Fantasia Monique Barrino (born June 30, 1984), or simply Fantasia, is an American R&B/soul singer and Broadway actress who rose to fame as the winner of the third season of the television series American Idol in 2004. Her first album, Free Yourself, was certified platinum and received four Grammy nominations. Her second album, Fantasia, was certified gold, received three Grammy nominations and featured the 8-week #1 Billboard Hot R&B hit "When I See U." Following a critically acclaimed run on Broadway as Celie in the musical, The Color Purple, Fantasia was cast to star in the movie version of the musical, which is slated to begin production in 2009.
Barrino made an immediate impression on American Idol with her stylized, gospel-influenced sound, and her explosive stage presence. Her audition version of Tina Turner's "Proud Mary" made her an early favorite in the competition. Her standout performance during the course of the show was a heartfelt staging, begun seated, of the Porgy and Bess standard "Summertime" that left her in tears from "feeling the song" and earned praise from the judges, as well as landing her on the Emmy Awards's 2004 list of greatest television moments. "Summertime" was also labeled by idol judge Randy Jackson as the best performance in the shows history.
Nevertheless, Barrino's rise to the final two on American Idol was plagued with controversies, including accusations of racism when she and two other well-praised African American female singers in the competition, LaToya London and Jennifer Hudson, all landed in the bottom three of that week's voting. Guest artist Elton John labeled the outcome "racist". Other concerns were raised over her as a single mother being a poor role model for youth.
For the final performance of the season, Barrino offered a second performance of "Summertime" that again drew enormous praise from the judges — including Simon Cowell's remarks that she was the best contestant to ever compete in any competition. This would include the over seventy Idol champions crowned nationally and internationally since the show began its first global incarnations. On the finale, over sixty-five million votes were cast in order to determine the winner on May 26, 2004, up from twenty-four million in 2003. It was the highest finale vote in the show's history until the May 23, 2007 American Idol (season 6) finale. In the end Fantasia defeated runner-up Diana DeGarmo by 1.3 million votes. At age nineteen, Fantasia was the youngest American Idol winner until May 23, 2007, when the 17 year-old Jordin Sparks won the title.
Barrino participated in the U.S. tour with the other American Idol finalists and appeared in the 2004 Christmas special, Kelly, Ruben and Fantasia: Home For the Holidays.