NEW YORK (J Records) - Loyal supporters and new fans of award- winning J Records/19 Recordings artist
Fantasia bought up 132,964 copies of her self-titled second album in its first week of release, sending FANTASIA to a No 3 debut on the Billboard R&B Album chart and No 19 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.
Fantasia will also hit the road opening select dates for Jamie Foxx, beginning December 29th in Sacramento at the Arco Arena.
Fantasia's debut on the Billboard R&B Album Chart at No 3 makes this her second Top 5 R&B Album Chart debut.
At the same time, "Hood Boy" featuring Big Boi from OutKast, the new album's opening track and first single pick, takes a sizable 15-point jump up the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart this week to No 38. "Hood Boy" was written by Johnta Austin and produced by Tone Mason. BET premiered the video on 106 & Park and already has the video in heavy rotation on BET and BETJ.
The album is already being showered with critical acclaim across the country:
"With a little voice writ large, like a firefly on streetlamp voltage, she's an excellent shouter and can achieve nearly instant liftoff in her singing. (If it takes one of her models, like Shirley Caesar, at least two bars of crescendo to explode, Fantasia can do it in one.)" New York Times (December 11, 2006)
"Fantasia Barrino has more vocal chops than any other female soul singer of her generation, and her upbringing on the gospel circuit taught her how to pump a song for every drop of passion." San Francisco Chronicle (December 10, 2006)
"A perfectly executed dance/R&B album that is sure to cross over into pop territory and challenge bigger stars like Beyonce Knowles." 3 1/2 stars, US Weekly (December 18, 2006)
"The ferocious 'Baby Makin'Hips' is Fantasia's best song to date, a potential shout-along classic on par with Mary J.'s 'No More Drama.'" 3 1/2 stars, Rolling Stone (December 3, 2006)
"'Hood Boy,' with its opening salvo of horns and a vocal assist from Big Boi, is one of the best R&B numbers of the year." Entertainment Weekly (December 15, 2006)
FANTASIA (which arrived in stores December 12th) follows-up Free Yourself, her RIAA platinum debut of November 2004, which contained "I Believe" -- the first time in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 that an artist debuted at No 1 with her first solo record (which stayed on top for 11 weeks) -- solidifying the former American Idol champion's career.
22-year old Fantasia -- who was the subject of a Lifetime original movie this past summer, The Fantasia Barrino Story: Life Is Not A Fairy Tale, the most viewed basic cable program on television, and Lifetime's second most viewed program of all time -- enlisted an impressive A-list collaborators for her new album, including Missy Elliott, Dre & Vidal, Midi Mafia, Diane Warran, Babyface, Swizz Beatz and Kwame.
FANTASIA TOUR DATES OPENING FOR JAMIE FOXX
Fri/Dec-29 Sacramento, CA Arco Arena
Sun/Dec-31 Oakland, CA Oakland Arena
Sat/Jan-6 Chicago, IL All State Arena
Fri/Jan-19 Hartford, CT Hartford Civic Center
Sun/Jan-21 Washington, DC Verizon Center
Mon/Jan-22 New York, NY MSG
Thu/Jan-25 Philadelphia, PA Wachovia
Sun/Jan-28 Baltimore, MD Baltimore Arena
Thu/Feb-1 Orlando, FL TD Waterhouse
Fri/Feb-2 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Bank Atlantic Center
