Fantasia Monique Barrino-Taylor, known professionally by her mononym Fantasia, is an American singer and actress. She rose to prominence in 2004 for her performance of the Porgy and Bess standard "Summertime" during the third season of American Idol, and eventually became that season's winner. Following her victory, Barrino became the second woman to have her first single debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, following Lauryn Hill, when her debut single "I Believe", launched atop the chart. Her accolades include two Billboard Music Awards and a Grammy Award, along with nominations for a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA Award, and three American Music Awards.
Diana Nicole DeGarmo is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She rose to fame in 2004 as the runner-up of the third season of American Idol, releasing her debut studio album, Blue Skies, later that year. The following year, DeGarmo ventured into a career in musical theatre. She has starred in two Broadway, one off-Broadway and three national tours. She made her television acting debut in a six-month arc as Angelina Veneziano on The Young and the Restless. DeGarmo has since released two extended plays, Unplugged in Nashville (2009) and Live to Love (2012). She is married to fifth season American Idol finalist Ace Young.
Tamyra Monica Gray is an American actress, singer and songwriter, who finished fourth place on the first season of the musical reality competition American Idol in 2002. Post American Idol, Gray has begun acting on Broadway and television. She had a recurring role on the third season of the drama series Boston Public in early 2003.
Angela Maxine O'Brien is an American actress. Beginning a prolific career in feature films for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer at age four, O'Brien became one of the most popular child stars in cinema history and was honored with a Juvenile Academy Award as the outstanding child actress of 1944. In her later career, she has appeared on television, on stage, and in supporting film roles.
Free Yourself is the debut studio album by American singer Fantasia, released by on November 23, 2004. After winning American Idol, Fantasia signed to J Records with 19 Entertainment and began recording her debut album, working with a variety of writers and producers, including Louis Biancaniello, Craig Brockman, Bryan-Michael Cox, Clive Davis, Jermaine Dupri, Missy Elliott, Sean Garrett, Jazze Pha, Darkchild, Harold Lilly, Ric Rude, Soulshock & Karlin, The Underdogs, Sam Watters and Nigel Wright.
"A Star Is Torn" is the eighteenth episode of the sixteenth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on May 8, 2005. Fantasia Barrino guest stars as Clarissa Wellington.
The third season of American Idol premiered on Monday, January 19, 2004, and continued until May 26, 2004. The third season was won by Fantasia Barrino, who defeated Diana DeGarmo by an approximate margin of 2% ; the vote total was then the highest recorded vote total in the show's history. This season also featured future EGOT winner Jennifer Hudson, who finished seventh in the competition.
Jamia Simone Nash in Virginia Beach, Virginia, U.S., also known simply as Jamia, is an American singer and actress.
Maginel Wright Enright Barney was an American children's book illustrator and graphic artist. She was the younger sister of Frank Lloyd Wright, architect, and the mother of Elizabeth Enright, children's book writer and illustrator.
"Hood Boy" is a song by American singer Fantasia featuring American rapper Big Boi, from her second and eponymous studio album (2006). It was released as the album's lead single by J Records on November 14, 2006. "Hood Boy" was written by Johnta Austin, Anthony McIntyre and Antwan Patton, and produced by Austin and the Canadian production team Tone Mason. It samples the introduction of the Supremes' 1967 single, "The Happening". An uptempo R&B and hip hop song, "Hood Boy" explores Fantasia's appreciation for thugs.
The 38th NAACP Image Awards ceremony, presented by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), honored the best in film, television, music of 2006 and took place on March 2, 2007, at the Shrine Auditorium. The show was televised live on Fox at 8 p.m. EST and hosted by LL Cool J. The nominees were announced on January 7, 2007, at a press conference in at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. The winners and nominees are shown below. The winners are indicated in bold.
Back to Me is the third studio album by American singer Fantasia. It was released by J Records on August 24, 2010. Her first project in four years, much of the album was conceived after Fantasia had ventured into musical acting, starring as Celie in the Broadway musical The Color Purple, with production provided by Chuck Harmony, Jim Jonsin, Los Da Mystro, Pop & Oak and others. The album's title was suggested to her by comedian Steve Harvey, when Barrino visited his morning radio program.
