Jordin Sparks is giving fans insight into why she took a sabbatical from music and how she met her husband Dana Isaiah Thomas in the process. After her 2015 album Right Here Right Now, Jordin didn’t release any new music again until the 2020 Christmas album Cider & Hennessy.
And in an interview with T-Pain’s Nappy Boy Radio Podcast, she revealed what was happening behind the scenes of her career that forced her to take a sabbatical. One of the reasons she shared was that she had writer’s block. “In terms of creativity, I had writer’s block from 2015 up until lockdown,” she said. “I would get into the studio, but I didn’t feel connected to anything.”
But prior to having writer’s block, the American Idol season 6 winner found herself in a lose-lose situation after her former record label dissolved. “So I put out an album in 2015 and it’s called Right Here Right Now and we did everything–well at the time what everything that you’re supposed to do to line everything up,” she said. “We had the promo tour, I went and shook all the hands with all the radio stations and all this stuff. The album came and it was like crickets ‘cause the label that I was with at the time went bankrupt.”
“And then there was another thing that happened. I can’t even remember now, it was so long ago, but there was another thing that happened like a contract went over, voided or something like that and so then that was it. I was signed to the label, so the label didn’t exist, so I wasn’t signed anymore.”
With so many changes in her career and a “big explosion” that occurred in her personal life seemingly hinting at her break up with Jason Derulo, the “No Air” singer felt it was time to “reassess my life.” She began her sabbatical in 2016 and met her husband shortly after.
“I took that sabbatical and really started to focus on myself. I was like I have so much love in my life already that I don’t need anymore,” she said. “Whatever comes into my life next is gonna be a bonus and just be an addition to the amazing life I already have. Literally, God placed him on my doorstep and we met and we never stopped talking and we’re about to celebrate five years this July.”
The mom of one also shared how she knew Dana was the one. “Sometimes when you’re dating you get giddy, crazy, anxious, sweaty, and all that stuff, but it wasn’t like that when I met him,” she said. “It was safe. I felt safe. I felt comfort and I felt like, I know with him, we’re gonna elevate and do much more and I’m gonna be able to do much more than I ever could by myself. Seriously, I wouldn’t be sitting with you right now if he didn’t help me see who I was again and push me and get me there. So, that’s bae right there.”
The couple got married in 2017 and they share a son Dana Isaiah Thomas Jr. together.
Jordin Sparks The American Treasure | T-Pain's NBR Podcast EP #29
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