Fantasia Barrino made her dreams come true in front of millions of Americans when she became the season 3 American Idol Winner. Just days following her victorious win she released her first single “I Believe” selling over 500K copies. She began work on her debut album shortly after working with Missy Elliott, Ciara, and Jermaine Durpi. Fantasia had moved out of her small town of High Point North Carolina and into a 6,600 square foot mansion in the suburbs. But things took a sudden turn for the worse when she got involved with a married man. The bad press lead to large backlash from fans and critics leading to poor album sales and a loss of reputation. She was also served with several lawsuits from her father and brother. Her finances lead to her losing her mansion and filing for bankruptcy. It would be years before she would regain her confidence to make her return to the stage performing her new single at American Idol. Through it all Fantasia was able to keep her faith and today her net worth is $3 million.
Fantasia was born in High Point North Carolina. She had almost no relationship with her father while her mother raised her and her brothers on her own. Fantasia revealed in her memoir “Life Is Not A Fairy tale” that she was illiterate. She had a poor education and dropped out of high school at the age of 16 after she was raped by a classmate. That same year she became pregnant with her daughter Zion Quari Barrino with her ex-boyfriend Brandel Shouse. That same year she attended an audition that would change her life for American Idol in Greensboro North Carolina. She competed against Jennifer Hudson. The two formed a bond and friendship beyond the series and eventually working together on Hudson’s debut album.
Soul Train Awards
After winning American Idol Fantasia released her debut album Free Yourself which went platinum and sold over 2 million copies worldwide. The album was nominated for more than twenty awards including a Grammy. Her sophomore release titled Fantasia also went platinum and the single Free Yourself was number 1 on Billboard R&B Charts for eight weeks straight. Two years later she made her stage debut in the Broadway musical Color Purple. She was personally cast by Oprah Winfrey to play Celie. In 2010 she had her own reality series on VH1 entitled Fantasia For Real. The show lasted for two season and received a large following becoming one of VH1′s highest rated shows in 2010.
That same year her career met a serious hurdle. She was accused of sleeping with a married man she met at Verizon Wireless. According to Divorce filing Mecklenburg County District Court alleges that Barrino had a year-long relationship with Antwaun Cook, who was married. Barrino went on a media tour defending the allegations saying that the two began dating after he was separated. The negative feedback sent Fantasia into a depression leading to a suicide attempt. On August 9, 2010, Barrino was hospitalized in Pineville, North Carolina, due to overdosing on aspirin and an unknown sleep aid.
Through her obstacles Fantasia claims it was music that saved her life and her daughter. On December 13, 2011 she gave birth to a son, Dallas Xavier Barrino. In 2013 she released her 4th album Side Effects of You featuring the single “Without Me” featuring Kelly Rowland and Missy Elliott. The album debuted at number 2 selling 94K copies the first week.
