You might semi-recognize this title as
American Idol winner
Fantasia Barrino's recent biopic on the Lifetime channel, only the actual title was, "Life Is Not a Fairy Tale." But I think for Fantasia, at least in her most recent years, her life has definitely been some sort of Cinderella story.
Fantasia (or as I like to call her, Fanny-Tastic) was raised in North Carolina with her parents, and began singing gospel in the church with her family at an early age. They made a few CDs, did a few tours, and BAM -she had been bitten by the bug. (Of course, the fact that her cousins are musicians K-Ci and JoJo, probably didn't hurt either.)
But before she could get out there and go for it, she had an experience in high school that changed her life. She was sexually assaulted, and as a result of the shame and embarrassment she felt, she dropped out of school. She then started seeing a different person, and ended up pregnant. In the late summer of 2001, Fantasia welcomed her daughter, Zion Quari' Barrino.
In 2003, Fanny-Tastic decided to make a change in her life and go for the gold, by auditioning for season three of
American Idol. She chose to sing "Proud Mary," and boy did she make Mary proud! (Or something else related to the song in a corny manner...) She made the show and became an instant frontrunner, with even Simon commenting on her talent, which as we all know, is pretty unusual.
She did a great job on the show, but her highlight was definitely "Summertime," originally from Porgy and Bess. Randy "'Sup dawg?? 'Sup? That was tight!" Jackson called it the best performance in all of
American Idol history.
In the end, she beat out runner-up Diana DeGarmo for the cherished title. Since her win, she's put out two albums and received FOUR Grammy nominations, all in 2006, a feat currently unsurpassed by all
American Idol alum. She received three Billboard Awards for her single,"I Believe." She also wrote her autobiography, and then starred in the film version of it.
Fantasia Barrino has been pretty busy these last few years. Looks like she might get the fairy tale afterall.
-BuddyTV Staff Columnist