Article: Oprah talks to Fantasia; She once was lost, a single mother living on welfare. But then Fantasia Barrino found the faith to rise above her situation and take a long shot: an open call for American Idol. Which led to two albums, one memoir, and spectacular success as the star of The Color Purple--proof that the American Dream is alive and well and living on Broadway.(Interview)

THREE YEARS AGO, Fantasia Barrino--then a 19-year-old single mother surviving on food stamps in the projects of High Point, North Carolina--arrived at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta with 50 borrowed dollars and an unlikely dream: becoming the next American Idol. [??] Not that she didn't have the talent. At the age of 5, Fantasia, then the youngest of three children and the only daughter, was already mesmerizing churchgoers with her performances as part of the Barrino Family, a gospel group formed by her father, Joseph; her mother, Diane, wrote their songs. But as the group became more successful, Fantasia's schoolwork suffered. At 14 she dropped out of high school and moved ...

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