America's votes came in! All 65 million of them. This year's American Idol, out of 70,000 contestants, is the nineteen year-old, single mother from High Point, North Carolina, Fantastic Fantasia Barrino.
Much of Los Angeles, many Hollywood celebrities and a few thousand Diana DeGarmo and Fantasia Barrino fans came to the Kodak Theater tonight to witness the crowning of Fox's third idol superstar.
Henry The "Fonz" Winkler along with Steve Edward, Nicole Richie (Lionel's adopted daughter), Ray Romano, Diana's mother, Fantasia's mother, brother, daughter and family members, Australian idol, Guy Sebastian, Quintuplets' stars, Andy Richter and Amy Yasbeck were among the Fox Idol fans present tonight.
Setting The Stage
The outdoor stage of Babylon Court in front of the theater was set tonight.
Ryan Seacrest was looking his best wearing a tux. Jennifer Love Hewitt and Christina Christian were on-site to co-host the beginning of the evening with Seacrest.
Jennifer introduced La Toya London as the first performer of the "grand finale." Fans flanked the stage both in front and in back of her. She sang If You Don't Know Me By Now.
Inside the theater, Ryan stepped into Diana DeGarmo's dressing room. Looking stunning in a black pant suit, she told Seacrest she slept like a brick last night, and was excited about tonight's finale.
Kimberly Caldwell introduced the Governor of Georgia, Sonny Purdue, who was present with his bride and a few thousand fans at the Georgia Dome. In Diana's honor, the Governor wore a pink suit coat.
Ryan then stepped into Fantasia Barrino's dressing room which was filled with bouquets of flowers, and a Tiffany candle from Toni Braxton.
Six thousand screaming fans in Greensboro, North Carolina's Coliseum were introduced to Fantasia along with Clay Aiken and the Mayor of High Point.
Jennifer then welcomed George Huff to the stage who sang "Me & Mrs. Jones" to the outside crowd of thousands in Hollywood.
Stepping into Paula's dressing room, Ryan introduced Ms. Abdul and Mr. Jackson who were both dressed to the nines.
Ray Romano was in the crowd who arrived in a limo with five teenagers. While he expressed his like for both of the finalists, he admitted to giving the edge to Fantasia.
Next up in the program, Jennifer Love Hewitt introduced Jasmine Trias who has dyed her hair with streaks of red. Jasmine, who has been offered a $100,000 contract with independent record producer, Quiet Storm, gave a sultry version of Midnight Train to Georgia.
Ryan left Paula and Randy, stepping into Simon Cowell's dressing room which had a bucket of champagne next to his producer's chair. Cowell was wearing a white shirt unbuttoned to who knows where, along with a black pin-striped suit.
Sharon Osbourne, a "huge" AI fan, let it be known that she favored Fantasia.
Diana DeGarmo, Fantasia Barrino, Kelly Clarkson and Ruben Studdard kicked off the two-hour production singing Don Quixote's The Impossible Dream after Tamyra Gray performed the national anthem.
We watched a little bantering between the two finalists, then tuned into Clay Aiken and Greensboro County Commissioner to hear about the creation of a billboard in Fantasia's honor.
Diana's choir teacher was in the Georgia stands along with Snellville's "Where Everybody's Somebody" mayor to sing Barrino's praises.
Host, Ryan Seacrest then took us through a recap of last night's final performances (see RuggedElegantLiving.com's play-by-play).
Next on the program was a taste of the first American Idol, Kelly Clarkson singing Beautiful Disaster from her double platinum hit CD.
Then, dressed in a variety of yellow and white outfits, the Top Twelve contestants of American Idol III took to the stage -- giving us a foretaste of their upcoming concert tour (see below for locations, dates and available tickets.) In the background on a big screen were scenes captured throughout Season Three of all twelve top contestants: Amy Adams, Camille Velasco, John Stevens, George Huff, Jasmine Trias, La Toya London, Matt Rogers, Jon Peter Lewis, Leah LaBelle, Jennifer Hudson, Diana DeGarmo and winner, Fantasia Barrino.
In a behind the scenes look earlier in the season, we had a good laugh when one of the show's make-up artists came in to powder Barry Manilow's nose, only to target a heavy-set African American man at the piano -- not Manilow. "I'm Barry," Manilow said to the make-up artist. And then added, "That's too %^&*(@ depressing." After Manilow expressed his displeasure, the voice coach said, "I have to get another color," which loosened up Manilow and got him laughing too.
