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| Birth Name(s) : Fantasia Monique Barrino |
Date of Birth: N/A |
| Status:
Single
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Partner:
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| Profession:
Singer, actress, author |
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Full Fantasia Barrino Biography
Fantasia Monique Barrino (born June 30, 1984), or simply Fantasia, is an American pop, R&B, soul singer and Broadway / television 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
She attended T. Wingate Andrews High School in High Point, North Carolina. After she was raped by a classmate, Fantasia was left feeling harassed and embarrassed. 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. She broke up with her ex boyfriend prior to going to American Idol because he used to physically abuse her.
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.
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.
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 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 – 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, 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.
On January 27th, 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. In early 2007, Barrino was listed on Blender.com's list of the hottest women in music.
Fantasia is featured on the first single of Aretha Franklin's duet album Jewels In The Crown: All-Star Duets With The Queen on the song "Put You Up On Game" which hit radio on October 1st. The duet became the number one most added song on Urban AC radio the following week. |
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