Vault: Fantasia Joins The Show

Summary

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The Bert Show – “Vault: Fantasia Joins The Show”

Original Airdate: January 20, 2026
Host: Bert & The Bert Show Cast
Guest: Fantasia Barrino

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Episode Overview

In this engaging and heartfelt episode, the Bert Show welcomes singer and American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino. The main focus is her song "Baby Mama," the personal struggles she's overcome, and her new book, Life is Not a Fairy Tale. The discussion dives into social perceptions of single mothers, Fantasia’s resilience, and correcting misconceptions about her literacy. The tone is candid, supportive, and occasionally challenging, with Fantasia offering passionate, unfiltered reflections.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Fantasia’s Career After American Idol

• Hosts reminisce about Fantasia winning American Idol ("She’s crushed it!"), noting her success on R&B charts and a platinum album (00:00-00:19).
• Fantasia reflects on where her life might be without her big break:

  “I’ll still be trying…trying to sing, trying to go after it, trying to better myself.” – Fantasia (03:38)

2. The Inspiration and Message Behind “Baby Mama”

• The episode opens by sampling Fantasia’s track “Baby Mama,” a tribute to the struggles and resilience of single mothers (01:02).
• The Bert Show discusses the perceived difference between “baby mama” and “single mom,” prompting a deeper look into societal language and labeling (02:17-03:04).
• Fantasia articulates the intent behind the song:

  “That song, for me, was to bust everybody in the head and say, ‘you know what? Even though we have kids, we can still be somebody.’” – Fantasia (07:13) “It wasn’t to glorify it and tell young ladies to go out and have kids…The verse is talking about how we struggle. But I’m telling all those mothers, I love you, cause I’ve been through it.” – Fantasia (08:41)

• She challenges listeners to hear beyond the chorus, urging attention to the verses and the real-life stories they reflect.

3. Confronting Criticism and Misperception

• Jeff admits discomfort with the idea that being a “baby mama” is celebrated in the song, fearing it sends the wrong message (06:36).
• Fantasia stands her ground:

  “You don’t surprise me by saying that…people have their own opinions about that...My name is Fantasia. But at the same time, yes, I’m a mom.” (07:13) “It ain’t for them. It’s for those women.” (09:53)

• When pressed on whether “baby mamas” can be the backbone of a community, Fantasia responds:

  “Yes, we can. We can be. And like I say, it’s not for the people who don’t go through it…You don’t know what we go through. You don’t know what we sacrifice. You don’t know how hard it is. You don’t know.” (11:20–12:08)

4. Fantasia’s Personal Struggles and Resilience

• Fantasia recounts harrowing details from her past: dropping out of school, abusive relationships, and overcoming self-doubt.

  “One day I looked at myself in the mirror…had a black eye…My lips were huge. And I said to myself, this is not the way I’m supposed to live. This ain’t Fantasia. I have dreams, I have visions, and I gotta go after them.” (04:29)

• On change:

  “You can preach change to a person all day, but unless they want it…it’s not going to happen.” (05:38) “After I had Zion…I started saying, I can’t be hanging out in the streets…let my child see it…” (04:29)

5. Facing and Correcting Misconceptions About Literacy

• The show clarifies an oft-cited statement from Fantasia about being “functionally illiterate” (12:08).
• Fantasia says:

  “That’s the basics…If you put a book in front of me right now, I can read you the familiar. But if there was a word that wasn’t familiar, my fear was I couldn’t pronounce or sound out that word.” (12:36) “There are people going through that right now…afraid to come out with it because of somebody else’s mouth…What people need to know is you got to stop trying to put people down and learn how to pick your people up.” (13:21)

6. Faith, Family Legacy, and Ministry

• Fantasia discusses her roots—her mother and grandmother are preachers—and the power of music as her ministry:

  “My preaching is my singing. That’s how I minister to people…because you sang that song, something in that song made me feel like I can conquer it now.” (16:26)

• Hosts admire her authenticity, suggesting she’ll be unchanged by fame—a point Fantasia receives with characteristic humility and humor.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Overcoming Adversity:

  “But now that I’m at the point to where I am now, I started asking for help. I’m not afraid to say if I can’t pronounce it…I’m not afraid now because I’ve overcome so many of my fears…Yes, baby, I’m a living example.” – Fantasia (15:15–15:50)

• On Critics and Message:

  “You kill people when you do that. And you make them feel like they can’t be nobody. But yes, baby, I’m a living example. And I can tell you you can be whatever you want to be.” – Fantasia (16:14)

