Fantasia Reveals She ‘Lost Everything’ TWICE After Winning ‘American Idol’: ‘Celie And I Have A Lot In Common’

Fantasia
opens
up
about
how
her
personal
life
helped
to
prepare
her
for
playing
Celie
in The
Color
Purple
because
she
“lost
everything
twice”
after
winning American
Idol.

Source:
Arturo
Holmes
/
Getty

The
powerhouse
singer
earned
critical
acclaim
and
awards
for
her
portrayal
of
Celie
since
her
Broadway
debut
in
the
musical
in
2007.
The
role
hit
close
to
home
after
people
took
advantage
of
her
as
a
naive
new
star.
“Celie
and
I
have
a
lot
in
common,”
Fantasia
told PEOPLE in
a
recent
interview.

Fantasia
was
only
19
when
she
won American
Idol
in
2004
and
“very,
very
green”
about
the
entertainment
business.

Fantasia
describes
herself
as
“just
a
little
girl
from
High
Point,
North
Carolina
that
liked
to
sing.
She
didn’t
know
nothing
about
the
industry.
She
didn’t
know
anything
about,
‘Maybe
you
should
look
this
way,
dress
this
way,
talk
this
way,
smile
for
the
cameras
a
certain
way.’”

“While
I
was
singing
for
everybody
else,
I
was
actually
singing
my
way
through
and to
some
things.”

In
addition
to
her
team
stealing
her
money,
Fantasia’s
father
sued
her
for
how
she
portrayed
him
in
her
memoir Life
Is
Not
a
Fairy
Tale.
“It
wasn’t
easy.
I
lost
a
lot.
I
lost
everything,”
she
said.

“You
have
to
become
a
businesswoman
and
you
link
up
with
great
business
partners,
but
it
doesn’t
have
a
lot
to
do
with
love.
It
took
me
a
long
time
to
figure
that
out,”
she
revealed.

“I
didn’t
know
anything
about
contracts.
I
didn’t
know
anything
about
checking
your
money
and
making
sure
every
day
your
stuff
was
where
it
was
supposed
to
be.
I
just
trusted
and
believed
everybody
that
came
into
my
life.”

See
why
Fantasia
says
she
is
like
Celie
and
“grateful”
for
hitting
rock
bottom
before
her
triumphant
comeback
after
the
flip!

Fantasia
Almost
Ended
Her
Life
After
She
“Lost
Everything,”
Says
“Celie
And
I
Have
A
Lot
In
Common”

Source:
Gilbert
Flores
/
Getty

Despite
Fantasia’s
success
and
immense
talent,
the
triple
threat’s
story
almost
ended
with
tragedy.
In
2010,
Fantasia
attempted
to
take
her
life
with
an
overdose
of
“all
the
pills
in
the
bottle”
of
sleep
aid
and
aspirin.
“I
wanted
out,”
she
said.

“I
was
tired
of
people
doing
me
wrong,
constantly,
over
and
over
again,
dealing
with
my
family
–
my
father,
dealing
with
men
and
their
s**t
–
I
was
tired,”
Fantasia
explained
on Behind
The
Music.

Nearly
15
years
later,
the
“I
Believe”
singer
said
those
low
points
in
her
life
were
“necessary.”

“I’m
grateful
for
it.
…
If
I
did
not
go
through
that,
I
wouldn’t
be
the
woman
that
I
am
today,”
Fantasia
said.

Fantasia
compared
herself
to
her
character
and
another
iconic
underdog.

“Celie
and
I
have
a
lot
in
common
when
it
comes
to
family
situations,
losing
things
and
feeling
ugly
and
unseen,”
she
revealed.

“This
feels
like
God’s
promises,
they’re
finally
coming
to
power.
I’m
a
fan
of
the
Book
of
Job
in
the
Bible.
Job
lost
everything.
And
so
did
I.”

We
truly
love
to
see
the
Golden
Globe
nominee
and
Academy
Award
front-runner
coming
for
everything
she
deserves.
Congratulations
to
Fantasia
on The
Color
Purple, which
had
the
second-largest
Christmas
Day
debut
in
history.

Source:
Eric
Charbonneau
/
Getty