The Back to Me Tour was the first headlining concert tour by American recording artist Fantasia Barrino. Primarily visiting the United States, the tour supported her third studio album, Back to Me.
Side Effects of You is the fourth studio album by American recording artist Fantasia. It was released in the United States on April 23, 2013, by RCA Records after the disbanding of her former label J Records in 2011. Dubbed as a rock soul album, it was primarily produced by Harmony Samuels whom Fantasia called her "Quincy Jones," referring to their creation process. British DJ Naughty Boy contributed the title track, while guest vocals were provided by rappers Big K.R.I.T. and Missy Elliott and singer Kelly Rowland.
Kelly Clarkson's Cautionary Christmas Music Tale is a 2013 Christmas television special produced by Done and Dusted for NBC. Directed by Hamish Hamilton, it stars Kelly Clarkson, Blake Shelton, Reba McEntire, Trisha Yearwood, Robin Williams, Whoopi Goldberg, William Shatner, Jay Leno, Matt Lauer, Danica Patrick, Heidi Klum, Ken Jeong, Jai Rodriguez and Morgan Bastin. It is a musical comedy pastiche loosely based on Charles Dickens's 1843 novella A Christmas Carol where Clarkson's character learns the true meaning of Christmas, accompanied by the music of her sixth studio album Wrapped in Red.
The Harvest is a 2013 American horror thriller film released by IFC Films that was directed by John McNaughton. It is the first feature film he has directed in over a decade and his first horror venture since Haeckel's Tale, a 2006 episode of the horror anthology series Masters of Horror. The movie had its world premiere on October 19, 2013, at the Chicago International Film Festival and follows a young girl who befriends a seemingly lonely and confined boy her own age, only to fall afoul of his mother. In a 2017 interview McNaughton said about the film: "It has the bones of a fairy tale. It’s about growing up and having to break free from your parents. Your parents want your heart and you can’t let them take it. You have to break away and make your own life."
"I Made It" is a song recorded by American singer Fantasia, featuring American singer-songwriter Tye Tribbett. It was written and produced by Tribbett and David Outing for Fantasia's fifth studio album, The Definition Of... (2016). Tribett developed it in collaboration with Fantasia, blending her personal testimony and his experiences with God into the lyrics. Fantasia described it as a highly personal song, explaining that it was about refusing to let people control her and moving forward from her past struggles. "I Made It" is an uptempo gospel record and its lyrics revolve around an appreciation for God and faith.
"Ugly" is a song recorded by American singer Fantasia for her fifth studio album, The Definition Of... (2016). It was released by 19 Recordings and RCA Records on April 7, 2016, as a promotional single from the album. Produced by Ron Fair, the song was written by Audra Mae and Nicolle Galyon. A departure from the hip-hop and R&B sound of Fantasia's previous studio albums, the track is a country and pop ballad revolving around body image and female empowerment. Media outlets had varying opinions of the song's genre and its content; Fantasia said that it was inspired by her childhood.
Viola Davis is an American actress and producer who has appeared in film, television, and on stage. She received her equity card with her stage debut in 1988 with August Wilson's The Pittsburgh Cycle play Joe Turner's Come and Gone production of Trinity Repertory Company. After graduating from Juilliard School in 1993, Davis went on to perform several roles on stage in the 1990s, earning Theater World Award for her role in Seven Guitars (1996). In the same year, Davis guest-starred in the procedural drama series NYPD Blue, and made her film debut with a brief one-day role alongside Timothy Hutton in The Substance of Fire. In 1998, she appeared in Richard Benjamin's television movie The Pentagon Wars, and Steven Soderbergh's Out of Sight, before returning to the stage with an Obie Award winning titular performance in Off-Broadway Everybody's Ruby (1999).
The Color Purple is a 2023 American coming-of-age musical period drama film directed by Blitz Bazawule. Marcus Gardley's screenplay is based on the stage musical of the same name, which in turn is based on the 1982 novel of the same name by Alice Walker. It is the second film adaptation of the novel, following the 1985 film directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by Spielberg and Quincy Jones. Spielberg and Jones return as producers for the 2023 film, along with its Broadway producers Scott Sanders and Oprah Winfrey, the latter of whom also starred in the 1985 film.
