March is Women’s History Month, and in honor of the occasion, People asked Jordin Sparks to name a woman in the music industry she looks up to. Jordin selected the late Whitney Houston — not just because she was an incredible singer, but because, Jordin says, “She was always honest.”
Whitney and Jordin co-starred in the 2012 movie Sparkle, a remake of the 1976 film of the same name. Jordin says of her co-star, “I already, as a little girl, had listened to her music, and so I already adored her voice. But to be able to spend that time with her when we shot the movie was really, really special.”
“Sometimes, people are like, ‘Don’t meet your idols,’ but it wasn’t like that with her,” Jordin continues. “She was very kind, she was very funny.”
But also, Jordin says, “She would tell you what she needed to say when she needed to say it, and she would put you in your place, but in a kind way. I really appreciated that about her. She was always honest.”
And one thing in particular stuck with her, Jordin recalls.
“I remember one time we were sitting on set, listening to music, and I said something like, ‘I wish I could do that,'” Jordin shares. “Because somebody was killing this note that we were listening to. She looked at me and was like, ‘What are you talking about? You can do that, and don’t let anybody ever tell you that you can’t, including yourself.'”
“I was just like, ‘Whoa.’ I wasn’t expecting her to say that,” notes Jordin. “My heart burst in that moment because I was like, ‘Wow, I’m going to remember that forever.'”
Jordin’s latest single is “Love Me Like I Am” with for KING & COUNTRY.