Life Is Not a Fairy Tale is a memoir by American singer Fantasia Barrino, describing her life prior to national prominence as winner of the third season of American Idol . The book was released by Atria Publishing Group, and adapted into a 2006 Lifetime television movie.
Fantasia recounts her rise from high-school dropout to music star in her autobiography, which became a New York Times bestseller. The book was dictated by Barrino and typed by a freelance writer, as Barrino was functionally illiterate, [1] though she has since earned a GED and attended college.
As an American Idol contestant, Barrino came to national attention, winning the show's third season and launching a singing career. But her life began much more humbly. At the age of seventeen, Barrino was an uneducated, unmarried teenage mother living in poverty. She was faced with many tough battles growing up in the city of High Point, North Carolina. She shows respect and admiration to her mother and grandmother who raised her, both preachers who instilled in her a strong faith in God. Both women struggled with similar problems as Barrino faced, which inspired her to make changes in her life.
Life Is Not a Fairy Tale | |
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Written by | Keith Glover |
Directed by | Debbie Allen |
Starring | |
Music by | Rickey Minor |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Cinematography | John Simmons |
Editor | Lillian Benson |
Running time | 84 minutes |
Production companies |
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Original release | |
Network | Lifetime |
Release | August 19, 2006 |
Life Is Not A Fairy Tale: The Fantasia Barrino Story is a 2006 American biographical film directed by Debbie Allen, based on the life of American singer Fantasia Barrino, adapted from her book of the same name.
The movie begins with Barrino's early life in a religious family. Barrino faces problems with self-esteem, sexual abuse, teen pregnancy, and her faith as she fights to overcome her mistakes at a young age.
The movie premiered on August 19, 2006, with more than nineteen million viewers during the August 19–20 weekend, becoming Lifetime's second most-watched movie in its 22-year history.[ citation needed ] The movie was ranked the top cable movie premiere of the year among women ages 18–49.[ citation needed ]
No soundtrack was released, but many songs appear throughout the film.
Award | Year | Category | Nominee | Result |
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NAACP Image Awards | 2007 | Outstanding Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special | Life Is Not a Fairytale | Nominated |
Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special | Fantasia Barrino | Nominated | ||
Loretta Devine | Nominated | |||
Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special | Kadeem Hardison | Won | ||
Teen Choice Awards | 2007 | Choice TV Movie | Life Is Not a Fairytale | Nominated |
Loretta Lynn was an American country music singer and songwriter. In a career spanning six decades, Lynn released multiple gold albums. She had numerous hits such as "Hey Loretta", "The Pill", "Blue Kentucky Girl", "Love Is the Foundation", "You're Lookin' at Country", "You Ain't Woman Enough", "I'm a Honky Tonk Girl", "Don't Come Home A-Drinkin' ", "One's on the Way", "Fist City", and "Coal Miner's Daughter". The 1980 musical film Coal Miner's Daughter was based on her life.
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 and a BAFTA Award. In 2024, Time named her one of the 100 most influential people.
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.
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. The episode was written by Carolyn Omine and directed by Nancy Kruse.
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, 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.
Fantasia is the second studio album by American recording artist Fantasia. It was released by J Records on December 12, 2006 in the United States. Fantasia reteamed with Harold Lilly, Swizz Beatz and Missy Elliott and her team – all of which had contributed to her debut album to work on the project. The label also consulted new collaborators to record with her, including Babyface, Dre & Vidal, Kwamé, and Midi Mafia. Elliott, rapper Big Boi and Fantasia's brother Ricco appear as guest vocalists on the album.
"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.
Fantasia for Real is an American reality documentary television series on VH1 that debuted on January 11, 2010. The series chronicles American Idol season 3 winner Fantasia Barrino, along with her family, and her struggle to regain control of both her career and personal life.
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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.
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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.
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"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.
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).
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