Jordin Sparks anxiously waited four years to audition for American Idol because she was only 12 when the show first aired. But once she turned 16 – the minimum age requirement for Idol contestants – Sparks blew the judges away with her rendition of Celine Dion's "Because You Loved Me," eventually taking the crown as the youngest Idol winner in history.

Although Sparks is just old enough to legally drive, this "rising star" isn't a rookie to fame: Her famous father Phillippi played cornerback in the NFL for the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys. The talented teen previously auditioned for Star Search, but TV juggernaut American Idol made the bubbly beauty a household name.

 

At the tender age of 18 months, Sparks skips baby talk and finds her voice through singing. Her first songs are her ABC's and "Jesus Loves Me," according to her mother Jodi.

Sparks, 13, is cast in an ensemble role in Phoenix's Valley Youth Theatre's production of The Wiz. "She was pretty young then," artistic director Bobb Cooper tells the New York Post. "She was good; she got even better." Later that year she appears in the theater's production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella and the Sandra Day O'Connor High School's production of A Christmas Carol and Magalene.

At 14,Sparks enters NBC's America's Most Talented Kid. In her first appearance, Sparks wins but loses in the championship round. She also auditions for Star Search and the American Idol spin-off, Junior Idol. "When I'm on the stage, I feel like I can be myself and nobody will care," Sparks tells PEOPLE. "I love being up there. I love seeing the faces in the crowd. I love hearing the clapping when you're performing."