Fantasia (singer)

Career

Barrino's performance of "Summertime" during American Idol left her in tears and was named among AOL's 2004 list of greatest television moments. For the finale, she performed "Summertime" again, and Simon Cowell remarked she was the best contestant ever in any competition, including over seventy Idol champions. Over 65 million votes were cast on May 26, 2004, and Barrino defeated Diana DeGarmo by 1.3 million votes. At 19, she was the youngest American Idol winner until Jordin Sparks won in 2007.

Barrino participated in the U.S. tour with other finalists and appeared in the 2004 Christmas special Kelly, Ruben and Fantasia: Home for the Holidays. Her brother auditioned for the eighth season of American Idol but did not reach Hollywood. During one results night, Barrino was in the bottom two but was declared safe when LaToya London was eliminated. After winning, she signed to J Records with 19 Entertainment.

Her debut single "I Believe" debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, making her the first artist to achieve this with a first single. It spent eleven consecutive weeks at number one on the sales chart, the longest such stay for an American Idol contestant, and became the top-selling single of 2004 in the U.S., certified double platinum by the CRIA. She won three Billboard Music Awards for the single.

Personal life

In September 2005, Barrino published a memoir, Life Is Not a Fairy Tale, dictated to a freelance writer, in which she revealed she was functionally illiterate. Her father later sued her for $10 million over unflattering claims in the book that he said were false. In December 2008, her 6600-square-foot lakefront home in Charlotte's Glynmoor Lakes at Piper Glen community faced foreclosure and was set for auction after Broward Energy Partners, which had paid over $68,000 of her taxes in 2006, said it had not been fully repaid.

The auction was canceled after an eleventh-hour deal. Barrino dated former NFL player Michael Clayton. In August 2010, a divorce filing alleged she had a year-long relationship with Antwaun Cook, who was married; Barrino said they began dating after Cook and his wife Paula separated. A North Carolina judge ruled in Barrino's favor, setting the separation date as September 14, 2009.

On August 9, 2010, Barrino was hospitalized for overdosing on aspirin and an unknown sleep aid. She gave birth to a son in December 2011. On July 18, 2015, she married businessman Kendall Taylor. In 2019, on The Breakfast Club, she said women should not lead households and should submit to male partners, calling it a "generational curse" for women to try to control relationships.

In November 2020, she revealed she was expecting her first child with Taylor, and gave birth to a daughter in May 2021. On November 29, 2022, she was inducted as an honorary member of Sigma Gamma Rho sorority.

Artistry

Fantasia Barrino’s singing is often called raspy, gritty, and soulful, with a tone that brings Tina Turner to mind. She has said that as a child, she was shaped by soul greats Aretha Franklin, Patti LaBelle, and Chaka Khan, and she grew up listening to jazz legends Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Cab Calloway, and Nina Simone. LaBelle has called her “baby Patti,” noting that Fantasia reminds her of her younger self—raw and full of the same fire.

Barrino credits her church upbringing and names The Clark Sisters as a key influence. She also loves rock music, citing Queen, Tina Turner, and Elton John as inspirations. Her fourth album, Side Effects of You, marked a shift toward a harder, rock-influenced sound she calls “rock soul.” She has said she wants to take her next album further into rock, explaining that this direction has been on her heart and that while she will always stay soulful—having started singing in church at age five—she feels driven to explore the rock world.

Over time, she has inspired other artists: American Idol contestant Joshua Ledet earned the nickname “Mantasia” from fans and from Barrino herself, and actress Amber Riley has called her an inspiration. In 2017, filmmaker Tyler Perry declared her one of the greatest singers of all time during her Atlanta concert.

Legacy and achievements

Fantasia Barrino first came to national attention by winning American Idol in 2004. Since then, she has collected a Grammy Award, two Billboard Awards, five NAACP Image Awards, and two ASCAP Awards. She has also been nominated for a Golden Globe and a BAFTA.

Critics have frequently called her "The Queen of Rock Soul." In 2012, VH1 placed her at number 32 on its list of the 100 Greatest Women in Music. She is a member of the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame. Time magazine named her one of the world's most influential people in 2024, and she is scheduled to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2025.

Her debut single, "I Believe," entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number one, making her only the second artist ever to do so with a first single. Billboard's December 13, 2005, issue ranked her as the top artist in the Adult Urban Contemporary format.

She also became the first artist to simultaneously occupy the top two positions of the top three on the Billboard Hot Adult R&B Airplay chart. Her song "Truth Is" held the number-one spot there for fourteen weeks. AOL included her American Idol performance of "Summertime" from Porgy and Bess on its 2004 list of the greatest television moments.

Barrino won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture for her role in The Color Purple (2023). That performance also earned her nominations for the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical and the BAFTA for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Additionally, she shared a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.

Did You Know?

• Barrino's uncles, The Barrino Brothers, were a 1970s R&B band.
• She dropped out of high school after being raped by a classmate.