''Sparks Fly'' is the debut

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by American actress and singer

Miranda Cosgrove Miranda Taylor Cosgrove (born May 14, 1993) is an American actress and singer. She was the highest-paid child actor in 2012 and was included on ''Forbes'' magazine's " 30 Under 30" list in 2022. She is known for her career on television, parti ...

. It was released on April 27, 2010, by

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...

. After making her musical debut on the ''iCarly'' soundtrack in 2008, Cosgrove began planning her debut album with the Columbia label. Musically, ''Sparks Fly'' is a pop record that incorporates

electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a re ...

elements. Contributions to the album's production came from several producers, including

Dr. Luke Lukasz Sebastian Gottwald (born September 26, 1973), known professionally as Dr. Luke, Tyson Trax, and Made in China, is an American record producer and songwriter. His professional music career began in the late-night television sketch comedy ...

The Matrix ''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in ''The Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantolia ...

Espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangibl ...

Rock Mafia Rock Mafia is an American record production team, consisting of Tim James and Antonina Armato who have been active since the early 2000s. They have written and produced 38 top ten singles, and have sold over 50 million records worldwide. They hav ...

Darkchild Rodney Roy Jerkins (born July 29, 1977), also known by his stage name Darkchild, is an American record producer, rapper, and songwriter. He has collaborated with a broad range of popular artists. Jerkins has won multiple Grammy Awards. Among hi ...

and

Max Martin Karl Martin Sandberg (; born 26 February 1971),Max Martin
allmusic.com known profess ...

. ''Sparks Fly'' sold 36,000 copies in its first week and peaked at number 8 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart in the United States. "

Kissin U "Kissin U" is a song by American recording artist Miranda Cosgrove, released as the sole single from her debut studio album, '' Sparks Fly''. Cosgrove co-wrote the song with Claude Kelly and Dr. Luke; the latter also co-produced it with Ammo. I ...

" was released as the sole single from the album in March 2010, peaking at number 54 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. ''Sparks Fly'' received mixed reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

, with some complimenting Cosgrove's vocal ability and likening it to that of

Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( ; born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her distinctive raspy voice, her music spans across varied styles and genres, including pop, country, rock, hip hop ...

, while others were unimpressed with the album and criticized the production and lyrical content, calling it predictable and unoriginal. Cosgrove promoted the album mainly through live performances, including a concert segment on ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 A ...

'' as well as the

Dancing Crazy Tour The Dancing Crazy Tour was the debut solo tour by American entertainer Miranda Cosgrove. Visiting North America, it supported her debut studio album, '' Sparks Fly''. The tour began in Missouri and traveled throughout the United States and ended ...

in 2011, where she promoted both ''Sparks Fly'' and her follow-up extended play ''

High Maintenance ''High Maintenance'' is an American Anthology series, anthology comedy-drama television show, television and web series, web series created by ex-husband and wife team Ben Sinclair (actor), Ben Sinclair and Katja Blichfeld. The show follows The ...

''.

Background and development

Cosgrove's musical career first began with her recording the theme song of the

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

television series ''

iCarly ''iCarly'' is an American teen sitcom created by Dan Schneider, which originally aired on Nickelodeon from September 8, 2007, to November 23, 2012. The series tells the story of Carly Shay (Miranda Cosgrove), a teenager who creates and hosts ...

'' called "

Leave It All to Me "Leave It All to Me" is the debut single by American actress and singer Miranda Cosgrove, featuring Drake Bell, from the Nickelodeon show ''iCarly''s soundtrack album of the same name (2008). The song was written by Michael Corcoran, one of Bell ...

", on which Cosgrove starred as the

title character The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piece. The title of ...

on the show. The song features her former ''

Drake & Josh ''Drake & Josh'' is an American teen sitcom created by Dan Schneider for Nickelodeon. The series follows two teenage stepbrothers Drake Parker (Drake Bell) and Josh Nichols (Josh Peck) as they live together despite opposite personalities. The ser ...

'' castmate

Drake Bell Jared Drake Bell (born June 27, 1986) is an American actor, singer, songwriter, and musician. Born in Newport Beach, California, he began his career as an actor in the early 1990s at the age of five with his first televised appearance on ''Hom ...