• On Her Book’s Message:

  “Life is not a fairy tale. There’s a lot of women out there going through it.” – Fantasia (09:53)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00 – Fantasia’s American Idol and music success
• 01:02 – “Baby Mama” song sample
• 03:12 – Start of interview; Fantasia introduces herself to the cast
• 04:29 – Fantasia’s personal journey, struggles, and motivation
• 06:36 – Addressing criticism about “Baby Mama”
• 07:13 – Fantasia’s passionate defense of the song’s intent
• 12:08 – Clarifying rumors about literacy and overcoming fear
• 16:26 – Preaching, music as ministry, and hopes for the future

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Tone and Flow

Fantasia is vulnerable, strong, and unwavering—open about her past but fiercely proud of her resilience and her role as an inspiration for others facing adversity. The Bert Show hosts provide a mix of support, playful ribbing, and pointed questions, keeping the conversation personal and authentic.

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For Listeners

This episode offers inspiration, raw honesty, and a firsthand look at navigating fame, criticism, and personal hardship. Whether or not you’re familiar with Fantasia’s story, her voice and message resonate throughout the cast’s lively and meaningful interview.

Transcript

[A]

The Bird Show. All right, Fantasia Barrino, obviously, everybody knows her from American Idol and won the thing hands down a couple of years ago over Atlanta's very own Diana DeGarmo. She's done really, really well for herself, like on the R B charts. Fantasia's. I mean, she's crushed it.

[B]

Well, it only took her album maybe a month or two to go platinum. It's huge.

[A]

And she has all these big time record producers on it now. She's got a new book coming out called Life is Not a Fairy Tale. Well, she called the show after we were off the air yesterday after 10 o', clock, and we talked about a couple of different subjects. But the main part of the interview kind of surrounds a song that she came out with, her first single that was released called Baby Mama. And it wasn't a real hit on all the hits. Q100 so I want to play you guys just a little bit of it so you've heard the song and you know where Jeff is coming from when he asks Fantasia about the song. So this is a little bit of Fantasia song. Baby Ma.

[B]

This goes out to all my baby mamas this goes out to all my baby mama B A B Y M I this goes out to all my baby mamas I got love for all my baby mamas it's about time we had our own songs. Don't know what took so long. Cause nowadays it's like a badge of honor to be a baby mama. I see you paying you, I see you working I see you going to school and girl, I know it's hard and even though you're fed up with making beds up girl keep your head up on my B A B Y M A M A this goes out to all my baby mamas this goes out to all my baby mamas so.

[A]

Really, in essence, it's a song that kind of just honors single moms and the struggle that they go through every single day.

[B]

And.

[A]

And it was a big hit for her on the R and B charts. So this interview is about 12 minutes long, but a lot of it surrounds that song and the subject of that song. And Jeff kind of asks Fantasia about it.

[C]

I have to do a clarification too, kind of, because I thought of something after the interview that I had a conversation in my own. Like somebody else I talked about in your head. Yeah, I think there's a difference too, between a baby mama and a single mom. Like, I think there's two different things. And when I ask her about this, I'm referring to the baby Mama, she's singing about which to me is the, you know, girl who gets pregnant at age 16 and has to, you know, by a father who disappears before the baby even comes around.

[A]

Does it say that in the song? Like, I mean, is that.

[C]

I don't. I mean, I don't have the lyrics in front of me, so I don't know if that's what she's referring to, but I think there's a difference between. I think you have a different image of a baby mama and a different than a single mom.

[A]

All right, here's our interview with Fantasia Barrino. I like it. You don't even like the song.

[C]

Are you kidding? Well, you like Pussycat Dolls, too?

[B]

Yeah, I do.

[A]

Yeah, I like the song. Also. Here's the interview with Fantasia Barrino. Let me introduce you to everybody here. Fantasia, this is Jen Hobby right here.

[B]

Hey, Fantasia. Hey, babe.

[A]

This is Jeff dollar right here.

[C]

Hey, Jeff, how are you?

[B]

Chilling. Chilling.

[A]

And Melissa Carter. Hey, Fantasia.

[B]

Hi, mama.

[A]

And I'm Bert. Hey, Fantasia. I'm, I'm curious now that you're a little bit removed from American Idol. If you didn't win American Idol, like, what would your day, like, be today?

[B]

I'll still be trying. I will still be, you know, trying to sing, trying to go after it, trying to better myself.

[A]

Like, at the, at this point, I mean, if you were a, what is it, a year removed now? We're a year.

[B]

Two years now.

