Fantasia (singer)
Fantasia Monique Barrino-Taylor (born June 30, 1984),[2] known professionally by her mononym Fantasia, is an American singer and actress. She rose to prominence in 2004 for her performance of the Porgy and Bess standard "Summertime" during the third season of American Idol, and eventually became that season's winner.[3] Following her victory, Barrino became the second woman to have her first single debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, following Lauryn Hill, when her debut single "I Believe", launched atop the chart.[4][5] Her accolades include two Billboard Music Awards and a Grammy Award, along with nominations for a Golden Globe Award and a BAFTA Award.[6] In 2024, Time named her one of the 100 most influential people.[7]
Fantasia
- Singer
- actress
2004–present
3
- Ricco Barrino (brother)
- K-Ci & JoJo (cousins)
- The Barrino Brothers (uncles)
Vocals
Barrino's debut album Free Yourself (2004), was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album garnered three Grammy Award nominations, including Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance for her recording of "Summertime". She went on to release the hit single "When I See U", from her second album Fantasia (2006), recorded the duet "Put You Up on Game" with Aretha Franklin in 2007, and released later albums Back to Me (2010) and Side Effects of You (2013), with both peaking at number-two on the Billboard 200. Her single "Bittersweet", won her a Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance in 2011.
Barrino released her New York Times Best-Selling autobiography Life Is Not a Fairy Tale (2005), which was adapted into the 2006 television film, which she starred in.[8][9] She portrayed Celie Johnson in the Broadway musical The Color Purple from 2007 to 2008, which earned her a Theatre World Award for Best Debut Performance. She reprised her role in the 2023 film adaptation, for which she earned nominations for a Golden Globe Award and BAFTA Award for Best Actress[10][11] and won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Motion Picture.
Early life and education[edit]
Barrino was born to Diane and Joseph Barrino and raised in High Point, North Carolina. She began singing at the age of five. R&B duo K-Ci & JoJo are her first cousins.[12] Her uncles, The Barrino Brothers, were a 1970s R&B band.[13]
She attended Andrews High School in High Point, North Carolina. Feeling embarrassed and harassed after she was raped by a classmate,[14] she dropped out of high school. She became pregnant at 16, and on August 8, 2001, she gave birth to a daughter with her ex-boyfriend Brandel Shouse.[15]
Career[edit]
2004–2005: American Idol and Free Yourself[edit]
Barrino's show was a staging of the Porgy and Bess standard "Summertime" that left her in tears from "feeling the song" and earned praise from the judges and was named amongst the AOL's 2004 list of greatest television moments.[16]
For the final performance of the season, Barrino offered a second performance of "Summertime" that again drew praise from the judges; Simon Cowell remarked that she was the best contestant to ever compete in any competition, including the more than seventy Idol champions crowned nationally and internationally since the show began its first global incarnations. On the finale, over 65 million votes were cast to determine the winner on May 26, 2004, up from 24 million in 2003.[17] Barrino defeated runner-up Diana DeGarmo by 1.3 million votes.[18] At age 19, she was the youngest American Idol winner until May 23, 2007, when then 17-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 as well.