, and was written by

Michael Corcoran Michael Corcoran (September 21, 1827 – December 22, 1863) was an Irish- American general in the Union Army during the American Civil War and a close confidant of President Abraham Lincoln. As its colonel, he led the 69th New York Regiment t ...

, one of Bell's band members. Following the success of ''iCarly'',

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

released a

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' ...

of the show on June 10, 2008. The soundtrack album included four songs recorded by Cosgrove that were "

", " Stay My Baby", " About You Now" and "Headphones On". Cosgrove stated, "Before that, I didn't see myself making an album, but when I spent time in the studio doing the theme song and saw how much fun it was, I wanted to go back."Miranda Cosgrove Makes Sparks Fly With Top 10 Debut
Billboard.com In July 2008, Cosgrove officially announced plans for a debut solo album, stating that the album was "different" from her contributions to the ''iCarly'' soundtrack, with her "co-writing and getting really into it," and saying that " 'mplaying a character on ''iCarly'', but this shows more of myself. Some people might think I'm just another actress putting out an album, but I wanted to prove that I'm more than that." The album took two years to make, with

' marketing manager Chris Poppe stating in May 2010 that "Miranda started working on

he album He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

at 14, and she's 16 now. The difference between those two ages is huge, and the songs have had to grow along with her." On February 5, 2009, Cosgrove released her debut solo recording; the five-song EP '' About You Now'' exclusively onto the

iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...

. The EP included the title track " About You Now", a

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

of it, a remix of " Stay My Baby", "F.Y.I." and "Party Girl". In February 2010, Cosgrove announced the album's first single would be titled "

", which debuted live in an interview with

Ryan Seacrest Ryan John Seacrest (born December 24, 1974) is an American media personality and producer. He is the co-host of ''Live with Kelly and Ryan'', as well as the host of multiple media shows including ''American Idol'', ''American Top 40'', and '' ...

. The album's title ''Sparks Fly'' comes from the first two words of "Kissin U". The track list, including the four deluxe edition bonus tracks, was announced on Tommy2.net on March 12, 2010, and the artwork was later revealed on March 19, 2010. The song "Daydream" was co-written and originally recorded by

Avril Lavigne Avril Ramona Lavigne ( ; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. At age 16, she signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records. Her debut studio album, ''Let Go (Avril Lavigne album), Let Go'' (2002), is the ...

, co-written by

Chantal Kreviazuk Chantal Jennifer Kreviazuk (; born May 18, 1974) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, composer, and pianist. Born in Winnipeg, she played music from a young age before signing with Columbia Records in the 1990s. Her debut studio album, ''Under These ...

and produced by

Raine Maida Raine Maida (born Michael Anthony Maida; February 18, 1970)
– Ourladypeace.cc. Retrieved April 30, 2010. is a C ...

, and was planned for Lavigne's second studio album '' Under My Skin''. The song "Disgusting" was co-written and originally recorded by

Kesha Kesha Rose Sebert (; born March 1, 1987), formerly stylized as Ke$ha, is an American singer and songwriter. In 2005, at age 18, Kesha was signed to Kemosabe Records. Her first major success came in early 2009 after she was featured on America ...

, co-written by Pebe Sebert and

Sheppard Solomon Sheppard J. "Shep" Solomon (born December 12, 1969 in New York City, New York (state), New York, United States) is an American songwriter. Biography Solomon attended the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in N ...

and Tom Meredith, who produced it with HitmanKTI, and was planned for Kesha's debut studio album ''

Animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...

''. Both songs were unreleased and eventually recorded by Cosgrove. The song "Shakespeare" is a

cover Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

, co-written and originally recorded by Susan Cagle, co-written by Jason Brett Levine and was released as a single on Cagle's debut self-recorded album ''The Subway Recordings''. The song was produced by

John Shanks John Matthew Shanks (born December 18, 1964) is an American songwriter, record producer and guitarist. Early life and education John Matthew Shanks was born in New York City. Shanks moved to Los Angeles when he was 17 years old. He was in a ban ...

and HitmanKTI for this album. The song "Adored" was co-written by Cosgrove and

, who produced it and was a free digital download two years before the album's official release, first as a rough mix and later as a fully mastered version. The song "Charlie" was co-written by

Nicole Morier Nicole "Coco" Morier (lives in Los Angeles, California, United States) is an American singer-songwriter and producer. She began her career in 2002 as one half of the electronic rock duo Electrocute before becoming a songwriter for artists includ ...

and

Greg Kurstin Gregory Allen Kurstin (born May 14, 1969) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2017 and 2018, and written and produced four songs t ...

who produced it and was released as a bonus track exclusively on the

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

deluxe edition of the album.

