Fantasia

Fantasia Monique Barrino commonly known simply by the mononym Fantasia, is an American R&B singer and actress. She rose to fame as the winner of the third season of the reality television series American Idol in 2004. Following her victory, she released her debut single, "I Believe," which debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Subsequently, she released her debut album, Free Yourself, which went on to be certified Platinum by the RIAA and garnered Barrino three Grammy nominations in 2006.

In 2006, she released her second album, Fantasia, which featured the single "When I See U" which topped the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for eight weeks. The album was certified Gold by the RIAA and received three Grammy nominations in 2008. She then played the part of Celie in the Broadway musical The Color Purple, for which she won a 2007 Theatre World Award. Her third studio album, Back to Me, was released worldwide on August 24, 2010 and features the single "Bittersweet," which peaked in the top ten on the R&B chart. The single won her a Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. As of February 2012, Barrino has sold 2,842,000 albums and 1,425,000 tracks in the United States.

On April 18, 2013, Barrino returned to American Idol singing "Lose to Win." The performance dubbed "dynamic, passionate and powerful" won her fervent expressions of approval from the show's current judges and a wild ovation from the live audience. Moreover, she has received rave reviews in the media for the performance.

Side Effects of You is the fourth studio album by Fantasia. The album was released in the United Kingdom on April 19th, and in the United States on April 23rd, by RCA Records after the disbanding of J Records in 2011. The album features guest appearances from Big K.R.I.T., Kelly Rowland and Missy Elliott. The album's lead single, "Lose to Win", premiered on December 19, 2012, through Fantasia's YouTube page. It was made available for digital download on January 8th.

« back to Urban/R&B Artist Info