But as the eventual winner of American Idol, Fantasia got by week after week, never letting her disability hold back her lavish performances. Perhaps the defining moment of her quest from single-mother to multi-millionare, was her cover of George Gershwin's Summertime. In front of millions of viewers, Fantasia demonstrated her stunning vocals in an emotionally charged display, a performance that has not been touched in any of the latter seasons of American Idol by any contestant. Personal favourites aside, Fantasia Barrino was the clear choice, and showed perhaps the most potential out of any American Idol contestant ever. Given his amazing repertoire spanning several decades, it is hard to criticize the producer of Fantasia's debut album, Clive Davis. His influence on artists such as Whitney Houston, Barry Manilow and Aretha Franklin and Alicia Keys is undeniable, and his star on the Hollywood walk of fame is certainly deserved.
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Yet with Free Yourself, Clive Davis has fired in the wrong direction. It is obvious that Davis' aim was to launch this album to the top of the charts, and the single I Believe did just that. The entire album opts to follow in the footsteps of fellow mainstream R&B artists such as Mariah Carey, Beyonce Knowles and Jennifer Lopez. Generic funky beats and catchy melodies are the name of the game, as Clive Davis crafts a bubbly, divalicious image for Fantasia. Aside from the two covers, Summertime and You Were Always on My Mind, and the inspiring I Believe, Clive Davis crafts the album as if he were producing for an average vocalist. Yet as the American Idol winner, Fantasia clearly didn't get to where she is without some singing chops. Although she adapts beautifully to this over-produced R&B style, like she adapts to every other genre the high amount of gloss somewhat enshrouds her stunning voice. Backing vocals and catchy melodies become more of a focus, with Clive Davis heavily utilising generic R&B production techniques. At times this over-production works nicely, in songs such as Ain't Gon Bag You and Truth Is, which simply add beautiful rhythms and melodies to her versatile voice. Imagine if you will, taking the production techniques used with 50 Cent and applying them to Seal.įor the most part though, her vocals are held back, hidden and underutilised. That is what Clive Davis has done with Fantasia Barrino. To many, the highlights on the album will be the three songs taken from American Idol, Summertime, You Were Always on My Mind and I Believe.
Although the rest of the album makes for a decidedly average R&B album, Clive Davis is given another chance, a chance to recapture some of the magic of her live performances of the three songs. I Believe certainly captures this, launching her voice into the stratosfear with equally delicious backing vocals. It is truly a grandiose, with a wide sweeping pop-orchestral backing sound, similar to Seal's Don't Cry and R.