Composition

Cosgrove has stated that in the album she was trying to find her own style, so the album experiments with several different kinds of music. In an interview, Cosgrove stated that she tried to put a little bit of her own flare into each and every song on the album. Cosgrove described the album's lead single "

", as "kind of a really happy, sweet song". The songs on the album generally deal with love and relationships. Cosgrove has stated that this was unintentional, but she realized this after she had already picked all of the songs on the album. In their review of the album, ''Portrait Magazine'' stated the album would target teenagers, saying,

The verdict on Miranda's musical effort is, like her album, a little confusing. I don't think she's quite at the point of being on mainstream radio; she's got a little bit of work to do before that. But her
bubblegum Bubble gum or bubblegum is a type of chewing gum, designed to be inflated out of the mouth as a bubble. Bubble gum flavor While there is a bubble gum "flavor" – which various artificial flavorings including esters are mixed to obtain – it ...
tracks are good enough to be played on children's radio stations, like
Radio Disney Radio Disney was an American radio network operated by the Disney Radio Networks unit of Disney Branded Television within the Disney General Entertainment Content, headquartered in Burbank, California. The network broadcast music programming ...
, for example. Her current sound, the mixture of
club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...
beats and the sugary sweet pop, will probably hit well with the younger end of her audience. I just don't know if anyone over the age of thirteen is going to want to listen to her album all that often. Tracks like “Disgusting” will probably land well with older teens, but when they can listen to its writer on the radio already, I don't see the need for them to buy this album.

An essentially pop album, ''Sparks Fly'' exhibits others elements and multi-tracked harmonies. "Kissin U", "Shakespeare", "Disgusting" and "Charlie" features a catchy pop tune and "Adored", "What Are You Waiting For?" and "Hey You" featured the pop

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

. Other harmonies included the

tracks "BAM", "Oh Oh", "There Will Be Tears" and "Brand New You", the R&B track "Beautiful Mess" and the

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

-driven "Daydream". "BAM" was produced by

Antonina Armato Antonina Armato is an American songwriter, record producer, music producer and businesswoman. She is the co-founder and member of Rock Mafia, a record production/songwriting team. Antonina is credited for writing and producing for artists begin ...

(who has worked with

and

Selena Gomez Selena Marie Gomez ( ; born July 22, 1992) is an American singer, actress and producer. Gomez began her acting career on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'' (2002–2004). As a teenager, she rose to prominence for starring a ...

), Tim James and

Rodney Jerkins Rodney Roy Jerkins (born July 29, 1977), also known by his stage name Darkchild, is an American record producer, rapper, and songwriter. He has collaborated with a broad range of popular artists. Jerkins has won multiple Grammy Awards. Among hi ...

(who has worked with

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...

Brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured with ...

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

and

Destiny's Child Destiny's Child was an American girl group whose final line-up comprised Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland, and Michelle Williams. The group began their musical career as Girl's Tyme, formed in 1990 in Houston, Texas. After years of limited ...

). "Daydream" was written by

. "

" and "Oh Oh" was produced by

and

Max Martin Karl Martin Sandberg (; born 26 February 1971),Max Martin
allmusic.com known profess ...

, respectively, the biggest producers of the time. ''Teenink'' also praised the lyrical content and friendly nature of the music, stating, "Any girl would love this album because it is upbeat and describes the way most girls feel when they are in love. ''Sparks Fly'' is a wonderful CD because it is upbeat, and has music that is very easy to relate to. Love may hurt and break your heart, but this album is sure to put a smile on your face." They later went on to say, "The album ''Sparks Fly'' has a good musical beat and positive lyrics. The song BAM is fast-paced and is an easy song to relate to. ..This song is saying that once you find the one person that you love everything else doesn't matter, because the only thing that's important is being with the one that you love."

