LOS ANGELES – Fantasia Barrino’s fantasy of pop stardom became a reality Wednesday night when she was named the winner of “American Idol.”
Barrino grabbed runner-up Diana DeGarmo in a bearhug and twisted her around as tears streamed down her face.
“Thank you much,” she sobbed. “I broke my shoe!”
Then she added: “I been through some things but I worked hard to get to where I’m at.”
Barrino, a 19-year-old single mother from High Point, N.C., with a powerful, gospel-tinged voice, topped DeGarmo, an effervescent 16-year-old from Snellville, Ga.
DeGarmo continued smiling through tears in defeat: “I’m so proud to have come here with Fantasia. She’s my girl and you guys will treat her well.”
The judges of the Fox TV singing contest had pretty much crowned Barrino the winner the previous night, when she dazzled them with a powerful version of Gershwin’s “Summertime” and two other songs.
But judges don’t pick the winner – America does, through phone and text-message votes. Host Ryan Seacrest said 65 million phone votes were cast, up from 24 million for last season’s finale.
Barrino receives a recording contract, following in the footsteps of the first two winners, Kelly Clarkson and Ruben Studdard. Her first single will be a song she and DeGarmo both tried out Tuesday night: “I Believe,” written by Tamyra Gray, a contestant from season one.
“Both of you have done an amazing job,” judge Paula Abdul said before the results were announced. “You’ve made all three of us extremely proud.”
“Think about it – you’re the top two out of 70,000 people we saw,” judge Randy Jackson said. “You should stand proud.”
But typically acerbic judge Simon Cowell said the whole point was “fame, stardom, a ton of money.”
To fill the two-hour broadcast before the results were announced at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, Clarkson and Studdard sang “The Impossible Dream” with Barrino and DeGarmo, and the two finalists did a feel-good version of the George Michael and Aretha Franklin duet, “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me).”
Coming to Everett
The American Idols Live tour stops at the Everett Events Center on July 17. Tickets for the concert went on sale Saturday.
Coming to Everett
The American Idols Live tour stops at the Everett Events Center on July 17. Tickets for the concert went on sale Saturday.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
