‘The Color Purple’ star was then the youngest singer ever to win the musical competition series
It’s amazing that 20 years have passed since Fantasia Barrino won American Idol, launching an illustrious career that’s earned her a Grammy, multiple Billboard Music Awards, and many other accolades.
Last week, she commemorated this milestone by appearing on the Idol season finale, sharing words of wisdom with finalists Jack Blocker, Will Moseley, and Abi Carter, the season’s winner.
“All I can say is, I never gave up,” said Barrino, now 39, offering heartfelt advice to the young talents.
Rewind to 2004, when Barrino, a 19-year-old single mother from North Carolina, captured America’s hearts with her raw talent and charismatic performances. “Just a little girl from High Point, North Carolina that liked to sing,” she fondly recalled last year. “She didn’t know nothing about the industry. She didn’t know anything about, ‘Maybe you should look this way, dress this way, talk this way, smile for the cameras a certain way.’”
“While I was singing for everybody else, I was actually singing my way through and to some things,” Barrino added.
Her powerful performances of songs like Bonnie Raitt’s “Something to Talk About” and Gloria Estefan’s “Get on Your Feet” on Idol’s third season propelled her to the top.
Host Ryan Seacrest announced to viewers that a record-setting 65 million votes had been cast. Barrino’s victory was decisive, with 1.3 million more votes than runner-up Diana DeGarmo, making her the youngest winner in Idol history at that time.
“Thank you so much – I broke my shoe,” an emotional Barrino exclaimed upon her win. “You know what, I’ve been through some things, but I’ve worked hard to get where I’m at. Thank you all so much, man.”
She concluded the night with her debut single “I Believe,” which premiered at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. Her first album, Free Yourself, went platinum, marking the beginning of her extraordinary career.
Since then, Barrino has released six more albums and navigated personal trials, emerging stronger with a standout role in last year’s film adaptation of The Color Purple. Her performance won her an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress and garnered Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations.
In April, Barrino was listed among Time’s 100 Most Influential People of 2024. That same month, she launched Rock Soul Productions, her own entertainment company. She described it as “the manifestation of my evolution as an artist, a creative and a businesswoman.”
“After 20 years, you can’t help but to take stock and look back at all the things you have done, and I wanted to use those experiences to inform my opportunities going forward,” she shared. “Advocating for myself and other artists to become the change agents in telling their own stories and taking the reins in shaping their own narrative and success is what I’m passionate about.”
