At the start of a lickety-split interview she grants between tapings for the reality TV show featuring her, her kin and her artistic entourage, Fantasia Barrino first extends a few pleasantries. "Thank you so much for taking time out to speak with me," she says. "Can you hear me OK?"
Her life is a whirlwind of activity these days, she says, during that fast break between filming. There are the VH1 television tapings for "Fantasia For Real." She's pondering how to further her education now that the high school dropout recently earned her GED. ("Nothing felt as good as getting that diploma. It means the world to me.") And she's juggling the single parenting of 9-year-old Zion and a career that has her releasing a new album, "Back To Me," whose lead single, "Bittersweet," is very much autobiographical.
The video Barrino directed for the single tells the story of a man and a female celebrity ensnared in relational angst, torn over whether to stay together or call it quits. At the end, the woman tosses her diamond ring out of the window of her departing limousine, making Fantasia's message about romantic bliss and break-up quite clear.
"Let's just say that in everything I do, I like to be for real. It becomes something that people can relate to," says the eight-time Grammy nominee, whose "American Idol" win launched her into stardom.
"'Bittersweet' speaks about how, in a relationship, a woman could have messed up and a man could have messed up and you end up destroying something that was very, very sweet."
That snippet from her personal life will be offered up on stage as part of the lineup during Saturday's Soul Picnic, which kicks off at 3 p.m. Also on the bill are Durham's Foreign Exchange, Monroe-born Calvin Richardson, Doug E. Fresh and Chuck Brown.
"Fantasia is the ideal person for the Soul Picnic because, for one thing, she's from North Carolina," says Mark Brown, managing partner of Dynasty 5, which is producing the show. "She appeals to all ages. She brings everything out there on the stage when she performs. She's just real. She's doing what she loves and giving her testimony through her music. Because of that, people feel like they know her. There are so many who have gone through situations similar to what she's gone through and they feel they can relate to her on that deep level."
Making a connection
For her own part, Fantasia says she is honored to make that kind of connection with her audience.
"With me, it just so happens that my life has been so public," she says. Indeed, her father is suing her for a second time over allegedly false depictions of him. (The lawsuits are matters she'd rather not discuss.)
Being steadily in the public eye and under public scrutiny strains, Fantasia says, especially as she struggles to be "a mom, a sister, a daughter, a best friend. It's tough. I'm just 26 years old."
"It's always been a question of 'what's she doing, who's she dating?' Sometimes people think we're not human because we're celebrities. The lesson of this new song, 'Bittersweet,' is that you have to live your own life. You have to follow your own heart. A lot of times, when people say you shouldn't be with this person or that person, you can get confused. But there's an old gospel song that says 'Sweep around your own front door before trying to sweep around mine.'"
Eye on the economy
That her career is emerging during a hair-raising recession doesn't help, she says. But she aims to keep even that in perspective. "Of course the economy is jacked up. It's hitting everybody. But my main thing has never been about making a dollar or being number one. It's been to use my life as a testimony, to look my fans in the eye and give them the truth.
"My prayer has been: 'God if you take it all away today, I'll be fine.' I grew up knowing what it feels like to eat grits and bologna all week long because that was all we had. If I had to, I could do that again. You just have to keep going on. You have to keep fighting ... And that, to me, is OK."
