It’s been a rocky 12 months for R&B diva Fantasia. Characterised by impressive high’s and almost tragic low’s. Now back and better than ever, the 26 year old is set to make a triumphant return to the UK stage this May.
In this candid interview, the Grammy Award winner talks about pending changes in her career, sales of her ‘Back to Me’, her next studio project, whether there’ll be another season of ‘Fantasia For Real’, and much more.
Check out the full discussion below:
Fantasia Shouts Out That Grape Juice
That Grape Juice: Hey Fantasia! How are you?
Fantasia: I’m fine. How are you?
Fantastic! Let’s get started right away…
It’s been a year since you first performed in London and people are still talking about how you rocked the house. What can we expect from your UK show this time?
Expect to have a great time once again. At this point everybody knows that I am a performer who gives my all – my heart and my soul; it is the way that I express myself and my therapy for whatever I’m going through at the time. Trust life to throw things that you aren’t expecting. I’m one of those artists who always seem to be going through some stuff but I accept that it has made me the artist that I am today. So, expect to have a great time.
With this show I want to bring something different. I think everybody knows that I can sing but at this point in my life it’s all about telling a story through the show; not just standing there singing from song to song but creatively telling a story the way I see it through music, instruments and different genres of music.
I love, love, love London! If I could bring all my stuff right now and move I would but I’m going to have to take it slow and find a nice place {laughs}. When I came over the first time I felt like everybody just accepted great music. It was such a rush for me like “oh my God” because everybody doesn’t see it like this! London just loves music and it’s making me excited to go into the lab and create an amazing show.
Everybody knows I can sing but we want to tell a story because I always have a story to tell. So they can expect to have a great time but also to go musically with me through different genres and go musically with me through different eras of music because I love music and because I am music. We’re going to do us and we’re going to bring the fire!
Now, as you’ve said, you like to tell a story with your music and put all of your experiences into your material but over the last year you’ve been through a lot. How has this affected you as an artist?
I don’t think that has had a bad effect on me, but it has had an effect on me because, of course, I am human. As I said before, I’m just that artist that goes through things because I sing from my heart and soul; I sing from my experience. If I don’t go through anything then I don’t have anything to sing!
The older that I get – I’m only 26 and soon to be 27 – I accept everything that I’ve been through like “okay, I get it”. I always go through things because musically that’s how I am and that’s how I bring things out. When I hit the stage and I begin to sing people are like “I can tell she has been through that or something is going on”.
Now I can say “thank you” about it and it’s a blessing. My grandmother always says, “To whom much is given much is required” so I feel like that is a part of my life now. I’ll always be that young lady that’s going to go through things.
They’ve never made it easy for Fantasia and I’m cool with that now! {Laughs} I’m okay with that now! Back then I used to be like “dang! They’re always saying bad things or they’re always putting things out there that’s just not true and when I do something good they never put that out”. O well, it is what it is! I’ve learned what it is and I’ve learned to accept that and learn to show people that, regardless of what you say, I’m still not going to stop; I’m going to keep going whether you like it or not.
There are so many people that have been through what Fantasia went through or are going through right now so when I hit the stage I just let all of that out and so far people enjoy it. All the things I’ve been through have made me the woman that I am today.
Have you actually started working on a new album or are you still riding the wave of ‘Back To Me’?
Well we haven’t gone into the studio yet. There are a lot of changes about to happen in Fantasia’s world and only for the better. There is a sound that I want and there is a style that I want.
I think that with each album from Fantasia you can expect different things because I see myself as a musician and a person who loves music, which means I love all types of music. I love Rock & Roll and I love Soul so I want to intertwine the both of those together and just work with some amazing people that I respect in the game. I love Cee-Lo so I’m really trying to get into the studio with him and create magic because I think that he is music.
I’m growing and as I grow I realise what I want to do as an artist and what the people want to hear from me. You could go into the studio all the time and make music that the record company wants you to do or songs that they feel are hot right now or what’s on the radio but what people tend to forget is that I am able to feel that connection on stage and see what the people in the audience feel when we’re doing certain types of music. This time I want to tap into that whole Rock & Roll/Soul era for Fantasia.
