Fantasia (singer)
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Fantasia Monique Barrino-Taylor (born June 30, 1984), also known mononymously as Fantasia, is an American singer and actress. She rose to prominence in 2004 with her performance of the Porgy and Bess standard "Summertime" during the third season of American Idol, becoming that season's winner. Following her victory, Barrino became the second artist after Lauryn Hill to have their first commercial single debut atop the Billboard Hot 100 with her 2004 song, "I Believe". It went on to become the best-selling single in the United States that year. Barrino's debut album, Free Yourself (2004), received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and was nominated in three categories at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards. Her eponymous second album (2006) spawned the single "When I See U", which peaked within the Billboard Hot 100's top 40. Her third and fourth albums, Back to Me (2010) and Side Effects of You (2013), both peaked at number two on the Billboard 200. Barrino released her New York Times best-selling autobiography Life Is Not a Fairy Tale (2005), which was adapted into a 2006 television film starring her. She portrayed Celie Johnson in the Broadway musical The Color Purple from 2007 to 2008, which earned her a Theatre World Award for Best Debut Performance. She reprised her role in the 2023 film adaptation, for which she earned nominations for a Golden Globe Award and BAFTA Award for Best Actress and won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Motion Picture. She has earned over a dozen top ten hits on the Adult R&B Airplay chart, with Billboard ranking her among the top female artists of the 21st century. Her accolades include two Billboard Music Awards and a Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for her single "Bittersweet", along with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2024, Time named her one of the 100 most influential people.