As Jordin Sparks celebrates her first headlining tour in New York, the American Idol-alum treated fans to a concert at the Nokia Theater. Opening number ‘Battlefield’ introduced the backing talent with gospel infused structure leading directly into the Rihanna-ish ‘S.O.S”. ‘Watch You Go,’ comes on next. The reggae-influenced version saw Jordin dancing her sexy two-step. Even when Jordin slowed things down a bit due to high number of mids and ballads, the crowd still seemed in tune.

FeFe Dobson is smiling somewhere right now as ‘Don’t Let It Go To Your Head,” begins. The song was originally included on Dobson’s debut album but receiving writing credit isn’t so shabby either. “Don’t Let It Go To Your Head,” could have been the perfect single for the project which has possibly gone unnoticed by Jive honchos. On ‘Walking on Air’ for a brief second Jordin handed the lead to her female background singer who could have made Kelly Price quench which lead into ‘No Parade.’

‘Tatoo,” remember her first single? Well her fans sure do and sung along as she held the mic out to catch her breath. To close the show the singer drove directly into her biggest hit thus far, “No Air,” and you can’t help but miss Chris Brown a little on the song but Jordin shows just why she’s a star. The harmonies from the background and the male part sung by background vocalist leaves you trembling while wondering if Chris was just eye candy. The “Battlefield,” tour not only treats fans but shows the industry that this is one artist we need to pay close attention to.

Recently, Groovevolt.com reporter Candace Deanes,  had the opportunity to sit with singer/songwriter Fefe Dobson to talk about her new album and upcoming projects.

How would you say you have changed since the release of your first album?
“On the first record I just hit my teens, a couple years in, and so I wrote it when I was really young and about the experiences that I had earlier on in my life. Now I am in my twenties and talking about the things that are going on now, the experience and the lyrics are in my writing are different. I am definitely more patient with when I made this record so things come out easier”

What have you been up to between your first release and the release of “Joy”?
“Yeah, I have been working on “Joy”; I am about to have some of my songs on other artists’ albums. Jordin Sparks, Miley Cyrus and just found out Salina Gomez as well. Yeah, and some of the songs on “Joy” were written a year ago.”

What song on the album do you like the most or most describes you?
“It’s so hard to choose they all touch me in different ways and are my favorite for different reasons. “I Want You,” the recent single, is such a short song and I wrote it really quick. I actually wrote most of it and then came back to it later on a year later. It’s a little gem. (laughs) and “In Your Touch” is a ballad. It’s about an experience I went through when I was in a relationship that was something I could not get over for three years.”

What can fans expect from this album?
“I think fans will see that it is Rock & Roll and still poppy. Still fun and energetic, you can dance it, cry to it, and yeah do what ever you want.”

What musical artists have influenced your style?
“Rock & Roll, I was really influenced by many artists from Guns and Roses to the White Stripes to Johnny Cash. Oh gosh so many artists the Kills and the Peaches, just certain bands that I really love. I listen to so much music and soaked it all in while I was creating this record.”

What do you think about the comparison of you and Rihanna?
“I don’t really notice, I don’t have cable and I sometimes have internet when I can get it. I have seen some clips when they compare my face to her face and my hair to her hair. I kind of giggle its cute. But I really just want to focus on the music and maybe a turkey sandwich (laughs)”

What would be your message to your fans or advice you would give about growing up and trying to fit in?
“Stick to your guns, and it’s ok to be an individual and no one should be shun for being different. Individuality should be celebrated.”

At sentencing Tuesday (August 25), Chris Brown was sentenced to five years’ probation and six months’ community labor for abuse against pop singer Rihanna and ordered to stay away from his former girlfriend for the next five years.

 Brown will serve his sentence in his home state of Virginia. “I am not amused with the chatter that has been on the airwaves and any violation of your probation in this case comes with the potential for state prison,” Judge Patricia Schnegg told Brown.
 One of the probation reports describes two previous incidents while in Europe in February 2009, Rihanna slapped Brown during an argument, and he shoved her into a wall. In the second attack, Brown allegedly broke the front and passenger side windows on a Range Rover they were driving while in Barbados. The incidents were not reported…

Former “American Idol,” judge Paula Abdul has signed on to host the return of VH1’s Divas Live! Talent includes Leona Lewis, Miley Cyrus, Adele and recently added Jordin Sparks. The special will air live on September 17…

Billboard magazine will name Beyonce Knowles the woman of the year at its annual Women in Music event. Last year’s “Woman of the Year” honorees were Ciara and previous years winners included Reba McEntire. Beyonce will be in the building to accept her award at the October 2 event in New York City…

Disney star Demi Lovato topped the Billboard 200 album chart this week after her sophomore set, Here We Go Again, sold 108,000 copies in its first week of release.

While Lovato topped the Billboard 200, the best-selling album of the week was the late Michael Jackson’s Number Ones, which was No. 1 on the Top Comprehensive Albums chart, and which sold 154,000 copies, down 21 percent from last week.

Last week’s top album on the Billboard 200, Daughtry’s Leave This Town, dropped one spot to No. 2 after selling more than 100,000 copies. They were followed at No. 3 by Maxwell’s BLACKsummers’night, which dropped one spot on sales of 72,000 units.

The NOW 31 compilation retains the No. 4 spot on sales of 58,000 copies. Rounding out the top five is the Hannah Montana 3 television soundtrack, which dropped two spots after selling 54,000 units.

American Idol winner Jordin Sparks‘ sophomore album, Battlefield, entered the charts at No. 7 on sales of 48,000 copies.

Concert promoters AEG Live added 15 concert dates to the already-announced 10-show run for Michael Jackson’s summer run at London, England’s O2 Arena. According to promotes, an advance allotment of half of the tickets for the 10 July shows announced last week sold out soon after going on sale. Tickets are on sale to registered buyers, with approximately one-half of the tickets being held for those who signed up for the online pre-sale. Ticket buyers crashed Ticketmaster’s system Wednesday (March 11) as a result of “an unprecedented level of demand,” the company’s managing director,Chris Edmonds said…

Following in the foot steps of U2’s recent residency on The Late Show With David Letterman, Jay Leno is getting quite the sendoff from another legendary musical act. Prince will perform on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno three nights in a row from March 25 through 27, the same week that Leno ends his run as host of The Tonight Show. Prince is set to release two new albums, MPLSoUND, and LOtUSFLOW3R, March 29. Prince, long known for his creative and unique marketing strategies will sell the two albums (and a third by his new artist Bria Valente) exclusively through Target for $11.98…

Fresh off the heels of their feature film, Jonas Brothers: The 3-D Concert, the Jonas Brothers revealed tour dates for some shows on their 44-date North American tour, as well as engagements in South American and the U.K. The tour kicks off June 20 at the Dallas Cowboys’ new stadium in Texas, and ends August 31, at the Scotiabank Place in Ottawa. Tickets will go on sale March 16 to select fan club members and to the general public March 20. Supporting the brothers will be American Idol winner Jordin Sparks.