Fantasia Monique Barrino

Born in 1984, Barrino was the daughter of Joseph, a truck driver who had performed with a male vocal group, and his wife, Diane, also a singer. Barrino was given her unusual first name because of a piece of Princess House crystal. She and her two brothers, Ricco and Joseph, were raised in various cites in North Carolina, because her father's job required them to move frequently.

Began Singing

Many members of Barrino's family sang. Fantasia possessed a natural talent, and began singing at home when she was about three years old. Without prompting, she sang in front of her family one New Year's Eve, already possessed of a soulful singing voice. By the time she was five years old, her grandmother, Addie Collins, predicted her granddaughter would be famous. Grounded in gospel music as her only formal training, Barrino began singing at the age of 5 at Mercy Outreach Church of Deliverance, the church of her grandmother, Addie Collins, in Archdale, NC. It was there she learned to praise God in dance. She has been singing since she was a child, mainly in church choirs and with her family's touring gospel group, in which she was the second lead singer under her mother, Diane. The group, composed of his daughter, two sons, wife, and a cousin of Barrino's, billed as The Barrino Family, performed at various churches as far away as Mississippi, Maryland and Florida. The Barrino Family toured the area and released a cassette in 1994, but this was a short-lived venture, as their backing band soon dropped out. Fantasia related: "We had a little bus that broke down on us everywhere we went," Barrino says in a phone interview from Los Angeles before a rehearsal. " It had no air-conditioning, no heat. We'd get by by having fun. I'd crack jokes, sing. We'd say, 'It's hot, we're stuck. What are we gonna do?' I kept everybody hyped up." She sang morning, noon and night, even if it meant just making up songs about the bus.

As a child and teenager in High Point, she sang gospel and soul for whoever would listen in her apartment, at church, at school and on her grandmother's front porch. "I don't remember everybody, but I definitely remember her," says Paula Williams, who was Barrino's second-grade teacher at Montlieu Elementary School. "She would climb up on the monkey bars and take a seat. A lot of times she'd sing 'Amazing Grace' or some hymn she learned from her family. She had a voice."

As a sophomore or junior, Barrino dropped out of Andrews High School in High Point, North Carolina, when her father's job took the family to Charlotte, North Carolina. The family later moved back to High Point, and Barrino began work on finishing high school by taking correspondence courses. Barrino's life grew more complicated when she gave birth to a daughter, Zion, in 2001, when she was 17 years old. The child's father was Barrino's boyfriend, Brandel Shouse, who was later arrested for physically assaulting Barrino. Fantasia said she was caught up in a cycle of domestic abuse. At one point it got so bad that Shouse was arrested for "choking her with both hands" and "punching her about the face and head," according to court documents.

Being a single mother was difficult, but Barrino continued to pursue her goal of a singing career, helping to support herself by singing at events such as funerals and weddings.

After winning American Idol, Fantasia became the first artist in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 to debut at Number 1 with their first chart entry. Her single "I Believe" topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart, R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales chart, and Hot 100 Single Sales chart. The song ended Ushers 19-week reign at Number 1. Fantasia became the first artist in the history of the Hot 100 to debut at No. 1 with her first chart entry. The single went on to top the Hot 100 single sales chart for an astonishing 14 weeks.

In June 2004, Fantasia performed, backed by a 60-member choir at the Robin Hood Foundation Benefit, and she appeared on Bizbash Magazine's "Fresh" list. Six days later, Fantasia performed Billy Joel's "New York State of Mind" at the Council of Fashion Designers of America's annual awards ceremony. The performance was deemed "Flawless" by the media and made fans of the backing band and Versace spokesman Billy Daley who was in attendance. Beyonce also was thrilled to see Fantasia at the event and revealed she'd cried when Fantasia won American Idol.

In July 2004, Fantasia became the first spokesmodel for American Rag Cie Clothing. VP of marketing Nancy Slavin said of Fantasia: "We're thrilled to have Fantasia on board. She has a great presence and exemplifies the cool personality of the American Rag CIE brand. We know she resonates with our customer." Fantasia also sang the Star Spangled Banner at Major League Baseball's All-Star game, so well that it prompted TV Guide to suggest it should be released as a single. Fantasia also performed her single and "God Bless America" while appearing with Sheryl Crow and Aretha Franklin on NBC's 4th of July Spectacular, prompting Sheryl to praise Fantasia's vocal abilities.

In October, after receiving rave reviews from music critics along the 50-city American Idol Tour, Fantasia performed "Free Yourself", "Summertime" and "I Believe" from her then yet to be released CD "Free Yourself" at the Princess Grace Awards Gala. Legendary singer-songwriters Ashford and Simpson were in attendance and were among those impressed.

In November 2004, Ashford and Simpson invited Fantasia to Radio Legend Hal Jackson's birthday party. Fantasia was called to sing "If Only You Knew" and "Love You, Need You" on the spot with Patti Labelle. Days later, Hal Jackson was still impressed, saying "Patti gave Fantasia a 'Diva test' and Fantasia tore it up."

