American Idol alum Jordin Sparks showed up to a Critics' Choice Awards after-party at Boulevard3 looking slimmed down and hotter than ever! Wearing a sparkly black dress, Jordin told In Touch just how she looks so good for the red carpet. "Dresses that are really flattering help a lot," Jordin explained. "But there's no secret. You just watch portion control and exercise when you can.” Jordin also filled In Touch in on a little-known secret — she and Emma Stone were acting buddies! “Emma and I actually were in community theater together when we were younger, and she was such a riot. She was so good at anything we were ever in, so I'm rooting for her. And she's so beautiful!”

Emma won the People’s Choice Award this year for best actress, and Jordin is hopping on the acting train, as well. “My new movie, Sparkle, that I just finished with Whitney Houston, is a remake of the 1976 original about three girls trying to break into the music scene," Jordin said. "They go through their ups and downs. I play the main character, Sparkle, who goes from being young and naive to finally becoming a woman at the end and finding her own voice. It was incredible, actually. I used to sing [Whitney’s] songs into a hairbrush, so to be able to stand there as she's scolding me as my mother in a film — it was a very weird moment, but it was amazing. She's very sweet.”

But Jordin’s not leaving the music world for too long. She’s working on new music and hopes to collaborate with some big names. “I would love to work with Whitney and Mariah [Carey]!” And will we see Jordin back on American Idol? “I'm still such a huge fan of the show. I actually saw a preview of it the other day while sitting with my mom, and I started screaming!" she reveals. "I'm excited for it to come on. And I hope that I get to go back and visit like I do every year.”

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