Idol II and I Winner In The House
A youthful-sounding Luther Vandross, Ruben Studdard took to the stage to sing "What If" from his latest CD, Soulful.
Sending goose bumps into the room, and bringing Kelly Clarkson to tears, Diana DeGarmo sang I Believe, one more time. Dressed in a white pant suit, she looked and sounded like an angel with the red-cloaked choir behind her.
As a touché, Fantasia Barrino, also dressed in white with the choir backing her up, sang Dreams.
Prior to crowning Fantasia as this year's American Idol Seacrest welcomed Barrino and DeGarmo to sing together I Knew You Were Waiting.
Seacrest prompted some final thoughts from the judges, beginning with Simon by asking him "The winner of this competition? What do they get?"
Simon Cowell replied: "What they always wanted: Fame, stardom, a ton of money. It's what it's all about. I have to say, this competition has proven that this is the best talent show on earth."
Paula Abdul shared her final thoughts: "I'm just so very proud of being a part of this season's competition. I think you've done an amazing job. You have made all three of us extremely proud. It's time to move on and get on with your careers. Right now, this second, whomever wins it, this is the first day of the rest of your exciting life. Remember your first of everything: The first time you hear your song on the radio, your first number one record, your first concert. And remember your dysfunctional family will be there, every step of the way, watching you. We love you very much."
Randy Jackson agreed with Paula. He said, "I'm proud of both of you. You came through this. I mean think about it. You are the top two out of 70,000 people that we saw. You should stand proud. You are both winners. Congratulations!" Jackson completes his comments by applauding the top two contestants.
Seacrest recounted the comments made after last night's performance (see play-by-play for all the judges' comments.)
The host of the third season of American Idol then said: "It is finally live on national television, the moment of truth. After 70,000 auditions, after a phone vote of 65 million, the winner of American Idol 2004 is...Fantasia Barrino.
Immediately, the camera panned to the crowd in Greensboro who were going wild. As was Fantasia's family close to the front of the stage.
Both Diana and Fantasia got caught up in the emotion of the moment.
Seacrest addressed the new American Idol: "You have worked so hard, have been through so much, and as you said, 'Word hard, and it pays off.'"
Fantasia responded, "I've always said, I've worked through some things. But I've worked hard to get to where I'm at."
Diana shared hugs and congratulations. She said to her fans, "Thank you so much. Not only have I grown as a singer, but I have grown as a person. And it's all because of you guys. I'm so proud to have come here with Fantasia. She's my girl."
Fantasia Barrino completed the show's season with her rendition of Tamyra Gray's I Believe. With tears in her eyes and a broken shoe, she kept her composure, and delivered an award-winning performance full of emotion and joy.
Tim said, "I'm getting chills tonight!"
Fantasia's proud mother had tears streaming down her face. As confetti flew, her fellow finalists and tour partners surrounded Fantasia with a huge family hug.
Our American Idol: Fantasia Barrino.
You go, girl!
For those of you interested in seeing these young stars in person at one of the upcoming Idol concerts, tickets may be purchased through The Rugged Elegance Inspiration Network powered by TicketsNow.com!