Weeks later, Fantasia appeared on NBC's show "American Dreams" as Aretha Franklin. On the same night, Fantasia was set to appear on the American Music Awards. Brian Mcknight introduced her, saying "If you don't know who this next performer is, you must be living on a different planet and not one in our solar system." Fantasia came on and performed "Free Yourself." Less than a week later, M.A.C. Cosmetics introduced two new lipglosses in honor of Fantasia - "Fantabulous 1" and "Fantabulous 2."

Fantasia was featured on ABC's 20/20 in November, being interviewed by Elizabeth Vargas. The program revealed that Fantasia's family get-togethers are filled with song. "If we can't find a song, we'll sing a nursery rhyme. We could just get together, sing, crack jokes and have a good time," Fantasia said.

Fantasia performed on ABC's Good Morning America's "Women Rule" concert series, where Diane Sawyer revealed that she voted for Fantasia several times during American Idol. Fantasia performed "Free Yourself" and "Truth Is."

On November 23rd, 2004, Fantasia released her highly anticipated Debut CD, "Free Yourself." It sold 240,000 copies the first week alone and went gold before Christmas. "Free Yourself" received an honorary mention for best CD of the year by the Associated Press. The album features contributions by Missy Elliott, Ciara, Harold Lilly, The Underdogs, Jazze Pha, Jermaine Dupri, Rodney Jerkins, Betty Wright, Soulshock and Karlin and Scott Storch.

In early December 2004, Fantasia won two Billboard Music Awards for her single "I Believe". The song won awards for top-selling Pop single of 2004 and top-selling R&B single of the year. Thereafter, Fantasia performed in concert at BB Kings in New York, appearing with John Legend and Brian Mcknight. She performed "Free Yourself", "Baby Mama" and her lead single, "Truth Is". Three days later in Atlanta at Vegas Nights, Fantasia performed the setlist to an enthusiastic crowd. Just a day later, she arrived in California and appeared in radio station KMEL's "House of Soul" concert.

In late December, Jazze Pha announced on B.E.T. that Fantasia would be possibly recording a duet with Aretha Franklin for Aretha's "Duets" CD. Later that month, Fantasia joined others in a soul tingling rendition of "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" in a tribute to Sir Elton John. Elton John was visably moved by her performance and she later received a standing ovation from a crowd of industry legends.

In January of 2005, Fantasia paid tribute to Tsunami victims with a performance of "You Were Always on My Mind" on Good Morning America. Her album still atop the Billboard Top 30, Fantasia was certified platinum by the RIAA. She performed a stirring rendition of "The Lord Is Blessing Me" at BET's Celebration of Gospel which garnered high praise. In early February, Fantasia appeared on Soul Train to sing "Truth Is" and "Baby Mama." She also appeared on Larry King Live performing Summertime with Carlos Santana and Clive Davis watching. Later that night, Fantasia was unveiled to industry elite as Clive's "Next Big Thing." Members in the audience included Diana Ross, Prince, Beyonce, JayZ, Mary J. Blige, Carlos Santana, Usher, Alicia Keys, and much more. Fantasia was joined on the stage by Chaka Khan for a duet of "Summertime" in which she scatted and improvised a jazz rendition that earned her yet another standing ovation from the crowd. She lated joined Usher, Jaime Foxx, and more to pay tribute to Diana Ross. The following day, several articles stated that Fantasia had stolen the show from the veterans in the building.

Since then, Fantasia has done a radio tour appearing in several cities across the country to meet her fans and promote her album. She has enjoyed much success on the radio garnering the #1 song on Urban AC for 12 weeks straight. She also set a new spin record on the Adult R&B chart breaking the record set by Alicia Keys. At one point in time, Fantasia had three songs on the Billboard Hot 100 (Truth Is, Baby Mama, and Free Yourself). A remix of "It's All Good" was listed on the Dance Charts. Fantasia's songs span the R&B charts, Hot 100 charts, Dance charts and for some weeks she has even charted on the Ringtone, Rythmic and Pop 100 charts. In early March, Fantasia hosted the Soul Train Awards along side Brian McKnight, Nicole Ritchie, and Nick Cannon. She also performed a medley of "Free Yourself" and "Baby Mama." She made her acting debut on Will and Jada Smith's production, "All of Us." She later appeared on Ellen to perform "Baby Mama."

On March 25, Fantasia was honored with a coveted NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Female Artist. She engaged the audience with a tribute to Barak Obama by singing "I Believe" which earned her a standing ovation from the likes of Oprah Winfey, Barak Obama, Regina King, Usher, and more. She retured to American Idol to perform a crowd moving medley of "I Believe" and "Truth Is" and dedicated her performance to the current idol contestants. Later that week, she appeared on Jay Leno to perform a new version of her latest single "Free Yourself." Fantasia continues to tour the country, gaining critical acclaim from her reviewers and inspiring all of her fans. In May, Fantasia will appear as Simpson character! She will also embark on the nation wide "Find Your Way" tour as the opening act for Motown artist, Kem.