[A]

Two years now. So if it didn't happen for you, like, would today be filled with auditions or what exactly would you have been doing?

[B]

I was trying to better myself. Whatever was going on, like, at home, whatever challenge show was going on or just anything, you know, different church things I was singing at, I'll still be just singing, singing different places, trying to make a piece of change and trying to make it over, you know, trying to live, survive.

[A]

Fantasia Barrino joining the Birchell on all the hits. Q100 this morning. I just want to ask where that inner strength came from, because in the book, you talk about the pressures of having sex, young and abusive sex that.

[B]

Occurred with you and the feeling of letting everybody down. I just wonder what have you used to overcome all these things, you know, I found. I always tell people I found that weapon. The weapon has no name. I just found that courage and I found the drive that I needed in order to change the push. After I had Zion, you know, she got. She started to get older and I started saying, you know, I can't be hanging out in the streets and I can't be doing some of the things that I've been doing and, you know, and let my child see it, because she'll grow older and she'll start to feel that that's the way of life. That's the way it goes. That's how it's supposed to be. You know, I can't continue to, you know, not learn. And I dropped out of school and, you know, I just felt like I was wasting my life. And, you know, I was in a relationship with her father, and we fought all the time. All the time. And one day I looked at myself in the mirror. You know, I had a big black eye. I was swollen up, and my lips were small. You know, they're already big, so they were huge. And I looked in the mirror and I said to myself, this is not the way I'm supposed to live. This ain't Fantasia. I have dreams, I have visions, and I gotta go after him. And, you know, I started wanting to change. I always tell people, you can preach change to a person all day, but unless they want it, unless they want, you know, they want to change. If they don't want it, they're not gonna do it. And I was at that place too, you know, I didn't want it. People was telling me I couldn't be anything after I had Zion, after I dropped out of school, or she's not gonna go nowhere but remind you, before all of this happened, I was like the town sweetheart. Everybody wanted me to come sing, and everybody wanted me to be here and be there. But after I fell, they all gave up on me, you know, they all gave up on me. So I had to find it for myself. I had to want to change. I had to want to be somebody. I had to want to go somewhere. And once I picked up the key and I said, okay, now I got to drive. I got a little bit of push. All I got to do is keep going. And the more I go, the more I go, I'll get that energy again. I'll get that Dr. I'll keep getting it, and I haven't lost it ever since. I went out for the idol and I told my father, I said, dad, I'm going and I ain't coming back. And believe it or not, I didn't go back.

[C]

I don't want this. I don't want this question to come out the wrong way, but, you know, you tell the story of that struggle and looking in the mirror and seeing yourself with a black eye and stuff, and, you know, you were in a Tough situation, having a baby while you were young. And it obviously got very bad when I heard your song Baby Mama. Like, part of that was. That song, to me, almost glorified that lifestyle. Like, having a child young and, you know, and creating. Like you essentially created your own struggle. And then you kind of glorified it in a song, and it just didn't sit right with me.

[B]

You don't surprise me by saying that. Cause I've heard that from different people, you know. So don't get me wrong. Like, you're not surprising me by saying that a lot of people have their own opinions about that. But that song was, for me, was to bust everybody in the head and say, you know what? Even though we have kids, we can still be somebody. Regardless of the fact. Don't label me as a baby mama. My name is Fantasia. But at the same time, yes, I'm a mom. And you can hear people say, well, you know, how can she be somebody? She's a baby mama. How? She's got a kid. But because I proved them wrong and because I went after it, I said, you know what? I'm going to send out a song and I'm going to do something different for all of those mothers who go through the struggle, who sacrifice. You know, they work two jobs and they're trying to go to school. You know, they're sacrificing a lot of things for the kids. How come we don't ever get any recognition? The people, you know, why come we don't get recognition? Is it because we're baby mamas? You know, is it because we're single moms? Because we had kids out of wedlock? Because we're young? No, that doesn't mean nothing. Because they said I couldn't be nothing. Here I am today. I am somebody. I am somebody. So I'm gonna put out a song that says, you know what, Mama? I know what you go through. Also, the song wasn't only for young mothers. It was for all those older mothers who's raised kids by themselves. The song for me was like an anthem to all those mothers. Even the mothers, even the kids who were raised in the houses with mother and father. Like me, I had my mom and my dad. But nine times, you know, your mom holds it down in the house. The first person you run to when you sick is who? Your mama. Your mom holds it down. So it's like I'm saying to all those mothers, you know what? I congratulate you. Even when you're sick and you're tired you have to take care of those kids, and you have to do things that you. You know, that you don't know how you're gonna do it. You don't. I remember nights when I used to sit in my apartment and I used to, you know, know why Zion sleeping. And I would know early in the morning that my lights was gonna be cut off. And I used to say, what do I do? I'm such a young. What do I do? Where do I go? But see, the problem is. And the reason for my book is I want people to know that even though we have kids and we make mistakes, you don't just give up on a person that easy. You can't just give up on somebody. You know what I'm saying? So that song wasn't for you. It was for those mothers. And the mothers, they understood me. They would come up and they'd say, you know what? I'm glad you did something different. I'm glad you put out something for us. It wasn't to glorify it and tell young ladies to go out and have kids. Because if you listen to the song, it talks about the struggle. How we receive checks and it ain't enough. How you know, it ain't fun, it ain't easy, and it ain't cute. The things we sacrifice. You know what I'm saying? So it's not to glorify it. You got to listen to the words. The first thing you hear, only thing you hear is the B A by this goes out to all my Baby mamas. You don't listen to the verse. The verse is talking about how we struggle. But I'm telling all those mothers that, you know what? I know what you go through. I love you. Cause I've been through it.