Barrino's brother auditioned for the eighth season of American Idol but failed to make it to the Hollywood round.[19]
Personal life[edit]
In September 2005, Barrino published a memoir, dictated to a freelance writer, titled Life Is Not a Fairy Tale. In it, she revealed she was functionally illiterate.[94] In 2006, following the release of her autobiography, Barrino's father sued her for $10 million after she said unflattering things about him in the book that he claimed were false.[95]
On December 9, 2008, Barrino's 6,600-square-foot (610 m2), lakefront home in Charlotte's Glynmoor Lakes at Piper Glen community was in foreclosure and would be up for auction. Her 4,500-square-foot (420 m2) home, also in Piper Glen, is unaffected.[96][97] The home was due to be auctioned in January 2009 by the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office after the company Broward Energy Partners, which had paid over $68,000 of her taxes in 2006, said it had not been fully repaid. The auction earnings were to be used to finish reimbursing the company for the loan,[98] on which Barrino had paid back $10,000.[99] The auction was canceled after Barrino's attorneys and the lender reached an "eleventh-hour deal", the details of which were not disclosed.[99]
She dated former NFL player Michael Clayton, who was at the time playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.[100]
An August 2010 divorce filing in Mecklenburg County District Court alleges that Barrino had a year-long relationship with Antwaun Cook, who was married, bringing up the subject of alienation of affection laws in North Carolina.[101] Barrino claimed the two began dating after Cook and his wife separated.[102] In December 2010, a North Carolina judge ruled in Barrino's favor, stating the Cooks' separation date was September 14, 2009, and not June 2010 as Paula previously claimed.[103]
On August 9, 2010, Barrino was hospitalized in Pineville, North Carolina,[104] due to overdosing on aspirin and an unknown sleep aid.[105]
In December 2011 she gave birth to a son.[106]
On July 18, 2015, she married Kendall Taylor,[107][108] a businessman.[109]
In 2019, Barrino came under fire when, in an interview on The Breakfast Club radio show, she claimed that women were not to lead their household and that the reason so many women were single is because they're trying to be the leader of a relationship, a position that should fall to the man, calling it a "generational curse" and saying women should submit to their male partners.[110][111][112]
In November 2020, Barrino revealed that she was expecting her first child with husband Kendall Taylor.[113] In May 2021, she gave birth to a daughter.[114]
On November 29, 2022, Sigma Gamma Rho sorority announced that Barrino was inducted as an honorary member of their sorority.[115]
Barrino took a break from her musical and acting career in order to return to school and enrolled at Central State University to study business.[116]
Artistry[edit]
Voice[edit]
Barrino's voice has been described as raspy, gritty and soulful just like that of Tina Turner.[117]
Influences[edit]
Barrino has said from childhood she has been influenced by soul singers Aretha Franklin, Patti LaBelle, and Chaka Khan,[118] and grew up listening to jazz singers Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Cab Calloway and Nina Simone.[119] Barrino has drawn many comparisons to her idols. LaBelle affectionately calls Barrino "baby Patti". "[Fantasia's] just a baby me...when you see yourself in someone else, you say, 'God I'm 70, she's 30,' so she's like the Patti Labelle from back in the day and everything and she's so raw", LaBelle stated in an interview.[120] She always credit her church upbringing and cites The Clark Sisters as one of her influences. Barrino is also an admirer of rock music and was influenced by Queen, Tina Turner and Elton John.[121] Her fourth album, Side Effects of You introduced a new and much edgier rock-inspired sound which she coined as 'rock soul'. During an interview with Billboard.com, Barrino has stated that she would like to go in more of a rock direction for her fifth studio album. "This whole rock soul direction has been on my heart. I'll always be soulful: I started singing in the church at the age of five. So that will never go anywhere. But there's a certain side of me that wants to tap into that whole rock world. It's hard to come from R&B to that. But it's something I believe in and will fight for", Barrino said in the interview.[122]
Over the course of her career, Barrino has inspired other artists, including American Idol season eleven contestant Joshua Ledet who was dubbed "Mantasia" by fans, the media and even Barrino herself. Actress Amber Riley revealed her admiration for Barrino in an interview on The Arsenio Hall Show and cited her as an "inspiration". In 2017, filmmaker Tyler Perry referred to Barrino as one of the greatest singers of all time during Barrino's concert in Atlanta.[123]
Genres[edit]
Barrino's music is mostly contemporary R&B, heavily rooted in soul music and gospel music. Her lyrics speak of love, pain and resilience.[124] She also incorporates pop, funk, reggae and hip hop into her music. Side Effects of You demonstrated the versatility of Barrino's voice. Barrino introduced a new and much edgier rock-inspired sound which she coined as 'rock soul'. Gerrick D. Kennedy from the Los Angeles Times praised the album as "sumptuous contemporary R&B dipped in vintage rock and soul".[125] Andy Kellman from Allmusic called it "her finest album yet".[2] Barrino further showcased her versatility and expanded her range while starring in Broadway musicals The Color Purple and After Midnight, as well as her mini-tour with Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli.