Watch American Idol’s Fantasia perform for the TIME100 Gala special
Fantasia Barrino opened the TIME100: The World’s Most Influential People special, which aired Sunday (April 12) with three of her most enduring hits. ABC filmed the TIME100 Gala that took place in New York City on April 25.
The American Idol season 3 winner is part of Time’s 2024 class of 100 after she starred in the movie adaption of the Broadway musical, The Color Purple. The singer was nominated for a Golden Globe and BAFTA for her role playing Celie.
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The soulful singer, who won the American Idol crown 20 years ago in 2004, opened her performance with “When I See U” from her second album, Fantasia. After teasing that she was going “way back” Fantasia broke into a rendition of the 2005 R&B hit “Free Yourself” from her debut album of the same name. After calling the choir to the stage, she ended with the 2013 track, “Lose to Win” from Side Effects of You.
“When she sings, she transcends”
In her write-up on Fantasia for the TIME100 feature, fellow honoree and Color Purple co-star Taraji P. Henson wrote:
There was just something about Fantasia Barrino when I first saw her on American Idol. It was her spirit, her soul. She left it all on that stage when she sang. I thought, Who is this girl? I voted for her again and?again.
When I met her years later, I learned that she’s a Cancer—sweet and sensitive but with a quiet strength. You can feel it in her presence, and you can hear it in her powerful voice. When she sings, she transcends. It’s like she goes somewhere else and you just have to go with her.
Fantasia is a living testimony that we’re all going to go through storms. But at the end of a storm, what happens? The sun comes out. Whatever comes next for her will be so beautiful. She deserves everything. I see such big things for Fantasia—the sky’s the limit. Well, beyond the sky for her. It’s her time.
Fantasia wrote on Instagram: “Thanks @time for such a beautiful Gala! I’m honored to be listed as 100 Most Influential People and had the opportunity to perform!”
Taraji P. Henson hosted the 18th-annual gala, and it featured performances by Fantasia Barrino and Dua Lipa, the presentation of a TIME Impact Award to Michael J. Fox, as well as special appearances by Patrick Mahomes, Maya Rudolph, Kelley Robinson, 21 Savage and other members of this year’s list.