[A]

You still sound obviously very passionate about that. Do you feel like that's an unfair question when people ask you that?

[B]

I just feel like people, you know, that's how, you know, people don't pay attention. They don't listen. The first thing you looking for, you're looking for the negative. The only thing you're hearing is the. Is the chorus. And you're not listening to the verse. You're not listening to what I'm saying. And they say, why do you say we should have a badge of honor? Because we do. We go through so much. So I wanted to send a song. Song out to all of those mothers, you know what I'm saying? I tell people I'm not the only mom in the industry. I was just a broke mama when I Had my baby. So I know how it is to sacrifice. I know how it is to go through and wonder how you're gonna get the next Pamper. How you gonna. You know, I know how that is. And believe it or not, life is not a fairytale. There's a lot of women out there going through it. So regardless of what they say, it ain't for them. It's for those women.

[C]

Well, I don't want you to say that. I didn't pay attention to the words. And I was being ignorant and just listening because, you know, the first time I heard it and I did go. I mean, you can go to Google now and pull up anything. And I have, like, the lyric. One of the lyrics that stood out to me, or actually, the lyric that I really have a problem with is there's a line in there where you say that you're the backbone. And, like, I don't know. I just think that's a wrong message to send, especially to people who might end up in a similar situation as you were years ago. I mean, that's, you know, the backbone is that, you know, or the foundation, you know, I just don't think. I don't think you're sending the right message by saying that baby mamas can be, or, you know, single mothers can be the backbone of a community. Shouldn't the focus be on, you know, a traditional mom, dad, kids, family?

[B]

We don't give just because, see, that's the problem. Like, we don't give up. A lot of those moms, they don't give up. Yes, we can. We can be. We can be. And like I say, it's not for the people who don't go through it. Do you have kids?

[C]

No, I don't.

[B]

You don't have kids? All right. So it's not for the people who don't go through it. The people you don't understand. Cause you're not in that situation. You never had to live that life. You never had to go through any of that. But there are some people who had to go through that. So I'm saying, you know, I'm not surprised that you said that. I caught that the whole time when my aunt was. People wanted to know, why did you do this? Why did you come out with baby mama? But it's not for you until you can go through some of those things and be in some of those people's shoes and situations. Then you can call me and talk about that. But until then, you don't know. You don't know what we Go through. You don't know what we sacrifice. You don't know how hard it is. You don't know.

[A]

Fantasia Barrino joining the Burt show this morning on all the hits. Q100. It's already come out. And I think you said this on 2020 that you are functionally illiterate. Correct.

[B]

Which is another thing that's wrong.

[A]

Okay?

[B]

Now, when you do the interviews, you do them and they take them and they edit them. And then we were rushed back to the hotel. Cause we was ready to see it. And when the interview came on, the first thing was said was one big secret. You don't know about Fantasia Barrino. She can't read and she can't write, which is wrong.

[A]

All right, let's set the record straight right here.

