Even though singer Fantasia Barrino might seem like she has it all - a successful career,
a loving husband, two beautiful children - the American Idol winner has experienced her fair
share of turmoil.
She's endured financial hardship, was dragged by the tabloids over an alleged affair with
a married man, and nearly passed away from an intentional overdose on sleep aids and
aspirin, as TMZ reported.
She told radio host Tammi Mac,
"A lot of artists that you see, they look like they have it, and we smile and we come
out and we put on a good show, but in real life some of them are struggling and we don't
have it."
When the singer was at one of her lowest points, Fantasia revealed that writer/director Tyler
Perry helped her bounce back.
"Tyler Perry's actually a good friend of mine.
He would call and check up on me.
He was one of the ones, when I lost everything, he came and blessed me."
She said Perry helped her better understand her financial challenges, and explained,
"You look around and you could be working for 10 years, you've got all these people
on your team, you're paying this person, that person, and you look up, and you don't have
no money in the bank because you've given it to everybody else [...] You have a gift
and you're allowing everybody else to profit off of the gift."
"And Tyler blessed me so I thank him for that."
Perhaps it was the positive relationship between Perry and Barrino that inspired one of her
most profound decisions.
Although the road back was rough, Barrino said she spent the years after her overdose
"building [her]self back up."
And in a symbolic act of self-love, Fantasia "married" herself.
As she told talk show host Harry Connick Jr.,
"I felt like before true love could come I needed to learn how to love myself again.
[...] I was so busy trying to take care of everybody else, so busy looking for that love
that I was ending up in all the wrong situations.
[...] And so I said I'm going to marry myself."
"I'm going to fast from all of the things that I used to do, I'm going to focus on Fantasia."
Barrino now wants to do for others what Perry did for her - to pay it forward by serving
as an inspiration for those who've faced seemingly insurmountable pain.
She told the Chicago Tribune,
"It's been a massive journey of so many great and bad things, but all necessary.
I've got to get out here to be present with people and show them love and how you can
fall down but get back up."
Perry once called Barrino "one of the great singers of all time," which probably explains
why she was invited to perform at one of the biggest events of her friend's career, his
Madea Farewell Play Tour.
Apparently, Barrino was in the audience during the live show's stop in Charlotte, North Carolina
when, according to B.E.T., she was, quote, "put on the spot to spread a little joy with
her powerhouse voice."
Fans in attendance were surely thrilled when she grabbed a microphone and started singing
her 2006 hit, 'When I See You' in the aisle of the theater.
Perry took to Instagram on February 17th, 2020, to share the footage of Barrino belting
out her tune, captioning the cool moment,
"That time Madea asked [Fantasia] to sing during our R&B medley.
Yeap that really happened in Charlotte at [Madea's Farewell Tour]!!"
Of course, this isn't the only time Barrino has used her singing skills to help out Perry.
The ever-generous Perry wanted to, quote, "spread joy" in March 2020, which is why he
enlisted Barrino and other stars on Instagram for the "He's Got The Whole World In His Hands"
challenge, a nod to the spiritual song of the same name.
"How about a little something to try to make us all feel a little bit better?"
The producer then explained how the challenge worked, noting that, after he started the
song, other stars would pitch in their rendition of the lyrics.
Fellow American Idol alum Jennifer Hudson, Glee actress Amber Riley, and many others
participated in the sing-along, culminating in a moving performance of the classic tune.
Perry including Barrino in this challenge is just another example of how much he values
the singer's talent.
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