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Fantasia (singer)

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Template:Infobox musical artist 2Fantasia Monique Barrino (born June 30 1984), or simply Fantasia, is a Grammy nominated American pop, R&B, soul singer and Broadway actress who rose to fame as the winner of the third season of the television series American Idol in 2004. Her first album, Free Yourself, was a commercial success, earning her four Grammy nominations and selling over 2.1 million copies. Barrino was also named the number-one artist of the Adult Urban Contemporary format for 2005 according to the December 13, 2005 Billboard Magazine. Her second album, Fantasia, was released on December 12 2006. On April 10, 2007, Fantasia began starring as Celie in the Broadway musical, The Color Purple

Biography

Early life

Barrino was born and raised in High Point, North Carolina, to Diane and Joseph Barrino. In her autobiography, Free Yourself, Barrino explains that a family rumor suggests her father's family was of Cuban descent, explaining the surname Barrino (a rare surname for African Americans in North Carolina).[1] The Barrino Family travelled and performed in the Carolinas and elsewhere in the American South and recorded the CD Miracles for a local label. Fantasia's singing style was shaped by the example of gospel singers like Shirley Caesar and The Clark Sisters. R&B legends such as Aretha Franklin, Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight, and Chaka Khan also left a strong impact on young Fantasia.

She attended T. Wingate Andrews High School in High Point, North Carolina. After a sexual assault that left her feeling harassed, Fantasia dropped out of high school. In a later relationship, Fantasia became pregnant. At age 17, on August 8, 2001, Fantasia gave birth to her daughter, Zion Quari' Barrino with her ex boyfriend whom she broke up with prior to going to American Idol. [2]

American Idol

Main article: American Idol (Season 3)

Barrino made an immediate impression on American Idol with her stylized, gospel-influenced sound, and her explosive stage presence. Her audition version of Tina Turner's "Proud Mary" made her an early favorite in the competition. Her standout performance during the course of the show was a heartfelt staging, begun seated, of the Porgy and Bess standard "Summertime" that left her in tears from "feeling the song" and earned praise from the judges, as well as landing her on the Emmy Awards's 2004 list of greatest television moments. "Summertime" was also labeled by idol judge Randy Jackson as the best performance he had ever heard in the show's history.

Nevertheless, Barrino's rise to the final two on American Idol was plagued with controversies, including accusations of racism when she and two other well-praised African American female singers in the competition, LaToya London and Jennifer Hudson, all landed in the bottom three of that week's voting. Guest artist Elton John labeled the outcome "racist" and did not address alternative explanations, such as the diluting effects of spreading the vote of R&B fans over three singers. Other concerns were raised over her as a single mother being a poor role model.[3]

In the final performance of the season that formed the basis upon which America voted, Barrino offered a second performance of "Summertime" that again drew enormous praise from the judges — including Simon Cowell's remarks that she was the best contestant to ever compete in any competition. This would include the over seventy Idol champions crowned nationally and internationally since the show began its first global incarnations. On the finale, over sixty-five million votes were cast in order to determine the winner on May 26 2004, up from twenty-four million in 2003.[4] It was the highest finale vote in the show's history until the May 23, 2007 American Idol 6 finale. In the end Fantasia defeated runner-up Diana DeGarmo by 1.3 million votes.[5] At age nineteen, Fantasia was the youngest American Idol winner until May 23, 2007, when the seventeen year-old Jordin Sparks won the title.

Barrino participated in the U.S. tour with the other American Idol finalists and appeared in the 2004 Christmas special, Kelly, Ruben and Fantasia: Home For the Holidays.

2004–2005: Free Yourself

Barrino on the cover of her debut album

In June 2004, Fantasia released her debut single, I Believe, which later debuted at number-one on the Billboard Hot 100. This number-one debut made Fantasia the first artist in history to achieve this with a first single. On the sales chart, the single spent eleven consecutive weeks at number one, giving it the longest consecutive stay on top of of that chart for an American Idol contestant. The CD single, "I Believe", went on to become the top selling single of 2004 in the U.S., and has since been certified double platinum by the CRIA. Barrino also won three Billboard Awards for the single......

