Sparks was born in Phoenix, Arizona to Jodi Weidmann-Sparks and former NFL defensive back Phillippi Sparks. Her mother is Caucasian and her father is African-American. She has a younger brother, Phillippi "PJ" Sparks, Jr., who plays football. She grew up in the suburb of Roseland, New Jersey while her father played for the New York Giants. She attended Noecker Elementary in Roseland for three years. After living in New Jersey, Sparks attended Northwest Community Christian School in Phoenix through the eighth grade. Sparks attended Sandra Day O'Connor High School until 2006, when she was homeschooled to better concentrate on her singing. Sparks is an evangelical Christian and attends Calvary Community Church in Phoenix. On her American Idol biography, she thanks her parents and God for her win. She wears a purity ring that symbolizes her desire to remain a virgin until marriage. She won an award for best young artist of the year in Arizona for three years. In 2006, Sparks was one of six winners who won the Phoenix Torrid search for the "Next Plus Size Model". She was flown to California, where she was used in a number of Torrid ads and promotional pieces.A full-page ad for Torrid featuring Sparks ran in the December 2006 issue of Seventeen magazine. Then-President George W. Bush congratulates Sparks after she sang the U.S. National Anthem Wednesday, February 20, 2008, during the welcome for President Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush to the U.S. Ambassador's Residence in Accra, Ghana, by Ambassador Pamela Bridgewater. On August 17, 2007, it was announced Sparks had signed to 19 Recordings/Jive Records/Zomba Label Group, becoming the first Idol winner to join the label group. David Archuleta (Season 7, runner up), Kris Allen (Season 8, winner), and Allison Iraheta (Season 8, 4th place) also joined the label group, making them the only four Idol contestants who signed a contract with them. Sparks has stated that she has recorded some songs for the album but the bulk of the recording would be done in Los Angeles after the tour is over. She said the album would be "Top 40, radio-friendly, uplifting stuff" hopefully mixing "the pop rock sound of Kelly Clarkson with the R&B edge of Beyonce". Her debut album came out on November 20 and November 27, 2007. Along with the label announcement, the first single was revealed to be "Tattoo", which was released to U.S. radio on August 27, 2007. The song became the album's first top ten single. After the release of "Tattoo", Sparks' official website ran a poll asking fans to vote for what her next single should be, the choices being "No Air", "Freeze", "One Step at a Time", or "Shy Boy". On February 3, 2008, it was announced that "No Air" had won the vote and was being added to radio stations. The song became a hit before it was officially released as a single and peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 where it remained for four consecutive weeks. On June 3, 2008, "No Air" was released on 'Now That's What I Call Music Vol. 28' as the ninth track on the album, along with 19 other hits from 2008. She performed "No Air" with Chris Brown on the April 10, 2008 results show as part of Idol Gives Back. Sparks is the only Idol from outside Australia to top the ARIA Singles Chart with "No Air". The song toped the 3 million mark in paid downloads on the week of October 11, 2009. It's the first song by an American Idol alum to do so. It's also Brown's first song to hit the 3 million mark. Sparks appeared at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards on September 7, 2008 where she was nominated for 2 VMAs for Best Female Video and Best New Artist. She is the second American Idol winner to have 2 or more nominations after the release of one album. The first being Kelly Clarkson with 3 nominations. Britney Spears for "Piece Of Me" actually took home the award that night for Best Female Video, while Tokio Hotel beat out Sparks for the Best New Artist award with "Ready, Set, Go!". While at the same VMAs, Sparks caused controversy by responding to a joke made by host Russell Brand during his opening monologue, when he held up a silver ring, claiming to have relieved one of the Jonas Brothers of his virginity, saying he would "take them more seriously if they wore it (the ring) around their genitals." Sparks took umbrage, responding at the start of her introduction of rapper T.I.: “I just have one thing to say about promise rings. It’s not bad to wear a promise ring because not everybody — guy or girl — wants to be a slut." In response to controversy over her "slut" remark, she told Entertainment Weekly that she doesn't regret the remark, commenting that "I wish I would've worded it differently – that somebody who doesn't wear a promise ring isn't necessarily a slut – but I can't take it back now". While presenting an award at the American Music Awards, she started by stating "I'm gonna stick to the script this time" in reference to the VMA incident. She has won an American Music Award for Favorite Artist in the Adult Contemporary Category. This was her first nomination at the American Music Awards. In November 2008 Sparks teamed up with Wet Seal to create her own clothing line. The collection, appropriately named 'Sparks', began with an assortment of holiday dresses delivering to stores just in time for the busy Thanksgiving weekend. The collection will later include casual apparel and accessories. Each piece will reflect Sparks' youthful and collected sense of style. The line launched on November 19, 2008 and comes in sizes XS to XL. Sparks joined Alicia Keys for a second time on an Australian leg of her As I Am Tour, which began on December 6, 2008 in Auckland, New Zealand at the Vector Arena and ended December 20, 2008.