Promotion

To promote the album, Cosgrove performed the single "

" live at the ''

Kids Choice Awards The Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards (also known as the KCAs or Kids' Choice) is an annual American children's awards ceremony show that is produced by Nickelodeon. Usually held on a Saturday night in late March or early April, the show honors ...

'' pre-show.

also aired a television special titled ''7 Secrets: Miranda Cosgrove'', which aired on April 24, 2010. The half-hour show revealed things about Cosgrove, such as how she got her start in the business, to some of her most embarrassing moments. The days following the album's release, Cosgrove did several album signings and appearances, including a stop at a Toys-R-Us in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Cosgrove embarked on a radio promotional tour, and has made appearances at radio concerts in the summer of 2010. On September 6, 2010, she performed "

", "BAM" which was written and produced by

and

, and " About You Now" which is a

, co-written by

Cathy Dennis Catherine Roseanne Dennis (born 25 March 1969)Gregory, Andy (2002) ''International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002'', Europa; , p. 133 is a British singer, songwriter, record producer and actress. She was the vocalist for D Mob, which had the su ...

and

who produced it and was originally recorded by the

Sugababes Sugababes are a British girl group composed of Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan and Siobhán Donaghy. The lineup changed three times before returning to the original lineup in 2011. Formed in 1998 by All Saints manager Ron Tom, Sugababes releas ...

and released as a single on their fifth studio album ''

Change Change or Changing may refer to: Alteration * Impermanence, a difference in a state of affairs at different points in time * Menopause, also referred to as "the change", the permanent cessation of the menstrual period * Metamorphosis, or change, ...

'', on ''

''. On a special episode of ''

'', season 4: episode 5 titled "iDo", Cosgrove performed the song "Shakespeare" at a wedding (in character as Carly Shay). The song is performed when the bride has second thoughts about the wedding due to her love for Carly's older brother, Spencer (played by

Jerry Trainor Gerald William "Jerry" Trainor (born January 21, 1977) is an American actor. He is known for playing Spencer Shay in the teen sitcom ''iCarly'', winning three Kids' Choice Awards for his performance, and reprises the role on its revival series o ...

). The song is sung by Carly to remind the couple about how in love they are. Cosgrove headlined her own tour, titled

which is named after Cosgrove's single "

Dancing Crazy "Dancing Crazy" is a song by American singer Miranda Cosgrove from her second extended play ''High Maintenance'' (2011). It was released as the lead single from the extended play on December 21, 2010, by Columbia Records. The song was written by ...

" co-written by

with

Max Martin Karl Martin Sandberg (; born 26 February 1971),Max Martin
allmusic.com known profess ...

and Shellback, who produced it and was released on Cosgrove's second EP ''

'' which was released on March 15, 2011. The tour began on January 24, 2011, and ended on August 10, 2011, due to Cosgrove having a broken ankle from a tour bus collision. Cosgrove resumed touring the following year. The tour featured dates in

House of Blues House of Blues is an American chain of live music concert halls and restaurants. It was founded by Isaac Tigrett, the co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, co-star of the 1980 film ''The Blues Brothers''. The first location opened at ...

locations such as ones located in Houston, Texas, and Anaheim, California. She also performed at several theatres on the tour including locations in cities such as Atlanta, GA, Tampa, FL and Orlando FL. Cosgrove opened up the tour on its first show by saying,

"I used to always think I was just going to be an actress, but now I'm leaning towards music and singing too. In the beginning, I didn't really think about my sound too much. I was just trying to figure out the kind of music that was really me and my thing. But my songs are about the experiences I've been through, and when I'm singing them, I try to put myself into it, so hopefully my music just reflects me."

Accompanying Cosgrove on the tour was

Greyson Chance Greyson Michael Chance (born August 16, 1997) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. He rose to national attention in 2010 with his performance of Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi" at a grade school music festival which went viral on YouTube, ga ...

, who rose to fame when a video of him singing "

Paparazzi Paparazzi (, ; ; singular: masculine paparazzo or feminine paparazza) are independent photographers who take pictures of high-profile people; such as actors, musicians, athletes, politicians, and other celebrities, typically while subjects ...

