''Fantasia'' is the second studio album by

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

recording artist

Fantasia Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcore ...

, released by J Records on December 12, 2006. In its first week of sales, ''Fantasia'' entered the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart at number nineteen, with 133,000 copies sold. In June 2007, ''Fantasia'' was certified Gold by the RIAA for shipments of 500,000 copies.

Background and recording

Missy Elliott Melissa Arnette Elliott (born July 1, 1971), better known as Missy Elliott or Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliot, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She embarked on her music career with R&B girl group Sista in the earl ...

returned as one of the writers on the album, joining Big Boi of Outkast and

Diane Warren Diane Eve Warren (born September 7, 1956) is an American songwriter. She has received several awards including a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, three ''Billboard'' Music Awards and an Honorary Academy Award. Wa ...

as contributors. Production duo Midi Mafia, best known for their

50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and businessman. Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 2000, when he produced ...

hit "21 Questions", also contributed five tracks to the project. The beat for "Baby Makin' Hips" was created by Don Cheegro and Dirty Harry, new producers working under the guidance of Dre & Vidal, producers of Ludacris' song "War with God". Her second single " When I See U" peaked at number thirty-two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and at number-one for eight weeks on the Urban charts. The music video for When I See U was shot by Lenny Bass on March 26, in Brooklyn.

Critical response

Critical response to ''Fantasia'' was largely positive, as reviewers praised her vocals and charisma as well as the album's production; she drew multiple comparisons to

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

, Tina Turner and

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American R&B singer, actress and businesswoman. LaBelle is referred to as the " Godmother of Soul". She began her career in the early 1960s as lead singe ...

.Serpick, Evan (December 7, 2006)
"Fantasia"
RollingStone.com. Retrieved October 22, 2007Inskeep, Thomas (2007-01-02)

StylusMagazine.com. Retrieved October 22, 2007Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2006). "Fantasia"AllMusic.com. Retrieved October 22, 2007 '' Rolling Stone'' magazine said the album "expands her range, adds some attitude and comes up with some genuine R&B gems." ''Allmusic'' found it "a bolder, better album than ''Free Yourself''," adding that it "breaks Barrino free of her ''American Idol'' persona, giving her a sound and style that she can build a career upon."

PopMatters.com ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, fil ...

said that "''Fantasia'' is a solid second effort, made above average by that gem of a voice." Many critics also commented that the album's decidedly R&B nature (which translates to a reduced audience) was inevitable due to the lack of crossover success from Barrino's debut. Thomas Inskeep with ''Stylus'' magazine praised Fantasia's "rather astounding, multi-octave...voice, capable of the smoothest singing but also heavy on the grit," while at the same time lamenting that she will never be "America’s pop star...She’s too black." He then declared, "Fantasia wasn't meant to be America's pop star, anyway." Sal Cinquemani with ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...

'' said that "Fantasia's sophomore effort isn't exactly her '' Breakaway'' elly Clarkson's hugely successful second album but it's certainly a more unified artistic statement than 2004's ''Free Yourself''." On December 6, 2007, ''Fantasia'' garnered three

50th Annual Grammy Award The 50th Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, on February 10, 2008. It honored musical achievement of 2007 in which albums were released between October 1, 2006, through September 30, 2007. The primary ceremonies ...

nominations: Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for “When I See U”, Best Contemporary R&B Album for ''Fantasia'', and Best R&B Song for "When I See U".

Commercial performance

''Fantasia'' peaked at number nineteen on US ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart. It sold 133,000 copies in its first week and sold a total of 530,000 copies in the United States. It was certified Gold by

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA). It also peaked at number two on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. The first single from the album, "Hood Boy", peaked at number three on

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

and number twenty-one on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. The second single, "When I See U", peaked at number twenty-one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The third single, "Only One U", peaked at number nineteen on the US Adult R&B Airplay chart and number thirty-six on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

Track listing

Notes * signifies co-producer Sample credits *"Hood Boy"

interpolates In the mathematical field of numerical analysis, interpolation is a type of estimation, a method of constructing (finding) new data points based on the range of a discrete set of known data points. In engineering and science, one often has a n ...

"Happening" by American

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

band The Supremes. *"Surround U" contains a sample from "

Cross The Track (We Better Go Back) "Cross The Track (We Better Go Back)", often wrongly attributed as "Cross The Tracks (We Better Go Back)", is a 1975 single by Maceo and the Macks. It made #54 on the UK Singles Chart. Sampling In 1987, the song was re-released and made #1 on the ...

" by

Maceo and the Macks The J.B.'s (sometimes punctuated The JB's or The J.B.s) was the name of James Brown's band from 1970 through the early 1980s. On records the band was sometimes billed under alternate names such as Fred Wesley and the JBs, The James Brown Soul ...

, and "Christmas Rappin'" by Kurtis Blow.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Unreleased tracks

* "Turn This Party Up" (featuring

) * "Clap Ya Hands" (featuring Missy Elliott) * "Broke" * "Solo (So Low)" * "Said I Wouldn't (No More)" * "No Stoppin'" (produced by Missy Elliott, also recorded by

Monica Monica may refer to: People *Monica (actress) (born 1987), Indian film actress *Monica (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Monica (singer) (born 1980), American R&B singer, songwriter, producer, ...

)

References

External links

Fantasia's Official Website

Fantasia's Official Myspace Page
{{Authority control 2006 albums Albums produced by Bryan-Michael Cox Albums produced by Danja (record producer) Albums produced by Dre & Vidal Albums produced by Missy Elliott Albums produced by Swizz Beatz Albums produced by Tone Mason Albums produced by Midi Mafia Fantasia Barrino albums J Records albums 19 Recordings albums Funk albums by American artists