Jordin Sparks is grateful to have worked alongside one of her childhood idols – the late Whitney Houston – on her latest project, “Sparkle.”
Despite being one of music’s biggest superstars, Jordin says Whitney genuinely wanted to help her young co-stars succeed.
“The amazing thing about [Whitney] is she wanted to see all of us shine – she wanted to see all of us have moments as well,” Jordin, who stopped by Access Hollywood Live with “Sparkle” co-stars Tika Sumpter and Carmen Ejogo, told Kit Hoover and guest co-host Cheryl Burke on Thursday. “It was just amazing to get that kind of example from somebody I looked up to.”
The 22-year-old former “American Idol” said Whitney’s upbeat , fun-loving attitude was contagious.
“She would walk on the set and she would set the tone for the entire day,” Jordin said.
Carmen, who plays one of Jordin’s sisters in the musical film, said Whitney brought a certain “luminescence” wherever she went and was thrilled to finally be making the “Sparkle” re-boot after a decade-long delay.
“As a 13-year-old girl, [Whitney] would watch the original ‘Sparkle’ every single week for months and months. She was obsessed with this film,” Carmen shared. “I feel like we got to [share] a moment in her life that was just really, really exciting for her because she was really pursuing a dream and it was finally coming true.”
“Sparkle” hits theaters on Friday.
— Erin O’Sullivan
Copyright © 2024 by NBC Universal, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
This material may not be republished, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.