Powerhouse R&B vocalist Fantasia recently stopped by the ESSENCE office for a heart-to-heart with ESSENCE Deputy Editor Yolanda Sangweni and Lifestyle and Relationship Editor Charli Penn. The conversation was girl talk magic and Facebook fans joined the live conversation. While here, she filled us in on everything from her upcoming album The Definition Of, to dealing with rumors, to what she hopes to bring back through her new music and even blessed us with a song.
As she prepares for the June 10th release of her first album in three years, Fantasia says one of her main goals was to incorporate real music and instrumentation into this project.
Girl Talk With Fantasia!We’re girl talking with Fantasia! Ask questions below!!
Posted by Essence on Wednesday, April 27, 2016
“This album is very important to me. I grew up on real music, old school music and artists that I still sit back right now and Google and just watch for hours because they were so real and raw,” she said. “It wasn’t really about what they wore or who they were with, it was really about the music. And they brought you live music, they had instruments to come in and play while they were singing. I wanted to bring that name to The Definition Of.”
Fantasia, Jennifer Hudson & Latoya London Reunite to Slay Their ‘American Idol’ Finale PerformanceWhile she’s certainly no stranger to making hits or classic R&B tunes we all fall in love with, Fantasia made it clear that, for her, this album was not about doing what’s popular.
“I was just at that place where I didn’t want to do what everybody else was doing. I don’t want the label to come to me and say, ‘Well this is what’s hot right now so this is what we should do because this is what the radio will play,'” she said. “I wanted music that would touch people’s hearts; that would bless people and move people because, you know, music makes the world go round.”
One of the tracks on The Definition Of that’s sure to be an early fan favorite is a song called “No Time.” When asked about the things that she no longer has time for these days, Fantasia did not hold back.
“No time for family drama,” she said. “If you’re gonna be my friend, come in and be strong. I can’t cater to you, I can’t always let you borrow, borrow, borrow if you can’t give me nothing [laughs]! And so,I feel like God is surrounding me with friends and people who get it and who are going the same place that I’m going. And I know when I need to deposit some good stuff into them and they know when they need to deposit some good stuff into me.”
Fantasia Taught Us How To Slay At the ‘American Idol’ Finale
The American Idol alum also spoke on how getting caught up in the materialistic and superficial things that don’t matter will eventually cause an artist to lose sight of the passion with which they began their journey.
“I don’t ever wanna lose that ’cause then that’s when I’ll lose my life,” said Fantasia.
As for how Fanny handles rumors and people bringing her negative information these days, she says she’s no longer concerned with what people think.
“I always tell people, stop coming to me and telling what people are saying about me, I don’t care anymore,” she added. “I always get the people that come to me and say “girl, I just want to tell you…” and I’m like, nope. Because as you can see, it hasn’t stopped me. I’m still here and I’m still standing what God has planned out for my life, it will come to past no matter what.”
To hear more from Fantasia including what she does before hitting the stage, how she’s enjoying married life, whether or not she’ll ever do a gospel album and an unforgettable a cappella performance of Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come”, check out our full Essence Girl Talk session below.
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