It was just two years ago that Jordin Sparks was crowned American Idol's sixth winner. Since that time, she has been very busy recording music, touring, and performing. Jordin's new album, "Battlefield," will be released on July 21. Recently, Jordin caught up with us on her new album, American Idol, and Michael Jackson.

It's been a year and a half since Jordin released her debut album. "I'm really excited about this album because I had more time to work on it," Jordin said. She wrote 12 songs and some bonus and presale tracks. Jordin's grandmother wrote poetry and loved grammar and English, so Jordin started writing poetry at a young age. Setting her poetry to music creates songs, so she keeps a notebook with her to write everything down. Jordin said, "You get to hear my heart."

Jordin collaborated with OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder on her hit single, "Battlefield." He's the only collaboration on this CD. The rest of the songs are just Jordin, which makes her "excited and nervous." She said she had no idea her first album's songs would become this popular, and she hopes these new songs follow suit. The "Battlefield" CD is similar to the "Jordin Sparks" CD in that the songs are all ones that Jordin "wouldn't mind singing for the rest of [her] life." However, Jordin mentioned that you'll hear more growth and maturity on "Battlefield" because she's gone through a bit over the past year and a half. She hopes people will be touched.

Towards the end of Season 8, Jordin returned to the Idol stage to perform her single, "Battlefield." She said it was good to be back and it was cool having fog and lights during her performance. Being on American Idol feels like yesterday, yet sometimes like forever ago, to Jordin.

Jordin keeps in contact with several Idols from her season and other seasons including Gina Glocksen (whose wedding Jordin was in), Haley Scarnato, Blake Lewis, Chris Richardson, Phil Stacey, Melinda Doolittle, Sanjaya Malakar, Brandon Rogers, Jared Cotter, and David Archuleta, who she says is adorable and she wishes him all the best. More recently, she's been in contact with David Cook, Anoop Desai, Adam Lambert, Kris Allen, Allison Iraheta, and Danny Gokey. She's excited for the journey the Season 8 Idols are embarking on.

Jordin has performed for George W. Bush, she performed at Barack Obama's Inaugural Ball, and sang the National Anthem at the NBA All-Stars game and Superbowl. When asked if anything makes her nervous anymore, she said singing at the Superbowl was the most nervous she's ever been, but she had so much fun with it. She also was very nervous performing at the Inaugural Ball, because it meant so much for her to witness history. Jordin also can get nervous if she didn't practice enough before performing.

With the passing of Michael Jackson, Jordin said she's been very upset. Michael Jackson has been a big inspiration to Jordin. When she was little, she watched "Moonwalker" all the time. She's amazed at how creative Michael was and how he shaped a generation. His music helped to bridge pop and R&B. "Someone like that doesn't come along everyday," Jordin stated. She also says that we lost legends with Farrah Fawcett and Ed McMahon's deaths too.

Besides Michael Jackson ("Man in the Mirror" is her favorite track), Jordin is currently listening to the Black Eyed Peas' new album. She loves the new Jonas Brothers song "World War III." Taylor Swift is someone else Jordin has been listening too. In addition, Jordin has been listening to her older tracks.

Jordin has a message for her fans: "Thank you so much for sticking with me and voting for me...I wouldn't be where I am without the fans. I worked really hard on this new album and I hope to see my fans at my shows!"

View photos of Jordin performing "Battlefield" on American Idol.