[B]

That's the basics. In elementary school, you learn how to read and write like I tell somebody. If you put a book in front of me right now, I can read you the familiar. Or back then, I could have read you the familiar. But if there was a word that wasn't familiar to me, my difficulty was my problem. And my fear was I couldn't pronounce or sound out that word. So that was a fear for me. That was a problem for me. I didn't want to read out loud. I didn't want to. You know, I didn't want a person to know that because I was afraid in school. Like, well, would they laugh at me or would they help me? Nine times out of ten, they would laugh. They would laugh. They wouldn't say, this is how you pronounce it, Fantasia. They would probably laugh. Oh, my gosh, she can't pronounce a word. So that was a fear for me. And I ran for it from it for a long time, which made me. My reading is dusty. I said, I'm not a strong. I wasn't a strong reader. I wasn't a strong reader. So because I ran from it, I didn't pull my teacher to the side. I didn't ask for help, you know, because it was a problem for me. If I would have did that back then, if I just went to my teacher and said, Listen, Ms. Such and Such, I need for you to take out an hour or two after school every day and listen to me read and see what my problem is. And see, you know, help me sound out these words. Show me what I need to do. Show me I need help. You know what I'm saying? But that goes back to. To the song. People take things and they misjudge it a lot. Of people going through that right now, 30 year old, 40 year old women and men that can't read or that have problems with reading and they're afraid to come out with it because of somebody else's tongue, somebody else's mouth, afraid somebody else is going to put them down. What people need to know is you got to stop trying to put people down and learn how to pick your people up. You got to learn how to encourage people. But that was my first thing, like what is somebody going to say? But now that I'm at the point to where I am now, I started asking for help. I'm not afraid to say if I'm reading something or I can't pronounce it. I'm not afraid to say, you know, do you pronounce this word this way? I might say it right, I might say it wrong. But I'm not afraid now because I've overcame so many of my fears. I've done so many things that people said I couldn't do. So it doesn't matter anymore.

[A]

So if somebody put an American idol application in front of you, you could fill that out?

[B]

I can now, but back then I probably couldn't actually. I didn't even read it. I just would sign it, you know what I'm saying? And some of these applicants and some of these, you know, contracts and things, they have some of the biggest words on there. You be like, what if I never heard this word a day of my, what is this? It's like the contracts now are so difficult, they're so deep, you know, And I never did read it. I just would sign my name on it. And then, you know, my lawyer pulled me to the side when he says to me, you know, if I tell you I'm your lawyer, you can trust me. I love you and I have your best interest, but you also need to start reading your own things because you could be signing your life away, you know what I'm saying? So it's like now what you're reading right now, that's my path. Where I'm at now is my future. I'm blessed. It's all good for me right now. But I'm giving my story to let some other young person know, Even people that's not young, to let them know, no matter what they say, you can be whatever you want to be. Though they slay me yet will I trust him. And God has brought me to this point, though they said I couldn't do it and said, you know, she doesn't have a diploma she's got a child. She ain't the best looking person in the world. You know, her image, Da, da, da, da. It doesn't matter. I made it. And I can laugh in those people's faces. Say, you know what? Regardless of the fact, whatever you said about me, I'm here now. I'm here now. I got a book out, they cracked on my lips, I got a Mac lipstick out. You know, I overcame all of that. I came out with it at a young age. And I think people should say, that's what's up. I'm only 21. And I poured it all out. I gave it all out just to help those people who going through it and to help those people who are down to people to say, don't just give up on somebody that quick. Don't do that. You kill people when you do that. And you make them feel like they can't be nobody. But yes, baby, I'm a living example. And I can tell you you can be whatever you want to be.

[A]

Fantasia Barrino. The new book is called Life is Not a Fairy Tale.

[B]

Okay, this sounds like an apropos question right now because I was reading that your grandmother and your mother are both preachers. Uh huh. Now, do you think that you may follow in their footsteps? It's so funny cause everybody's been asking me that. You got the voice for it. You know, my preaching is my singing. You know, that's how I minister to people and that's how I help people. You know, people say, are you in it for the, you know, for the thing? You got money now, girl, what you gonna do? You got this. Now I tell them it ain't about my ministry is when I sing. And the people that come up to me and say, you know what? Just because you sang that song, something in that song made me feel like I can conquer it now. I can do what, you know, that's my ministry.

[A]

Well, if you ever get burned out on the whole singing thing, you know, there's a church just waiting for you right now.

[B]

Y' all are a mess.

[A]

Fantasia Barina, the book comes out, Is it this week?

[B]

It's out right now in stores. I'll get it and read it and then you'll get. You'll see. You'll see what you know, you'll see what I'm talking about.

[A]

Life is not a fairy tale. And Fantasia, I think if we have a conversation with you in another 10 years, I have a feeling you're gonna be the exact same person you are today.

[B]

Yeah, just chilling, huh? Yeah, just chilling.

[A]

All right, Fantasia.

[B]

Bye.

[A]

Good talking to you. Bye. Now the bird show.