In 2008, Jordin Sparks released one of the biggest R&B collaborations of the year when she had Chris Brown featured on her hit song “No Air,” peaking at No. 3 on Billboard’s Hot 200 and going on to sell over three million copies in the U.S. alone. The following year, the song was nominated for “Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals” at the Grammys, and despite being a strong contender to win the award, Sparks alludes that the domestic abuse incident involving Rihanna the night prior subsequently led them to be snubbed.
During her appearance on ‘Truth Or Drink,’ the 33-year-old ‘American Idol’ winner got candid about what transpired when she ended up showing up to the Grammys red carpet, saying she was urged by her label’s publicist to act like she didn’t know anything about the altercation between Brown and Rihanna. “And I’m sitting just looking at everyone like… ‘I don’t know,’” Sparks said. “I was also a kid; I’m eighteen years old at this point. Like… then, I get it to my phone, and I’m just like, ‘Oh, my God!”
View this post on Instagram
Sparks seemingly implied that the incident between the former couple may have been the result of why she didn’t end up winning the Grammy for “No Air,” explaining that because she was fairly young when she started in the music business, she didn’t know “about the ins and outs of the industry and the puppetry and the hands that can go into a lot of things. That was a really tough time for me because I just didn’t understand; I didn’t get it.”
In late 2022, the pair performed their hit collaboration for the first time since 2008, when Sparks made a guest appearance on Brown’s One of Them Ones Tour. Then, in November, the mother-of-one defended her duet partner following news his Michael Jackson tribute at the ‘American Music Awards’ performance alongside Ciara had been pulled at the very last minute.
There were rumors swirling that producers of the awards ceremony felt unsure about Brown being the one to honor Jackson while other reports claimed that it was simply a scheduling conflict — nothing more, nothing less. Whatever the case may be, while being interviewed by a TMZ cameraman, Sparks touched on the moment Brown was booed at the ceremony after winning “Favorite Male R&B Artist,” leading presenter Kelly Rowland to check a studio audience member for their rudeness.
A huge APPRECIATION TWEET for @JordinSparks and @chrisbrown for th best vocals ever on any song❤️🌹we lost our voices tryna keep up with U guys n by the end of it we cdnt breathe, literally haha we needed oxygen masks🤭such a beautiful CLASSIC!!! 👌, A GEM!!! 😘 pic.twitter.com/OOshvb3TrT
— GathyRyn (@callmegathy) January 8, 2023
“People deserve to be able to grow and learn and be able to live their life without things hanging over them,” Sparks said. “Everybody deserves that, especially him.” She also addressed his performance being canceled at the last minute, adding, “They just shouldn’t have cancelled the performance. That’s how I feel about it.”