After winning season three of American Idol, Fantasia Barrino believed her time in the spotlight had finally come. The singer enjoyed success within the music industry following her win as she brought home a Grammy Award and even performed alongside icons like Aretha Franklin. With Barrino promoting her newest role in the 2023 film The Color Purple, she revealed the hardships she faced when trying to navigate the competitive world of Hollywood and the music industry.
Discussing some of her struggles after winning American Idol, Barrino told PEOPLE, “It wasn’t easy. “I lost a lot. I lost everything.” Blaming it on being “very, very green”, the singer continued, “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. It took me a long time to figure that out.”
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Having little knowledge of how the industry worked, Barrino admitted to knowing little about contracts and finances. “I didn’t know anything about contracts. I didn’t know anything about checking your money and making sure every day your stuff was where it was supposed to be.” She added, “I just trusted and believed everybody that came into my life.”
Fantasia Barrino “Grateful” For The Experience
At the time of Barrino’s rise to fame, the singer was only 19 years old. Looking back at that time in her life, the star considered herself “just a little girl from High Point, North Carolina that liked to sing. 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.’ ”
[RELATED: Unforgettable Performances: 5 ‘American Idol’ Contestants Who Stole the Show]
Although learning through experience, Barrino insisted on looking forward and staying positive. “I’m grateful for it. … If I did not go through that, I wouldn’t be the woman that I am today.”
Still finding her way through success, Barrino eventually landed on Broadway playing Celie in The Color Purple. Receiving positive reviews, the singer is once again portraying Celie in the film adaptation. Finding common ground with the character, she said, “Celie and I have a lot in common when it comes to family situations, losing things and feeling ugly and unseen.”
(Photo by Maury Phillips/Getty Images for BET)
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