{"id":118603,"date":"2024-10-14T12:01:51","date_gmt":"2024-10-14T12:01:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/magic\/2024\/10\/14\/jordin-sparks-on-how-ryan-seacrest-inspired-her-to-host-new-reality-competition-series-roller-jam\/"},"modified":"2024-10-14T12:01:51","modified_gmt":"2024-10-14T12:01:51","slug":"jordin-sparks-on-how-ryan-seacrest-inspired-her-to-host-new-reality-competition-series-roller-jam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lascrucestoday.com\/magic\/2024\/10\/14\/jordin-sparks-on-how-ryan-seacrest-inspired-her-to-host-new-reality-competition-series-roller-jam\/","title":{"rendered":"Jordin Sparks on how Ryan Seacrest inspired her to host new reality competition series ‘Roller Jam’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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David Jon for Magnolia Network\/Max<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jordin Sparks<\/strong><\/span> is the host of Roller Jam<\/em><\/a>, a new reality competition series on Max that pits roller<\/span>-skating crews from across the country against each other for a chance to win $150,000 and a $10,000 donation to their local rink. As an American Idol<\/em> champ and former\u00a0Dancing with the Stars<\/em> contestant, Jordin tells ABC Audio it’s great not be judged, for once.<\/p>\n

“It is so much nicer to be on this side of the judging table,” Jordin says. However, her experience helped her to support the contestants.<\/p>\n

“I can be down there on the floor with them and be like, ‘Look, I’ve been in your shoes … I know what it feels like,'” she says.<\/p>\n

In fact, Jordin says watching Ryan Seacrest<\/strong> on Idol<\/em> inspired her to become a host. “I was watching how he was reading the teleprompter and interacting with everybody, from the contestants to the judges to the people at home,” she says. “And I was like … ‘I’d love to do that one day.’ So it’s really crazy that now 17 years later, I’m finally getting the chance.”<\/p>\n

Jordin says the show has inspired her to take up roller skating again, and she plans to get her son DJ<\/strong>, 6, a pair of skates so they can do it together. She says one of the great things about skating is that it’s “multigenerational” \u2014 and so is Roller Jam.<\/em><\/p>\n

“Grandmas and grandkids can watch [it] together,” she notes.<\/p>\n

The crews skate to different eras of music in each episode, so which was Jordin’s favorite?<\/p>\n

“I prefer the 2000s, obviously, because it’s songs that I know and love. But when I think of skating … I think about the ’70s,” she says. But ultimately, “You know<\/em> I’m going to turn on ‘I Want to Dance With Somebody’ by Whitney<\/strong>!”\u00a0<\/p>\n