Fantasia Welcomes Son

Fantasia gave birth to a baby boy named Dallas Xavier Barrino on Tuesday, December 13th. He weighed 7 lbs. & 9 oz. She released the following statement:

"I feel so blessed that my son Dallas Xavier was born healthy, & is a wonderful new addition to our family. I thank all my fans for their well wishes & continued support."

He was a couple weeks early, so I'm glad he's healthy.

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Fantasia Pregnant With Second Child

The headline pretty much says it all... or all that I'm going to say anyway.

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Idol Review: Top 11 Redux

Fantasia "Collard Greens & Cornbread"



Jacob Lusk "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word"



Pia Toscano "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me"
Overall, the songs of Elton John brought me a bit more enjoyment from the top 11 than Motown. That's to say, I suppose, that I thought Haley was alright & Thia had her best performance yet (among those I paid any attention to), so it's kind of a shame that she went home this week, but she needed to soon anyway. I am rejoicing however that Naima is gone! Lauren was boring, Stefano's song choice was lame once again, tame Casey was still no good, Scotty, Paul, James... all bad. Jacob & Pia delivered yet again though!

The 2011 Grammys Recap

Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson, & Others Tribute Aretha Franklin



Rihanna & Drake "What's My Name?"



Janelle Monae, B.o.B, & Bruno Mars - Medley



Usher, Justin Bieber, & Jaden Smith - Medley



Rihanna, Eminem, Dr. Dre, & Skylar Grey - Medley
Well, the 2011 Grammys started off strong with a tribute to Aretha Franklin that featured incredible vocal showings from Christina Aguilera & Jennifer Hudson as well as Yolanda Adams, Martina McBride, & Florence Welch... but it was all downhill from there. Rihanna performed twice: First kicking off "Love The Way You Lie" before Eminem took off with his medley, then hitting the stage later alongside Drake with her own "What's My Name?". Janelle Monae (who should've won!) capped off a newcomers medley with the awesome "Cold War". Aaand Usher showed the Fetus how it's done via (OMG!) "OMG" before a dance number between the two, which was cute... There wasn't a single award given out on-air that I gave a flying flip about, but you can check out the pre-telecast winners below/all of 'em HERE. Congrats Fanny on your first win!

• Usher: Best Contemporary R&B Album (Raymond Vs. Raymond), Best Male R&B Vocal Performance ("There Goes My Baby")
• Fantasia: Best Female R&B Vocal Performance ("Bittersweet")
• Pink, India.Arie: Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals ("Imagine" with Herbie Hancock, Seal, Konono No 1, Jeff Beck, & Oumou Sangare)
• Rihanna: Best Dance Recording ("Only Girl (In The World)")

Fantasia To Star In Mahalia Jackson Biopic

Fantasia is set to star in an adaptation of the 1993 book "Got To Tell It: Mahalia Jackson, Queen Of Gospel" about the life of the late gospel singer who went from living in poverty in New Orleans to being a civil rights activist & early supporter of Martin Luther King, Jr. The film goes into production in April in Pittsburgh & Chicago to be ready for release in December. This will be Fantasia's first starring role in a feature film, having previously starred in "The Color Purple" on Broadway as well as a TV movie based on her own life. Should be good!

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Bring Da Beat Back's Top 10 Albums Of 2010

#1) Jazmine Sullivan Love Me Back
Album Review

#2) Ciara Basic Instinct
Album Review

#3) Toni Braxton Pulse

Album Review

#4) Monica Still Standing

Album Review

#5) Christina Aguilera Bionic

Album Review

#6) Dondria Dondria Vs. Phatfffat

Album Review

#7) Keri Hilson No Boys Allowed

Album Review

#8) Fantasia Back To Me
Album Review

#9) Sarah McLachlan Laws Of Illusion

Album Review

#10) We Are The Fallen Tear The World Down

Album Review

2011 Grammy Nominees Announced

The nominations for the 2011 Grammys have been announced & with Rihanna clutching six by riding Eminem's coattails, I'm less than impressed. Fantasia & Alicia Keys scored three, while Monica, Usher, Janelle Monae, & Beyonce nabbed two. All of the nominees can be seen HERE... seek & ye shall find several worthy artists who managed to receive a single nod. It seems like to me that a long time ago, the Grammys actually sought out the best & brightest in the music industry to award them, rather than just selling out & rewarding the most successful artists. -_- Congrats to Fantasia, Monica, & the like though! The 2011 Grammys air Sunday, February 13th, @ 8/7c on CBS.

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New American Idol Season 10 Promo

All nine winners (so far) of American Idol are again featured in this new TV spot for the show's tenth season. Kelly! Ruben! Fantasia! Carrie! Jordin! Kris!