You said that they would be many changes in the world of Fantasia. Are you able to tell us more about what they might be?
When you hear Fantasia, a lot of the albums have stuck me in a Contemporary Urban genre, which is cool because I love all my albums – ‘Free Yourself’, the ‘Fantasia’ album and ‘Back To Me’. I love all those songs and they will always be my babies but when I say I want to do Rock & Roll some of the people at the record company are like “whoa…Rock & Roll? What do you mean? That might be a little to out there for the fans and the people who follow you because they love to here you sing blah blah blah” but I’m such a strong person.
My mother always said that I was a rebel and I think I am. I don’t want to hold myself back or hold myself in a box and just say that I’m an Urban singer. I will always be Soul. I grew up in the church singing that and Gospel music. However, not only did I listen to Gospel and R&B music but I also listened to Aerosmith, Queen and Elton John.
I want to show people, musically, who Fantasia really is and I think that the more I grow in this industry Fantasia will probably grow into so many different people but I accept that. I don’t want to just hold myself in a box of being just this Urban singer because I know now that my band and the cats that I’ve been around like my family who all sing – first cousins KC & JoJo and my immediate family is very talented.
I just want to share that journey of music with the people and share where I’ve come from. It’s time for me to start sharing that instead of just Contemporary Urban.
Among the focal points of ‘Fantasia For Real’ last season were the sales of your ‘Back to Me’ album compared to your previous project, ‘Fantasia’. Although its eventual numbers didn’t match your past efforts, the record was critically acclaimed and even earned you your first Grammy Award. Looking back, how do you think the project performed?
I think the album is amazing and I loved it. I wanted it to do what ‘Free Yourself’ did but I’m going to stop fussing about albums. Period. You have so many ways of getting music now with the computer – downloads, iTunes – so nobody is really going out to pick up the package and the album and really see how much effort was put into the album – the artwork and other things like that. Now people are doing different things to get music so it didn’t do as well as I wanted it to do. I
wanted it to go crazy and go double or triple platinum {laughs} but there are so many different ways of getting music. You can go somewhere and just get one song but it has messed up the package and all the effort that people put into the album.
I really think that [‘Back To Basics’] is the best album. I love ‘Free Yourself’; it is my baby! This album, however, is so much more of me and I was able to go into the studios and work with the producers and share my life.
Again, I’m so open with my life and I really don’t care because everybody has a story. The way that this industry and this beautiful world that people have been created, they paint the picture that is something else and I really don’t have the time to paint the picture so I rather just tell the story just like it is. For me to go into the studio and tell them “when I hear this record I think of this” or “I’m going through this and I want to talk about certain situations” and everything on that record was about what was going through my life at the time, it made it relatable. I loved it!
With this next album I really just want to challenge myself even more coming off of ‘Back To Me’ and continue taking it to another level.
Will there be another season of ‘Fantasia for Real’?
{Pause} I’m not sure. I’ll have to call you back on that one {laughs}. I think that I enjoyed myself but right now I’m really ready to hit the road. I’m really ready to tour and if they don’t mind coming for things like that then cool.
I’ve shared so much of my life that I think you guys has enough information on Fantasia for now. Right now I think you guys know who I am! You get that I’m a country girl/southern girl, talk with slang, kick my shoes off when I’m ready and from time to time I might go through some things and end up in some stupid situations but that’s Fantasia. I wish everybody got that.
So it depends…I might do it again or I might not. I’m just ready to hit the road. It’s in talks about whether I would do it again and right now it’s just iffy for me so we’ll see.
Thank you so much for your time Fantasia! I’m excited to see and hear what you do next!
I enjoyed it. Have a nice day That Grape Juice!
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Tickets to see Fantasia live at London’s indig02 on May 13th are still available to buy from:
Ticketmaster.co.uk / 0844 844 0444.
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