Fantasia Barrino

Fantasia Tanifa-Rae Bruschetta Barrino (born June 30, 1984) is an American R&B and Soul singer known most notably for winning the third season of American Idol and playing Celie in the broadway version of The Color Purple. Barrino has received positive praise for her bombastic performances consisting of rambunctious praise dances and slave cries. Critics have compared Barrino to Tina Turner and Aretha Franklin, while fans have compared her personal life to Faith from Soul Food and Yvette from Baby Boy.

Talent and Public Image
Though the media coverage of Fantasia's personal life resembles a straight-to-DVD urban comedy, Fantasia has remained a phenomenal vocalist with an effortless ability to channel geniune emotion into song. Fantasia's covers alone are vocally invincible. Furthermore, winning American Idol symbolized an American Dream: a talented, poor black woman on food stamps was able to pursue her dream and provide for her struggling family and daughter. Most important to Americans, she would get off food stamps.

Unfortunately, all that was shot to shit when Barrino revealed that she was illiterate and her country-assness could not be covered up by Gucci bags and Zac Posen cocktail dresses. On her reality show, Fantazya 4Reel, Barrino revealed that she had been sleeping with a married man and aborted his child, further tarnishing her image.

Barrino has cemented herself in the public eye as a mentally crippled trollop. While stigmatized as the modern-day jezebel stereotype, her reputation as a talented vocal musician remains unscathed.

Awards and Accomplishments
Grammys: 1 win from 8 Nominations

Endorsements from Wet Seal, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and MediaTakeOut

Life Is Not a Fairy Tale: The Fantasia Barrino Story well-received with 19 million viewers on its debut night

New York Times Best-Selling Author, somehow

Has released no nude pictures to the public

Severed her relationship with governmental assistance in 2004

Has looked 35 since she was 19

The sole factor in the 34 million dollar sales surge for The Color Purple on Broadway