Fantasia Barrino
Fantasia Monique Barrino, the winner of the third season of American Idol, has made quite a name for herself as both an R&B singer and a Broadway actress. Born in 1984 and raised in High Point, North Carolina, Fantasia grew up traveling and singing with her family. She was inspired by a number of gospel and R&B singers. Her later teen years involved a number of painful difficulties, including dropping out of high school due to harassment after being raped and mothering a child at the age of 17.
Barrino was an early favorite during the third season of American Idol, due to her powerful stage presence. There were a number of controversies during the competition, including calls of racism when Barrino and two other popular African American contestants landed in the bottom three in the same week. There were also critics that felt that being a mother at such a young age meant that Barrino wasn't a good role model to the young fans of the show. Still, Barrino won the competition by 1.3 million votes.
Fantasia released her debut single, "I Believe", in June of 2004. The song debuted at number one, a first for an artist's release of a first single. The track outsold every other single in 2004. Her debut album, Free Yourself, debuted with first week sales of 240,000 copies. The album went on to sell over two million copies around the world. She received four Grammy Award nominations for the album, though she didn't win any of the categories. In 2005, she published a memoir, Life Is Not a Fairy Tale, that revealed that she was functionally illiterate. The memoir was made into a TV movie for Lifetime in 2006. Barrino played herself in the film.
Her second, self-titled album was released in 2006, and went on to be certified as a gold record. She received three Grammy nominations for the album as well.
In April of 2007, Fantasia debuted in the Broadway musical The Color Purple in the role of Celie. She received rave reviews for her performance. Due to a massive increase in ticket sales, her six month limited run was extended for several months. Due to her successful performance, Barrino was asked to perform at the 2007 Tony awards.
After four years of waiting, her third studio album Back to Me was released in 2010. It received immediately critical praise, as most reviewers felt the raw, emotional songs on the album marked the strongest collection in her career. The album was a commercial hit as well, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop chart.
Barrino has struggled with personal difficulties in recent years. In 2006, it was reported that her 6,600-square-foot home in Charlotte, North Carolina was up for foreclosure. Back to Me was clouded by a suicide attempt by Barrino just before its release date, which Barrino said was the result of distress following her relationship with a married man. Barrino’s personal life became the focal point of a reality series on VH1. Fantasia Barrino Official Website
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