin Bleu though, so I'm willing to give the In the Heights people the benefit of the doubt.
BREAKING NEWS: 'American Idol' winner Jordin Sparks to join In the Heights #37
Posted: 5/3/10 at 8:33pm
I really like Jordin. I think she has a very nice voice. I look forward to seeing her in the show.
I forgot when Corbin leaves, but will they be in the show at the same time?
No. Unless Corbin extends again, they will not be in the show together. Corbin's last show is July 25, 2010. Jordin starts August 19, 2010.
Updated On: 5/3/10 at 08:33 PM
Leading Actor Joined: 3/26/10
BREAKING NEWS: 'American Idol' winner Jordin Sparks to join In the Heights #38
Posted: 5/3/10 at 9:13pmObviously ITH is turning into a disney tween musical, but I'll give Jordan the benefit of the doubt this time. Countdown till they start getting rid of the curse words in the show and make the show revolve around a young latina girl with big dreams and a crush on a hunky guy and get rid of that boring Usnavi character.
BREAKING NEWS: 'American Idol' winner Jordin Sparks to join In the Heights #39
Posted: 5/3/10 at 9:48pm
Anyone else think the slow de-Latinification of "Heights" is odd?
Yes. I said as much when Corbin Bleu was cast. Now Usnavi, Vanessa and Nina will all be half-black, half-white, no Hispanic and singing in Spanish about their hardships as first-generation Americans in the barrio. Great.
Countdown till they start getting rid of the curse words in the show and make the show revolve around a young latina girl with big dreams and a crush on a hunky guy and get rid of that boring Usnavi character.
No, it will revolve around a young girl with big dreams and a crush on a hunky guy. Latina is already cut.
Wanting life but never knowing how
BREAKING NEWS: 'American Idol' winner Jordin Sparks to join In the Heights #40
Posted: 5/6/10 at 6:40pmHow did I miss this news?! Jordin is terrific! Battlefield (album) is one of my favorite CDs in my iTunes. I hope I get to catch her in this! Who cares about her personal beliefs? She is talented and she won't be talking about her purity ring on stage. Let it go.
BREAKING NEWS: 'American Idol' winner Jordin Sparks to join In the Heights #41
Posted: 6/29/10 at 4:03pmBREAKING NEWS: 'American Idol' winner Jordin Sparks to join In the Heights #42
Posted: 6/29/10 at 7:51pmDoesn't seem like her technique has improved--listen to her voice flutter. She's going to blow out her voice.
BREAKING NEWS: 'American Idol' winner Jordin Sparks to join In the Heights #43
Posted: 6/29/10 at 8:38pm
Although that may be true, I think if she's still singing after belting out those very, very high pop/R&B songs like Battlefield and No Air on tour for months, singing Es and popping the occasional F as Nina won't be too bad. Having vocal issues for screaming really high songs over the screeching of thousands of teenagers, I think, is a little different than singing a challenging, but highly singable score. (which I think is one of ITH's score's biggest strengths - everything is very challenging, but not evil to its actors' voices.)
Sure, she's not perfect, but who is? I think she sounds fine and is great casting. In theory, she may be my favorite Nina thus far, as she has the harshness to her voice that Mandy Gonzales has, but actually looks 16, like Arielle Jacobs on tour (who, while incredible, I think is a just a tad mix-heavy for the score)
BREAKING NEWS: 'American Idol' winner Jordin Sparks to join In the Heights #44
Posted: 6/29/10 at 8:46pmShe is 5'11". She will tower over most of the cast.
BREAKING NEWS: 'American Idol' winner Jordin Sparks to join In the Heights #45
Posted: 6/29/10 at 8:49pmit's true that she's a giant, but at least she looks like a kid giant! : )
BREAKING NEWS: 'American Idol' winner Jordin Sparks to join In the Heights #46
Posted: 6/29/10 at 9:44pmWell she can sing the song, but I don't like how she sings it...
BREAKING NEWS: 'American Idol' winner Jordin Sparks to join In the Heights #47
Posted: 6/29/10 at 9:52pmMe either. It doesn't sound strong enough to me.
BREAKING NEWS: 'American Idol' winner Jordin Sparks to join In the Heights #48
Posted: 6/30/10 at 11:45pmI think she sounds fantastic and I'm really excited. Nina is 19 not 16.
Leading Actor Joined: 3/26/10
BREAKING NEWS: 'American Idol' winner Jordin Sparks to join In the Heights #49
Posted: 7/1/10 at 12:12amIs Chris Jackson sticking around still? I find it incredibly awkward to see Jordan who looks like a 16 yr old hook up with a dude who is around 40 years old.
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