Happy birthday, Fantasia!
Fantasia Barrino Bio
Fantasia Monique Barrino was born on June 30, 1984 in High Point, North Carolina. Fantasia is a niece of the duo The Barrino Brothers and a cousin of brothers, K-Ci and Jo-Jo Hailey. Fantasia became a single mother at 19 years old. At the time, the then aspiring singer made the courageous decision to try out for the initial audition for the third season of American Idol in Atlanta, as per All Music. Fantasia credited musician icons, Aretha Franklin, Brandy, Pink, and Aerosmith as her influences in music.
Fantasia Barrino Won the Third Season of American Idol
Fantasia beat 70,000 aspiring American Idol hopefuls during the show's third season competition. The secret to Fantasia's American Idol victory was her willingness and talent to modify her singing style to whatever genre requested in each instance during her performances in the singing competition. Fantasia beat AI third season's first runner-up, Diana DeGarmo.
Following Fantasia's win in American Idol 2004, she began appearing in talk shows and snagged a cameo appearance in the television show, "American Dreams." She played the role of Aretha Franklin in her cameo appearance in the film.
Fantasia Hits, Accomplishments, Projects, and Accolades
Fantasia's debut single, "I Believe" reached the top of the chart. "I Believe" is a moving ballad that was co-written by AI alum, Tamyra Gray. J-Records released Fantasia's debut album, "Free Yourself" in November 2004. "Free Yourself" was eventually certified platinum. The lead single off that album bagged the Billboard Music Award for Top Selling Single of the Year. Fantasia was eventually nominated for three Grammy awards.
After a year, Fantasia's autobiography, "Life is Not a Fairytale" was also released, and was turned into a movie by director, Debbie Allen. The autobiographical film premiered on the Lifetime cable network in 2006.
How the Film, "The Color Purple' Healed the AI Winner
In an article published on The Daily News on May 23, it was reported that Fantasia was recently casted as one of the stars in the new movie musical, "The Color Purple." The film is a version of the adaptation of Alice Walker's novel of the same title published in 1982. Fantasia could relate to the physical and sexual abuses her character went through in the film. The AI winner went through similar experiences herself in real life, and thus, this identification was healing for Fantasia.
