Fantasia - Fantasia

Fantasia Barrino's first album, Free Yourself, wasn't exactly a flop but it wasn't a hit, either. It debuted in the Top Ten and had four singles in the Billboard R&B charts, which is far from a disaster but it was a disappointment by American Idol standards, particularly for a vocalist who was considered by many viewers, as well as judge Simon Cowell, the most talented singer to yet appear on the show. Talented Fantasia certainly was, but talent can be hard to sell, and Fantasia's problem boiled down to this: she had enough raw vocal power to draw comparisons to such classic soul divas as Aretha Franklin, which is what appealed to the legions of middle-America fans of the show, but that's not a style that has much to do with contemporary R&B, so she was given a modern makeover on Free Yourself. Read More