Fantasia

R&B/soul singer Fantasia became a star after winning Season Three of American Idol in 2004. ∙ Growing up in a musical North Carolina family, she sang in church and loved artists ranging from Aretha Franklin and Nina Simone to Elton John and Queen. ∙ Fantasia was the first solo artist to top the Billboard Hot 100 with a debut single—2004’s “I Believe,” from her Platinum-selling album, Free Yourself. ∙ Her best-selling 2005 autobiography, Life Is Not a Fairy Tale, was made into a popular 2006 cable movie, starring Fantasia as herself and Viola Davis as her mother. ∙ In 2007, she recorded the hit R&B duet “Put You Up on Game” with her idol Aretha, for the Queen of Soul’s compilation album Jewels in the Crown. ∙ The first American Idol winner to perform on Broadway, Fantasia played the lead role of Celie in the original production of The Color Purple musical in 2007 and 2008. ∙ In 2011, she won a Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for her chart-topping R&B single “Bittersweet.”