Jordin Sparks: "I have never been in a better place"
For Jordin Sparks, everything is on the "fast-track" these days.
The 25-year-old R&B/pop singer says she feels like her life has been on "fast forward" over the past few months as she gears up to release her new album, "Right Here, Right Now," in early 2015. It marks her first new studio effort since 2009's "Battlefield."
"I'm really really excited to do this. It's really happening this time," Sparks told CBS News. "I'm ecstatic. I'm terrified. I'm beyond words."
The 2007 "American Idol" winner has already given fans a glimpse of what's to come with the release of her mixtape this fall. The rest of her new music will be heard when "Right Here, Right Now" comes out next year on Sony Music's Louder Than Life imprint.
Meanwhile, Sparks has had quite the whirlwind of the year, appearing in the movie "Left Behind" with Nicolas Cage and recording new music. She also broke up with her longtime boyfriend, singer Jason Derulo, in September.
Next year is poised to be even busier with the release of the new set and a possible tour.
Read on for more about Sparks' new album and why she's teaming up with the new Make It Happen initiative:
On releasing a mixtape this fall: "We were going back and forth with everything the mix tape. We kind of wanted to do an old-school sampler so people can get a taste of what's to come. Also it's been so long since my last record I wanted people to be able to have a little sample of it before because it is so different from what I've put out previously."
On status of new album: "In terms of my album I do have a set amount of songs. If something great comes up that happens to be better than something that's on there I wouldn't mind swapping it out. A great song is a great song no matter where it comes from or when it comes in. For me I do have most of it down. Most of the songs on the mixtape will be on there except for a couple. And then there will be songs that you haven't heard."
On sound of new album: "It's been a while since my last record. So for me, the landscape has changed. Everything is different. It's terrifying to me because essentially everything is new to me again. I'm a new artist again. I'm reintroducing myself. I think if things don't scare you then you're not doing the right thing."
On new song "It Ain't You": "With this first single we went back and forth on things...With the songs that are coming out now and some of the things guys are saying about women, I was like, 'Oh we have to have a ladies' anthem! We have to!' And so I got in the studio and it kind of just flowed out and worked...We wanted something for the ladies to be able to listen to and jam and turn up and say, 'You know what? That's right. It doesn't matter what they're saying because I know who I am.'"
On if she can relate to "It Ain't You": "I feel like every woman can. I know that I can. When people assume things but they have no idea. Or they say one thing and or they say one thing and then all of a sudden they say, 'Women are not loyal.'...It just doesn't make any sense. I feel like there needed to be a song in that space -- that was kind of like, 'No, actually you're not all that. This is what happens from our perspective.' I just thought it would be fun to do and it ended up being a great song."
On themes and sound of new album: "This time around actually it's 100 percent what I've wanted to sing about, whether it's lyrical content or the sound -- to being able to write with different people. It's been 100 percent me...I have never been in a better place, actually. And it's amazing I get to talk about it now. I'm in a great place."
On if Jason Derulo split inspired new music: "As an artist we're inspired by everything that happens to us in our lives. I remember when I first came out [with music] I was inspired by a lot of different things. I may not have necessarily written the song. But the lyrical content spoke to me because I had gone through it. This time around it's awesome because I've had the time to sit and think about what I wanted to write -- just literally going into the studio and let it just come out the way it comes out. And that's what it is. So I got some really sad songs. I've got some really in-your-face songs. I've got some romantic songs. I've got some love songs. I've got some happy songs because that's all of it. You deal with all of it. And it really was a cathartic process for me to be able to write and go through all that in studio. So everything goes in there. So you'll be hearing a lot of different emotions."
On the teaming with the "Make It Happen" campaign: "They're [Microsoft Lumia] encouraging people to finish resolutions they made in 2014 -- things they want to complete this year. What they're doing is having people go to their Facebook page and make pledges on what they want to complete and they will pick and choose actually help make it happen."
On why she got involved: "I just thought it was really cool because I'm all about inspiring people to make a difference -- -and for me my pledge is to continue to bring awareness to my campaign, I'm M.A.D., Are You? It just seemed like the perfect fit and I love that they're encouraging people to commit to something and to finish it."
On her I'm M.A.D., Are You? Foundation: "We just want to encourage from any age...to find something that makes you mad essentially...makes you passionate and makes you want to go out and change and to fix it...Whether it's big or small -- from picking up a piece of trash to reading to kindergartners to visiting the elderly."
On her time on "American Idol": "I'm like a veteran now, it's weird! It's very weird when I look back on it now -- it's almost like an outer-body experience. I look back on it and am like, 'I did that? That was me?' Even the performances, I'm like, 'When did I do that? How did I make it through that?' It was so crazy. And I have to thank my family because I was underage, so I had to have a guardian with me. I don't think I could have done it without them there...It was so stressful, but anything I do now is like a cakewalk. If I could do that show I can get through anything."
On more acting gigs: "I got bitten by the acting bug and I absolutely love it. It's so much fun to be able to dive into a different character. And I learn so much about the process and myself with each role that I get to take...Hopefully if there's an amazing project or an amazing role that comes up that hopefully I would get if I auditioned for it I would definitely do it. I'm not ruling it out completely, but music is definitely taking over."