Black Girls Rock! Recap

Keri Hilson "Breaking Point"



Fantasia "Brand New Day" // Fantasia, Kelly Price, Ledisi, & Marsha Ambrosius "I'm Every Woman"



Keyshia Cole "I Remember"



Monica "Still Standing"



Shontelle "Impossible"
I'm so glad videos from Sunday's Black Girls Rock! special on BET have finally surfaced because I watched it the night of & I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it! There were several enjoyable performances, more than I can say for most television special in recent years, & not only that, but everybody killed! I especially have to hand it to Keri Hilson, who was surprisingly (#noshade) pitch-perfect during her performance, so that was my favorite of the night. Fantasia closed the show with a number from "The Wiz" before bringing out three other divas to sing a classic. I love me some Kelly Price, but I never realized how incredible Ledisi's voice & Marsha Ambrosius' vibrato are! Keyshia Cole was another performance that I was surprised by vocally--I haven't heard her sing that well live in forever (again, #noshade)--I just wish she had done something new... You could tell Monica's been on tour the way she shut it down with her performance & Shontelle did a nice job as well. As far as the honors were concerned, Missy Elliott was presented (by my wife Ciara!) with the Visionary award! All around, a great special & a great night for BET (even if it is just a female-only BET Honors...lol).

Fantasia "I'm Doin' Me" Video Premiere

"I'm Doin' Me" is the *Ford Edge-sponsored* second single off Fantasia's third album Back To Me. Didn't wear that retainer, eh 'Tasia? (lol) Although the Benny Boom-directed video is simple, Fantasia's voice is what really makes this one special, so that's all that matters.

American Idol Season 10 Promo

Lately, American Idol has been hunting down all of its winners to shoot the above promo for the show's tenth season. They're all there, including Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia, Carrie Underwood, Jordin Sparks, & Kris Allen. I love it!

Fantasia "I'm Doin' Me" Behind-The-Scenes

Check out Fantasia shooting her next video for "I'm Doin' Me" off Back To Me recently in New York City. Looks pretty typical, but I see you, 'Tasia, shakin' that thang!

2010 Soul Train Award Nominees Announced

Usher & new mom Alicia Keys have something (else) to celebrate because they lead the nominations for the 2010 Soul Train Awards with four each. Several worthy artists, including Nicki Minaj, Dondria, Monica, Fantasia, Rihanna, & Janelle Monae, earned a pair. Keyshia Cole as well as Janelle Monae will be performing at this year's event, which goes down on Sunday, November 28th @ 9/8c on BET. Check out the rest of the rather exciting nominees HERE.

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"Fantasia For Real" Season 2 Trailer

When Fantasia For Real premieres on Sunday, we'll be in for a rollercoaster of a second season. As this trailer shows, VH1 captured all the aftermath of Fantasia's suicide attempt--not to mention when 'Tasia's family heard about her dating a married man..! I find it interesting/confusing that they're using "The Worst Part Is Over", one of my favorite tracks from the Back To Me era, in this promo when the song didn't even make the album...

Fantasia On Wendy Williams

"I'm Doin' Me"



Interview (Pt. 1)



Interview (Pt. 2)
Fantasia stopped by The Wendy Williams Show to perform "I'm Doin' Me" & sit down for an in-depth chat. The interview's a good one, definitely a worthwhile watch. As for the performance, nothing against Fantasia cause she brought it, but the ending they've been using this promo round bugs me! The important thing however is that her new album Back To Me is out now.

Fantasia On Regis & Kelly

"I'm Doin' Me"



Interview

Fantasia gave another sizzlin' performance of "I'm Doin' Me" off Back To Me following an interview, only part of which is featured above (sorry!), on Live With Regis & Kelly. Don't forget the premiere of Fantasia For Real on Sunday, Setember 19th @ 10/9c on VH1!

Fantasia On 106 & Park

"I'm Doin' Me"



"Bittersweet"



Interview (Pt. 1)



Interview (Pt. 2)

Fantasia kicked off a new round of promo for her new single "I'm Doin' Me" with a performance of it & her hit single "Bittersweet" off the new album Back To Me on 106 & Park. Terrence & Rocsi also chatted with the singer. She may be a constant victim of the rumor mill, but Fantasia's performing skills cannot be denied!

New Fantasia Promo Pic + More

Fantasia('s wax figure..?) strikes a pose in this new Back To Me era promotional photo. In related news, 'Tasia will be promoting her new single "I'm Doin' Me" (cover art below) during her revised set of TV appearances:

- Wednesday, September 8th: 106 & Park

- Thursday, September 9th: Live With Regis & Kelly

- Friday, September 10th: The Wendy Williams Show

- TBD: The Mo'Nique Show

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Billboard Update

^#1 Album #1 Single^

Katy Perry's awesome new CD Teenage Dream enters on top of the latest Billboard 200 album chart, where Fantasia debuts @ #2 with Back To Me--her highest charting album to date--after selling a solid 117,000 copies during release week. (Back To Me also earns Fantasia her first chart-topper on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.) Usher's Versus arrives @ #4 with 46,000 copies sold & also helps his album Raymond Vs. Raymond rebound to #19 with a 57% sales increase to 20,000. On the Hot 100 singles chart, Eminem & Rihanna won't let up their reign with "Love The Way You Lie". Yay for album news outweighing singles news this week!

See full charts HERE

(Photo Credit: Wikipedia)

Fantasia Performs At VH1

Definitely check out Fantasia's performances of "Even Angels" & "Bittersweet" off her new album Back To Me from VH1 following the previously posted "Free Yourself" by skipping to the 6-minute mark or so of the video above. Seeing the way Fantasia let it all out during this set really makes some of the lyrics on Back To Me real. These are some special performances right here!