Fantasia Barrino Named ‘American Idol’

LOS ANGELES – Fantasia Barrino’s fantasy of pop stardom became a reality Wednesday night when she was named the winner of “American Idol.”

Barrino grabbed runner-up Diana DeGarmo in a bear hug and twisted her around as tears streamed down her face.

“Thank you much,” she sobbed. “I broke my shoe!”

Then she added: “I been through some things but I worked hard to get to where I’m at.”

Barrino, a 19-year-old single mother from High Point, N.C., with a powerful, gospel-tinged voice, topped DeGarmo, an effervescent 16-year-old from Snellville, Ga.

DeGarmo continued smiling through tears in defeat: “I’m so proud to have come here with Fantasia. She’s my girl and you guys will treat her well.”

The judges had pretty much crowned Barrino the winner the previous night, when she dazzled them with a powerful version of Gershwin’s “Summertime” and two other songs.

Host Ryan Seacrest said a record number of phone votes were cast – 65 million.