Jordin Sparks performs on 'Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular', Wednesday on NBC.

It's America's birthday, but this year, it's also another milestone for the newest American Idol.Jordin Sparks makes one of her first major appearances since winning the Fox talent competition on Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular, the annual holiday special NBC televises, on Wednesday.

"I'm so excited to do this programme," Sparks says in an appropriately excited tone. "I have no idea what I'm going to be doing on it, and right after that, I leave to start the (American Idol concert) tour. It's going to be so much fun, I can't wait to get started on all of it."

Fellow Idol finalists Blake Lewis and Melinda Doolittle will perform on the Independence Day show, too. Singers Martina McBride and Joss Stone also are booked, and Natalie Morales (Today) and recent NBC hire Tiki Barber will host. More than 1,000 shells per minute will be used for the colourful display over New York, capped by the so-called Golden Mile that spans the city's skyline.

"It's kind of tripping me out," Sparks admits. "You watch it on television and think it's such a big event. I love the fourth of July. Melinda actually was the one who told me we were going to be doing this, and I said, 'What are we going to (sing)?' She said, 'I have no idea. We'll talk about it later.' I just love her and Blake; we have such a good time when we're all together."

The occasion will let Arizona-raised Sparks be in one place for a while. She says that a few weeks ago, "everything was going so fast, I was like, 'Oh, my gosh. I really just need to sit down.' So I did, and I thought of everything I'd done, and it all just hit me. It was unbelievable, and it's still a whirlwind sometimes. It's just this crazy cycle."

Intense

It won't abate with the American Idols Live! tour that launches Friday, July 6, in Sunrise, Florida, and continues through late September.

"It's going to be a blast," Sparks says. "Most of us are going to be doing songs we know we can succeed in doing and that we love to perform. There will be different groups and duets. I went to the season-four Idol tour, and this is so much different. It's going to be really intense, so I hope people come out and see us."

For the record, Sanjaya Malakar - the Idol contestant of a million hairstyles - also will be on the tour.

An American Idol fan since its debut, Sparks says the show's earlier seasons were an education for her before she started her own 'journey', as Idol host Ryan Seacrest would put it.

"Just seeing what everybody performed and what the judges responded to, and even the little things, really helped me," Sparks says. "I would think, 'I don't want to sing such-and-such song because somebody else already sang it, and I don't want to be compared to them.'

"Also, having seen an 'Idol' tour, I know the arena in my hometown was packed. It was amazing, and I kind of know what to expect in terms of how many people will be there. I love touring; it's going to be fun to wake up in a different city every day."

The home-schooled Sparks is sure to meet countless fans along the way. "I haven't really talked to many of them, but my mom got an email from a teacher who said her class had been watching Idol. One of the kids said, 'If Jordin can do American Idol and get A's, I can, too.' Things like that have been coming along, and I think, 'All I did was get up there and sing'. My mom has been telling me I've been making an impact, though, and I feel so lucky to be doing that.

"People will be constantly watching me now, and at the same time, I still need role models. Two little girls came up to me and were like, 'Jordin, we love you. You're our inspiration.' It made me want to cry because I want to reach out to them and show them they don't have to wear the latest fashions or have the coolest things or succumb to peer pressure.

Remarkable

They can just be themselves, and I want to be able to represent that."

That said, Sparks kept remarkable company during her Idol season, thanks to guest coaches ranging from Gwen Stefani and Diana Ross to Jon Bon Jovi and Tony Bennett.

"I'd be looking around," Sparks recalls, "and thinking, 'Do you see this? Do you see these people who are standing in front of me?' I mean, they're all legends and household names, and I just felt so lucky to be able to meet all of them. It was really, really cool."

Once she's past the fourth of July show and the Idol tour, Sparks will begin work on her first album, following the online success of her Idol anthem This Is My Now. She expects her CD to be released before Thanksgiving. "People sometimes take a year to make an album, and I have just a couple of months. I'm going to start meeting with writers and talking with people about songs, and I just hope that when it comes out, people like it."

- Jay Bobbin, Zap2it