" by

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

emerged on popular video sharing website

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

. Chance performed several of his own original songs, as well as covers from famous artists. The tour was financially successful. The second show on the tour, which took place in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, sold about 54% of its tickets. The shows total gross revenue was $37,256. The fourth show of the tour, which took place in

Rosemont, Illinois Rosemont is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Located immediately northwest of Chicago, as of the 2010 census it had a population of 4,202. The village was incorporated in 1956, though it had been settled long before that. Whi ...

, was much more successful, selling 90% of the available tickets. The total gross revenue for the show was $118,435.

Singles

" is the album's lead and only single. Along with being the lead single from this album, it and "Adored" were the only two songs that Cosgrove co-wrote for it. Lyrically, the track talks of the feeling Cosgrove gets as she's kissing her boyfriend. The lyrics as well as the melody were received positively by several music critics. The song was released onto

on March 22, 2010. The single debuted at 87 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, after debuting on the digital tracks chart the previous week. After bouncing up and down the chart, the song peaked at 54. It is also her first single to chart outside of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, entering the charts in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, among others. The music video was directed by Alan Ferguson, and features Cosgrove and her love interest as they flirt doing daily things. The video also features scenes of Cosgrove singing and walking down the beach. "Daydream" and "Disgusting" were released exclusively on iTunes in Japan as promotional singles.

Critical reception

The album has been met with a generally mixed reception from critics.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

, who reviewed the album for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, gave the album a negative review, stating that "Miranda winds up buried underneath the weight of production on ''Sparks Fly'' — it often comes across like a cross of

and

's full-frontal assault." Erlewine also stated that "''Sparks Fly'' is bedecked in modern

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

rhythms and icy hooks, yet the glassy surface sheen flies in the face of the natural charm Cosgrove displays on ''

'' and its accompanying

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

." However, Jeff Giles of Popdose gave the album a more positive review, stating "...''Sparks Fly'' is a perfectly bite-sized chunk of perfectly bite-sized pop - In other words, songs about boys and girls, written by men and women, and performed by some of the sharpest studio vets in the business." Greg Victor of Parcbench also gave the album, as well as Cosgrove herself, a positive review, stating "It is brilliantly produced and won’t let you down if you are looking for some fun, new, uncomplicated music." He also commented on Cosgrove as an artist, saying "She is a fresh voice that stands out in an over-crowded field of

pop princess When describing popular music artists, honorific nicknames are used, most often in the media or by fans, to indicate the significance of an artist, and are often Pantheon (gods), religious, Kinship terminology, familial, or (most frequently) Imp ...

es." The review ended with Victor awarding the album three out of four stars. Sparklingstar.net also gave the album a positive review, and stated that "''Sparks Fly'' has that classic pop album sound and songs, if you are a fan of

and

you will be fan of Miranda, one thing I must say is that her voice sounds great throughout the entire CD, and she took it to find songs that fit her voice." Commonsensemedia.org gave the album a mixed review, saying "Formulaic at best, painfully predictable at its worst, ''Sparks Fly'' could only be appealing to the youngest of ears, not jaded by hundreds of similarly sounding releases. Miranda Cosgrove does bring a unique sincerity to this

bubblegum Bubble gum or bubblegum is a type of chewing gum, designed to be inflated out of the mouth as a bubble. Bubble gum flavor While there is a bubble gum "flavor" – which various artificial flavorings including esters are mixed to obtain – it ...

love-in, and despite the forgettable accompanying pop instrumentals, her message comes through loud and clear. With a dash of spunky attitude she saves the CD from completely drowning in a sea of sweetness." Starletinc.com was also mixed in their review, saying that "This is a first attempt by Miranda as recording artist and she did quite alright. It still lacks a little bit of identity but that isn’t anything shocking for a sixteen year old, especially when they’re main trade is actress rather than recording artist ..While it all isn’t anything special it’s still enjoyable enough to listen to." The review ended with them awarding ''Sparks Fly'' three out of five stars. Erin Clendaniel of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' said in her review of the album, "Full of saccharin-sweet pop riffs and head-bobbing beats that one would expect from a

TV actress, "

" star Miranda Cosgrove's debut album, "Sparks Fly," delivers the total tween package. Production from

the Matrix ''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in ''The Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantolia ...

and

, among others, enhances Cosgrove's pretty standard delivery, but some of her lyrics are strangely vague. Over an

melody on the song "Disgusting" (co-penned by

), Cosgrove sings, "It's disgusting how you change me from a bandit to a baby." And the piano-based

"Hey You" briefly alludes to the

Greek myth A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities of ...

