When Fantasia’s manager, Brian Dickens, accepted her Grammy Sunday afternoon for Best Female R&B Performance for her single “Bittersweet”, he said the Season 3 winner was off shooting her new film project, a Mahalia Jackson bio pic.
As it turns out, Fantasia told BET’s 103 & Park yesterday that she decided to stay home, miffed that she wasn’t asked to participate in the night’s opening Aretha Franklin tribute
“I’m going to be very honest with you. You know I wasn’t at the Grammys last night. I’m kind of going through my own little thing… Last night they were honoring someone who is my idol, Aretha Franklin, and there is no way I could have sat there and not got the happy feet and wanting to jump on the mic because she is my favorite so I felt like, you know, at the end of the day I should have been on that stage so, I kind of did my own little thing last night.
The tribute featured Yolanda Adams, Christina Aguilera, Martina McBride, Florence Welch, and what I imagine was most galling to Fantasia–Jennifer Hudson, her diva rival from Season 3.
Fantasia added, “I have this feeling, like every year I go, I feel like they always look over some of the good singers that are still around and I’m not trying to be funny but that’s just the way I felt.”
I wonder if Fantasia was equally put off when Oprah Winfrey chose Jennifer Hudson to honor her with a performance from The Color Purple at the Kennedy Center last year? After all, it was Fantasia who Oprah hand-picked to play Celie on Broadway. Could all of those missed (over 50 reportedly) performances during her run, and the recent nastiness with a married lover be putting folks off on Fantasia?
It’s too bad she couldn’t swallow her pride and show up. A singer’s first Grammy is a pretty big deal
