Fantasia Barrino

Fantasia Monique Barrino, or simply Fantasia (born June 30, 1984 in High Point, North Carolina), is an African-American rhythm and blues singer, who came to fame as the winner of the third season of the television series American Idol.

American Idol

Barrino made an immediate impression on American Idol with her stylized, gospel-influenced sound and her unconventional diction. Her audition version of John Fogerty/Tina Turner's "Proud Mary" made her an early favorite in the competition. Her standout performance during the course of the show was a prone, heartfelt staging of the Porgy and Bess standard "Summertime" that left her in tears from "feeling the song" and earned raves from the judges, as well as landing her on the Emmy Awards's 2004 list of greatest television moments.

Related Topics:
Gospel - John Fogerty - Tina Turner - Porgy and Bess - Summertime - Emmy Awards

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Nevertheless, Barrino's rise to the final two on American Idol was plagued with controversies including accusations of racism (when she and the two other well-praised African American female singers all landed in the bottom three, guest artist Elton John labelled the outcome racist), concerns over her being a poor role model, and charges of rigged voting and busy telephone signals. In the final performance of the season that formed the basis upon which America voted, Barrino offered a performance that drew effusive praise from the judges—including Simon Cowell's remarks that she was the best performer among the over 70 Idol champions crowned internationally since the show began its global competitions. Sixty-five million votes were cast in order to determine the winner on May 26, 2004, up from 24 million in 2003 http://www.freep.com/news/latestnews/pm19992_20040526.htm/1. In the end Barrino beat out Diana DeGarmo by a margin of 1.3 million votes. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5060380/

Related Topics:
African American - Elton John - Role model - Simon Cowell - May 26 - 2004 - 2003 - Diana DeGarmo

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Barrino participated in the U.S. tour with the other American Idol finalists and appeared in the 2004 Christmas special.

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