Barrino's debut studio album, Free Yourself, was released in November 2004. It debuted at number eight on the Billboard 200 pop album chart, selling 240,000 copies in its first week. To date, it has sold over two million copies worldwide, and was certified double platinum in the U.S. The singles "Truth Is" and "Free Yourself" became R&B hits, reaching number two and number three respectively on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Tracks chart, while the controversial "Baby Mama" – which critics accused of romanticising single motherhood[6] – reached the top twenty. Barrino did even better on the Billboard Adult R&B Airplay, where she was the first artist of any kind to simultaneously have two of the top three songs,[7] and "Truth Is" spent fourteen weeks at number one position. In 2006, Fantasia was nominated for four Grammy Awards. Fantasia performed with several well-known artists including Aerosmith, Joss Stone, John Legend, Maroon 5, and Ciara in an all-star tribute to Sly and the Family Stone during the Grammy Awards.

Through spring and winter of 2005, Barrino made many television appearances to promote her album. She played Aretha Franklin in an episode of the series American Dreams, singing "Respect", guest voiced on The Simpsons episode "A Star Is Torn", and guest starred as herself in a cameo role on the sitcom All of Us. Barrino appeared three times as a musical guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. On March 25 2005, Barrino performed at the thirty-sixth NAACP Image Awards in honor of Illinois Senator Barack Obama after winning the award for Outstanding Female Artist. In May and June 2005 Barrino went on her first tour with her own live band, supporting soul singers Kem and Rahsaan Patterson. She also appeared as a headliner at several music festivals including the Saint Lucia Jazz Festival and the Reggae Sumfest in Jamaica. In October 2005, she received good notices as an opening act for Kanye West's Touch the Sky Tour.[8]

In September 2005, Barrino published her memoirs (which she dictated to a freelance writer), Life Is Not a Fairy Tale. The book quickly became a New York Times Bestseller, reaching number seven on the list. In it she revealed that she was functionally illiterate. She discussed this in an interview on ABC's 20/20,[9] saying she hadn't been able to read contracts, and she simply memorized the songs she was told to perform and sing on her records.

Barrino played herself in a Lifetime Television film based on her autobiography Life Is Not a Fairy Tale. The film was directed by Debbie Allen and debuted on the women’s cable network on Saturday, August 19 2006 at 21:00. The movie received nineteen million viewers throughout its debut weekend. Life Is Not a Fairy Tale: The Fantasia Barrino Story has also become Lifetime's second most viewed program of all time.[10]

2006–present: Fantasia and The Color Purple

File:Fantasiaw.jpg
Barrino on the cover of her second album

In summer 2006, Barrino discontinued work with 19 Management and fired all of her advisors from the American Idol company.[11] The singer eventually found a new management team with Violator Management, and soon released her self-titled second album, Fantasia, on December 12 2006. The album involves production by Missy Elliott, Swizz Beatz, Dre & Vidal, Diane Warren, and others, and has since spawned the singles "Hood Boy" and "When I See U" and the next single from the album will be "Only One U".

In 2007, Barrino left her new management company and found new management back at 19 Management. Barrino will be featured on Aretha Franklin's new album A Woman Falling out of Love. On Saturday 27 January, Barrino was featured on the nationally televised United Negro College Fund's An Evening of Stars: Tribute to Aretha Franklin where she performed, "Baby, I Love You" and Rock Steady" in front of Aretha.[12] In early 2007, Barrino was listed on Blender.com's list of the hottest women in music.

In February 2007, Barrino appeared and performed on American Idol, and there she announced that she will be starring in the Broadway musical The Color Purple beginning April 10, 2007.

After Barrino performed "The Color Purple" song, "I'm Here", on American Idol and the Oprah Winfrey Show, the musical received a boost of over two million in pre- ticket sales in one week. Leading up to Barrino's first performance the play garnered a total of 6.5 million in pre-ticket sales. Upon Barrino's first performance of The Color Purple she received raving reviews from both attenders and Broadway critics. The Broadway Theatre and The Color Purple's house record were broken within Barrino's first week on the show. Fantasia is certainly no stranger to performing on stage. It turns out, though, that Fantasia has found one stage she really likes to perform on. The American Idol season three champion has decided to extend her current contract with the musical The Color Purple.

Fantasia has earned rave reviews for her performance in The Color Purple, the hit musical based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Alice Walker, and her performance has been said to be boosting album sales. The show's producers announced that Fantasia would continue in her role as Celie, straight through until January 6, 2008. Fantasia was originally scheduled to depart the production in October[13].

