Grammy-Award Winning Musician
Fantasia: Biography at a Glance
- Fantasia is an acclaimed actress and singer who broke onto the scene as the season three winner of Fox’s American Idol.
- Most recently, Fantasia can be seen playing the iconic role of “Celie” in The Color Purple, the feature film adaption of the Broadway musical directed by Blitz Bazawule.
- She released her platinum-selling debut album Free Yourself and became the first artist in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 chart to debut at #1 with her first single.
- Her song “Bittersweet” earned her first-ever Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Song.
- Fantasia has toured non-stop since the beginning of her career, selling out headline tours across the country and sharing the stage with the likes of Anthony Hamilton, Maxwell, and Andrea Bocelli.
- In addition to being a mainstay in music, Fantasia added author to her growing list of accomplishments with her New York Times bestselling memoir, Life Is Not a Fairytale.
- Fantasia captivates audiences with the story of her astonishing rise from an uneducated, teenage mother living in the projects to a global superstar.
- Fantasia was named to the TIME 100 List of Most Influential People in 2024.
Biography
North Carolina native Fantasia broke onto the scene in 2004 as the season three winner of Fox’s “American Idol.” Later that year, she released her platinum-selling debut album Free Yourself, and became the first artist in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 chart to debut at #1 with her first single, “I Believe." Fantasia’s 2006 eponymous second album featured the #1 R&B single, “When I See U,” and reached gold status. In 2010, Fantasia released the critically acclaimed Back To Me, which featured the hit single “Bittersweet” which earned her first-ever Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Song. In 2013, Fantasia released her fourth studio album, Side Effects of You which debuted at #1 on the Billboard R&B Albums Chart and #2 on the Billboard Top 200. On July 29, 2016, Fantasia released her fifth studio album, The Definition Of.... The album debuted at #1 on Billboard’s R&B chart, #2 on the Overall Albums and R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and #6 on the Billboard 200 chart. The high chart entries mark Fantasia’s third consecutive #1 R&B album debut, her fourth top ten debut on the Billboard 200, and earned her another Grammy nomination for “Best Traditional R&B Performance.”
In an effort to show her fans love and thank them for their constant support, Fantasia has toured non-stop since the beginning of her career. In addition to selling out headline tours across the country, the Grammy Award winner has shared the stage with the likes of Anthony Hamilton, Maxwell, and Andrea Bocelli.
In addition to being a mainstay in music, Fantasia adds author and actress to her growing list of accomplishments. In 2006, she released her New York Times bestselling memoir, Life Is Not a Fairytale and starred as herself in the Lifetime movie of the same name. In 2007, Fantasia landed the coveted role of Celie in Broadway’s The Color Purple for which she won a Theater World Award. Fantasia returned to Broadway in 2013 as the first celebrity engagement in After Midnight, a dance-focused musical that celebrated Harlem’s iconic Cotton Club during the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s and 1930s. After receiving rave reviews, Fantasia joined the cast of After Midnight for a second run in May 2014.
Fantasia released her first holiday album Christmas After Midnight on October 6th via her own imprint Rock Soul Entertainment, in partnership with Concord Records. Produced by Ron Fair, the 12-track album features covers of holiday favorites including “This Christmas,” “Silent Night,” “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,” “Santa Claus Go Straight To The Ghetto,” “Jingle Bell Rock,” and “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” which features vocals from CeeLo Green.
