Fantasia Barrino

Born on June 30, 1984, in High Point, North Carolina, Fantasia Barrino was raised in a tightly knit, religious family. Through church, she began to sing and discovered she loved it, taking advantage of any chance she had to perform. Though Fantasia never received any formal training, her voice matured as she did, and few days would pass without an hour or two of practice.

In her late adolescence, Fantasia gave birth to a daughter, Zion. With only odd jobs available, the young mother struggled to make ends meet. Her grandmother gave her work at a daycare facility but instead of pay, the elder offered prayers that one day, things would be better for the young, small family.

As Barrino followed the hype of seasons one and two of American Idol, she decided that if another season were to be filmed, she would try out at the nearest audition center. In 2004, this opportunity came and Fantasia auditioned in Atlanta, with only one real past performance under her belt -- a few months earlier she sang at an uncle's community event.

Nevertheless, the gospel-inspired, Aretha Franklin-loving 19-year-old wowed Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul enough to move on to the second round. As the show progressed, Fantasia became more and more confident, and eventually picked up and moved to California to join the other nine finalists of American Idol 3.