The Color Purple is currently entering its second year at the Broadway Theatre, and it received a much-welcomed boost to its box office after the American Idol champ signed on to the musical. Fantasia joined the cast of The Color Purple last April, and the show is picked up steam ever since. A second company of the musical Color Purple has set up shop at the Cadillac Place Theatre in Chicago. According to reports by the New York Daily News columnists Rush & Malloy, Fantasia is looking to build upon her breakout success on Broadway with a lead role in another African American-themed musical about the life of Ada "Bricktop" Smith, an African-American expatriate in 1920s Paris who became a nightlife superstar.

Discography

Main article: Fantasia discography

Albums

Singles

Year Title Chart positions Album
US US R&B US Adult R&B Urban
2004 "I Believe" 1 12 - - Free Yourself
"Truth Is" 21 2 1 2
2005 "Baby Mama" 60 16 - 13
"Free Yourself" 41 3 1 2
"Ain't Gon' Beg You" - 37 - 36
2006 "Hood Boy" (featuring Big Boi) 103 21 - 21 Fantasia
2007 "When I See U" 32 1 (8 weeks) 2 1
"Only One U" - 48 27 42

Awards

Wins

  • 2004 Billboard Top selling single of the year, "I Believe"
  • 2004 Billboard Top selling R&B/Hip-Hop single of the year, "I Believe"
  • 2005 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Female Artist
  • 2005 Billboard-American Urban Radio Networks Top R&B/hip-hop single, "I Believe"
  • 2006 Groovevolt Music Awards - Best New Artist 2006
  • 2006 ASCAP R&B/Hip-Hop Awards - "Free Yourself"
  • 2006 ASCAP R&B/Hip-Hop Awards - "Truth Is"
  • 2007 Theatre World Award Outstanding Broadway Debut Performance - "The Color Purple"
  • 2007 Broadway.com Award for Favorite (Female) Replacement-"The Color Purple"

Nominations

  • 2006 Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, Free Yourself
  • 2006 Grammy Award for Best R&B Album, Free Yourself
  • 2006 Grammy Award for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance Summertime
  • 2007 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Female Artist "Fantasia"
  • 2007 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series, or Dramatical Special - "Fantasia Barrino"
  • 2006 Soul Train Music Award for Best Female R&B/Soul Album, Free Yourself
  • 2005 Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul or Rap New Artist, "I Believe"
  • 2005 BET Award for Best Female R&B Artist
  • 2005 BET Award for Best New Artist
  • 2005 American Music Award for Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist
  • 2005 American Music Award for Favorite Soul/R&B Album, Free Yourself
  • 2005 Vibe Music Award for R&B Voice of the Year

See also

References

  1. ^ http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Books/story?id=1171519&page=1 ABCnews.go.com Retrieved on 05-08-07
  2. ^ http://abcnews.go.com/2020/OnlyinAmerica/Story?id=1170655&page=2 ABCnews.go.com Retrieved on 07-02-07
  3. ^ http://www.beliefnet.com/story/157/story_15716_1.html Beliefnet.com Retrieved on 05-08-07
  4. ^ http://www.freep.com/news/latestnews/pm19992_20040526.htm/1 Freep.com Retrieved on 05-08-07
  5. ^ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5060380/ MSNBC.com Retrieved on 05-08-07
  6. ^ http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1499983/20050412/fantasia.jhtml MTV.com Retrieved on 05-08-07
  7. ^ http://news.corporate.findlaw.com/prnewswire/20050920/20sep20051919.html News.corporate.findlaw.com Retrieved on 05-08-07
  8. ^ http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1511361/10122005/west_kanye.jhtm MTV.com Retrieved on 05-08-07
  9. ^ http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051001/ap_on_en_mu/people_fantasia_barrino News.yahoo.com Retrieved on 05-08-07
  10. ^ http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060822/nytu132.html?.v=70 Biz.yahoo.com Retrieved on 05-08-07
  11. ^ [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,206312,00.html hay fantasia its me milla hhttp://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,206312,00.html] Foxnews.com Retrieved on 05-08-07
  12. ^ http://www.dailynews.com/music/ci_4311533 Dailynews.com Retrieved on 05-08-07
  13. ^ Idol winner becomes toast of Broadway

External links

Notes


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