Icarus In Greek mythology, Icarus (; grc, Ἴκαρος, Íkaros, ) was the son of the master craftsman Daedalus, the architect of the labyrinth of Crete. After Theseus, king of Athens and enemy of Minos, escaped from the labyrinth, King Minos suspe ...

and

Daedalus In Greek mythology, Daedalus (, ; Greek: Δαίδαλος; Latin: ''Daedalus''; Etruscan: ''Taitale'') was a skillful architect and craftsman, seen as a symbol of wisdom, knowledge and power. He is the father of Icarus, the uncle of Perdix, an ...

, while "Shakespeare" name-drops

Jeff Buckley Jeffrey Scott Buckley (November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997), raised as Scott Moorhead, was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. After a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, Buckley amassed a following in the early 1990s by ...

(who died in 1997 when Cosgrove was only 4 years old). Elsewhere, paired with upbeat

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

s and drum machines on the girl-power

anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to short ...

"There Will Be Tears," the singer happily belts out about being "the one that got away." Parents will likely tire of it quickly, but "Sparks Fly" will surely be stuck on repeat in minivans across the country.

Commercial performance

''Sparks Fly'' sold 36,000 copies in its first week, earning it the eight position on the ''Billboard'' 200 on the issue dated May 5, 2010.B.o.B Bounds In At No. 1 On The Billboard 200
Billboard.com The album spent one week inside the top 10, before falling out the next week. ''Sparks Fly'' spent five weeks inside the Top 50, before quickly sliding down. The album has also become successful in foreign countries as well. In Mexico, the album debuted at number 84. The following week, the album fell twelve spots to 96. The album has currently sold a total of 3,000 copies there. mexicancharts.com The album was also successful on the music charts in Austria, where it managed to peak inside the Top 50 of the albums chart, entering at number 46. The album also spent one week on the German album charts, debuting and peaking at number 96. On the Swiss album's chart, the album peaked inside of the Top 40, debuting at number 35 on the chart.Sparks Fly (ep) Chart Position
acharts.us

Track listing

Personnel

* David Campbell – string arrangements *Miranda Cosgrove - main vocals *John Hanes – mixing *Clyde Haygood – hair stylist *Steven Jensen – management *Rodney Jerkins – producer *Devrim Karaglu – programming *Jennifer Karr – background vocals *Suzie Katayama – contractor *Claude Kelly – background vocals *The Kids – stylist *Martin Kirkup – management *Kool Kojak – engineer, musician, producer, programming *Bill Lefler – drums *Natalie Leggett – violin *Tom Lord-Alge – mixing *Nigel Ludemo – engineer *Ian McGregor – engineer *Raine Maida – bass, engineer, acoustic guitar, producer, programming *Bonnie McKee – background vocals *Tom Meredith – engineer, musician, producer, programming *Armen Pakchian – assistant *Alyssa Park – violin *Sara Parkins – violin *Steve Richards – cello *Tim Roberts – assistant *Rock Mafia – producer *Jeff Rothschild – drums, engineer, mixing *John Shanks – bass, guitar, keyboards, producer *Sidh Solanki – vocal producer *Sheppard Solomon – producer *Teresa Stanislav – violin *Rudolph Stein – cello *Shari Sutcliffe – production coordination *Miranda Penn Turin – photography *Josefiha Vergara – violin *Greg Wells – bass, drums, guitar, mixing, piano, producer *Rob Wells – programming *Paula Winger – background vocals *Lucy Woodward – background vocals *Emily Wright – vocal producer

Charts

References

External links

Miranda Cosgrove, "Sparks Fly"
by

{{Authority control 2010 debut albums Miranda Cosgrove albums Columbia Records albums Albums produced by Dr. Luke Albums produced by the Matrix (production team) Albums produced by Max Martin Albums produced by Rock Mafia Albums produced by Raine Maida Albums produced by Greg Kurstin Albums produced by Desmond Child Albums produced by Rodney Jerkins Albums produced by Greg Wells Albums produced by John Shanks