Welcome to american-idol-blog.com, your spot in the blogosphere for all things Idol, American or otherwise. Given our success with big-brother-blog.com and survivor-blog.com, we hope you have as much fun with this site as we had (and are having) with those.

So, before we get too deep into auditions for the 2008 season, let’s spend a little time catching up on 2007’s contestants, including 17-year-old winner, Jordin Sparks.

The first single from her soon to be released CD, Jordin Sparks, called “Tattoo,” hardly got any airplay this summer and was met by tepid reviews and non-existent commercial success. Some have even questioned whether Idol producers have really gone to bat for the Arizona native like they have for previous winners.

According to mtv.com, Sparks has enlisted several producers for her first CD “including production team the Underdogs (Ne-Yo, Chris Brown); Robbie Nevil (who has worked on the “High School Musical” and “Hannah Montana” soundtracks); Norwegian duo Stargate (Nas, Rihanna); Sam Watters (Diana DeGarmo, Jessica Simpson); and Eman (Nick Lachey, Katharine McPhee).”

Most notable among those is the production team, the Underdogs, and the Norwegian duo, Stargate. Some of you old enough might remember Robbie Nevil for his 1980s hit, “C’est La Vie,” but Nevil has made his mark as a producer well beyond any success he had on the radio. However, the talents of those who have worked with the likes of Ne-Yo and Chris Brown will play a bigger role in any success Sparks might have with her first release, even if her style and musical range is more complementary to that of “High School Musical” or “Hannah Montana.”

When we look at the best initial releases from previous Idol winners, namely Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood, it’s clear that a lot of work went into the actual songwriting. While it’s great that Sparks has enlisted these producers, I sure would like to see who’s doing the songwriting.

Furthermore, while Idol executives might be perceived as giving Sparks less of a backing than previous winners, it might be that they’re so focused on the music for 2007’s champ that they haven’t even had time to keep her in the summer spotlight. And the summer tour for the Idol Top 10 might have played a role as well.

How this plays into future Idol seasons is also telling because Sparks has the fate of future younger performers hanging in the balance. If her CD goes over like a lead balloon, or let’s say like Taylor Hicks’ first CD, then younger contestants are likely to face stiffer criticism from the fearsome threesome of Randy, Paula and Simon.

Don’t think that’s so?

How many of you rooting for 28-year-old Melinda Doolittle last season thought she should have been supported a bit more strongly by the likes of queen-maker Simon Cowell earlier in the season? In other words, a lot about what will happen in 2008 really rests on the success Jordin Sparks has come Nov. 20, when Jordin Sparks hits stores.