The cities that are hosting American Idol concerts include:
07/14/04, The Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah
07/16/04, Rose Garden, Portland, Oregon
07/20/04, Fargodome, Fargo, North Dakota
07/21/04, Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota
07/22/04, Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
07/24/04, Hilton Coliseum, Ames, Iowa
07/25/04, Mark of the Quad Cities, Moline, Illinois
07/27/04, Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan
07/28/04, Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan
07/29/04, Csu Convocation Center, Cleveland, Ohio
07/31/04, Schottenstein Center, Columbus, Ohio
08/01/04, Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
08/03/04, Roberts Stadium, Evansville, Indiana
08/04/04, US Bank Arena, Cincinnati, Ohio
08/05/04, United Center, Chicago, Illinois
08/07/04, Qwest Center Omaha, Omaha, Nebraska
08/10/04, NOKIA live at Grand Prairie, Grand Prairie, Texas
08/11/04, New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana
08/13/04, Alltel Arena, North Little Rock, Arkansas
08/14/04, Gaylord Entertainment CTR, Nashville, Tennessee
08/15/04, Philips Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
08/17/04, Office Depot Center, Sunrise, Florida
08/18/04, Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville, Florida
08/20/04, The Colonial Center, Columbia, South Carolina
08/21/04, LJVM Coliseum, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
08/22/04, MCI Center, Washington, DC
08/24/04, Worcester Centrem Centre, Worcester, Massachusetts
08/27/04, Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
08/28/04, Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, Connecticut
08/29/04, Continental Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey
08/31/04, Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, New York
09/02/04, Pepsi Arena, Albany, New York
09/04/04, Wachovia Arena, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
09/05/04, Giant Center, Hershey, Pennsylvania
09/09/04, Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
09/10/04, Sovereign Center, Reading, Pennsylvania
09/11/04, Verizon Wireless Arena, Manchester, New Hampshire
09/12/04, Dunkin' Donuts Center, Providence, Rhode Island
09/19/04, Savvis Center, St. Louis, Missouri
09/23/04, Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim, Anaheim, California
09/24/04, Centennial Garden, Bakersfield, California
09/25/04, Save Mart Center, Fresno, California
09/26/04, HP Pavilion, San Jose, California
09/28/04, Neal S. Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, Hawaii
For a behind-the-scenes look at American Idol go to: IdolonFox.com
Congratulations!
Fantasia, if you're looking for a place to stay when you are in the Bay Area at the end of September, please consider a 1906 San Francisco Victorian home rather than another hotel. Chez King Fredel is all yours!
Along with twelve collections of our Rugged Elegance Companion guides to "Places of Taste" in San Francisco.
Inspire & Be Inspired.
~Jennifer King
P.S. For all the Diana DeGarmo fans in the crowd, six year-old Niki said it best the moment after Fantasia's name was announced. "It's o.k., mommy," she said. "Last year, Ruben won. But it turned out that Clay Aiken, the runner-up has become just as, if not more popular. It doesn't matter that Diana didn't win tonight because she will be very, very popular."
Nineteen year-old, Lisa, a Diana-fan, said, "I'm very happy for Fantasia. As a single mother, she inspires me to follow my dreams no matter what might get in my way."
The only thing missing from tonight's show was a formal tribute to the two finalists. Perhaps an opportunity for the executive producers of American Idol to milk their audience one-more-time. Just like the The After The Final Rose episode from the Bachelor, it would be fun to see an "after the American Idol finale" that serves as a retrospective of both contestants.
Until we meet again in January...
Other American Idol Stories Published in RuggedElegantLiving.com:
05/24/04, Live American Idol III Finale: Fantasia Barrino vs. Diana DeGarmo
05/24/04, American Idol Phenomenon from the U.K. to the U.S.
05/20/04, Fans Wear Flower To School in Honor of Jasmine Trias
05/19/04, AI III Delivers Another Shocker
05/18/04, Three Finalists Sing One For Themselves, One For The Judges & One For Clive Davis
05/18/04, Celebrity Special: Randy, Paula, Simon, Jasmine, Fantasia & Diana Speak to Host Ryan Seacrest, :
05/11/04, Divas Sing Disco
05/04/04, Five Finalists Sing Big Band Beat with Nigel Wright & The Penguins
04/27/04, American Idol Sings Gloria Estefan's Latin Pop Music: La Toya London Turns Up The Heat
04/20/04, "American Idol Sings Barry Manilow Hits Customized for Each Finalist by the Legend, Himself"
04/20/04, "Contestants Perform The Music of Barry Manilow"
04/15/04, "Jon Peter Lewis Gets The Death Penalty After Singing 'Jailhouse Rock'"
04/14/04, "Finalists Sing Movie-Themed Songs with Quentin Tarantino As Guest Judge"
04/08/04, "American Idol Sings Elton John Classics; Camile Velasco Sings 'Goodbye..."
03/18/04, "Top Twelve Finalists Narrow to Eleven"
03/17/04, "American Idol Offers Two Hours of Soul Singing As The Competition Heats Up"
02/11/04, "Barrino, DeGarmo, Hudson, Lynche, Metzger, Thomas, Walcott, Webber (and Ryan Seacrest as Will Hung)"
02/05/04, "One American Family's Favorite Contestants from "American Idol III's" Top Thirty-Two"
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