The Color Purple Star Fantasia Barrino Says she "Lost Everything" after "American Idol"
by Dustin Nelson
December 28, 2023


Fantasia Barrino, star of the new stage-to-screen adaptation of The Color Purple, has opened up about the difficulties she faced after finding fame on "American Idol".

Barrino won the third season in 2004, three years before she made her Broadway debut in The Color Purple. "It wasn't easy," she told PEOPLE in a new interview. "I lost a lot. I lost everything."




The actress and singer says she faced financial hardships following her win. Her father sued in 2006 over his portrayal in her memoir, Life Is Not a Fairy Tale. She also lived through an overdose of aspirin and sleep aids in 2010.

Many of those struggles came from being "very, very green" in the music and entertainment industry. "You have to become a businesswoman, and you link up with great business partners, but it doesn't have a lot to do with love," she said. "It took me a long time to figure that out."




Barrino was only 19 when she won the career-making reality competition. Now, a mother of three, she's starring in a film that had the second-biggest Christmas Day theatrical opening ever.

"I didn't know anything about contracts," she says of those early years. "I didn't know anything about checking your money and making sure every day your stuff was where it was supposed to be. I just trusted and believed everybody that came into my life."

Though those times were tough, Barrino sees what the lows taught her. "I'm grateful for it," she told PEOPLE. "If I did not go through that, I wouldn't be the woman that I am today."

https://ew.com/the-color-purple-star-fantasia-barrino-lost-everything-after-american-idol-8420652

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When you think of some of the greatest female vocalist of all time based off skill alone Fantasia may be far down that list, or at the top of it. There’s really no in between as you either lover her distinctive voice for its character, power and uniqueness, or you hate it for sometimes screeching or sounding like a Disney character, but one thing’s for sure both sides would agree that she was special, she could sing, and people liked her. At the end of the day that should make for a great entertainer. And entertainer Fantasia was naturally at heart. She literally invaded American homes winning American Idol in 2004, poised to become a superstar in music. Things began great, as she went platinum in the US out the gate with her debut album and single, achieved Grammy nominations and even a win later on, but things didn't exactly go as expected as her debut would be her only platinum album, as sales declined from then on. Why Fantasia Didn't Become a Superstar After Idol! Stunted Growth Music


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From the moment Fantasia Barrino auditioned for American Idol to successfully making it to the final three and winning the 2003 season of American Idol fans were starting to see the next Aretha Franklin because Fantasia was the singer everyone would thought would become the next Billie Holiday or the next Etta James and was destined for stardom. But as what happened with Ruben Studdard with his album Soulful they marketed Fantasia as an R&B artist/hip-hop artist with her debut album Free Yourself and by teaming up with Missy Elliott and Scott Garrett knew that she was suited for the R&B market and the one song that really showed her talent was her version of Summertime which proved that she could be like Billie Holiday but Free Yourself was a solid debut. But when her second self-titled album was released it was not as successful as they thought it would be because Fantasia had changed her sound as well as her image but her third album Back To Me is better and it focuses more on her pop sound and that album was a winner in my book. But when her 4th album Side Effects Of You debuted Fantasia changed her sound and image and tried her hand at rap as shown in the song Lighthouse and as you could tell by the title track the album was about Fantasia's personal struggles and troubles she faced. Another thing about this album was how on earth it recieved a Parental Advisory label when the only three songs with curse words were Get It Right Lighthouse and End Of Me? Because they were trying to mold Fantasia into a singer like Jaguar Wright and this was a new image for Fantasia. But perhaps someday Fantasia will return to making successful albums again