Fantasia

Fantasia (just the one name now, thank you) has had her ups (working with Missy Elliott on her debut) and her downs (that Lifetime movie -- yikes!). Firmly in the pros column is her self-titled sophomore effort. Equal parts soul and sass, Fantasia finds the gravel-throated songstress leaving the treacly terrain of "American Idol" in the dust, burning rubber through gospel, hip-hop, and vintage soul grooves like "Bore Me (Yawn)," its snap-crackle-pop funk bassline wielded like a playa-punishing whip in the hands of the fabulous Ms. F.

On her second disc, 2004 American Idol winner Fantasia expands her range, adds some
attitude and comes up with some genuine R&B gems. "Hood Boy," featuring OutKast's Big Boi,
opens the album with a thrilling burst of Motown built on a sample from the Supremes' "The
Happening," to which Fantasia adds an amped-up ode to around-the-way boys. "Not the
Way That I Do" echoes the chirpy ferocity of Beyonce's "Ring the Alarm," and "B... More >