Jordin Sparks' New Music Has Her 'Stepping into Her Power' (Exclusive)

Jordin Sparks revealed what to expect from her upcoming album.

On Thursday, Sparks, 34, joined artists Marcella Araica and Carly Pearce at the Recording Academy's Women In The Mix panel (held in partnership with PEOPLE and Sephora) about creating space and opportunities for even more female representation in the music industry. Sparks caught up with PEOPLE on the red carpet before the event.

“This new music is all about stepping into the woman I am now, stepping into my power, my confidence, who I am as a woman, a human, an artist, a mom, a wife, a friend, a woman,” the American Idol alum exclusively shares with PEOPLE.

She shares that listeners will “hear little bits and pieces” of different music genres that have “inspired [her] over the years,” including country, R&B and “a little bit” of her “gospel roots.”

The singer explains how this upcoming album allowed her to feel “freedom” within herself. She shares that freedom has “been a throughline” throughout her career and that previously, “the focus has been the freedom within the creative” or “sometimes the focus has been the freedom within the look.” But this time, she wants to feel that freedom within her music.

“I want to be able to record the music that I want to record because I want to record it, not because it has to meet certain criteria,” confesses the singer. “I want to make it for me, and I want to believe in it, and I want to love it.” 

“But the album is going to be amazing because I don't want to put any limits on myself,” Sparks adds.

During the Women In The Mix Q&A between Sparks, Araica and Pearce, the “No Air” singer elaborated on creating boundaries for herself in the music industry.

She explained that because she joined the industry at 17 years old after winning the sixth season of American Idol, she “didn't understand that not everybody wants good for you.”

“I have an old colleague of mine who said, ‘Jordin, this is music business, not music friendship.’”

Sparks confirmed that “obviously” there are “definitely” chances to be friends, but she learned then that music “is a job for a lot of people.”

“People have different goals and it might not exactly align with yours,” added the singer. “So the boundaries are so important and it's OK to hold them; we have to hold the boundaries."

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“‘No’ is a complete sentence,” the singer went on. “You do not have to explain yourself. You don't have to give a reason why you're saying no, why it's not gonna work, [or] why you can't make [a] meeting.”

As Sparks draws firmer boundaries, she explained during the Q&A that it has allowed her to protect her family, “energy,” “peace” and her “peace of mind and heart.” The musician explained how protecting those elements has become the “top priority [for her] that comes before anything else.”

Sparks added that once she made “that decision” everything she dreamed of started coming to fruition because she “wasn't distracted by the other things.”