Fantasia is gearing up for the release of her fourth album, Side Effects of You, which is scheduled to hit stores April 23. Pre-orders for the album began last week (iTunes and Amazon). With her album being less than a month away, you can expect to see the High Point native/Charlotte resident on plenty of media outlets promoting it. And I have a few words of advice for her: Put the focus on your music, not your personal life.
Fantasia has had lots of well-documented hardships, drama, and turmoil in her life, and she's always been rather honest and open about it. It was fine when she discussed those issues on her first two albums, because not only did she gain tremendous notoriety from winning American Idol in 2004, but her story and triumph over tragedy were among the things fans endeared most about her, in addition to her soul-stirring voice.
But now Tasia's a superstar, who's been in the public eye for nearly a decade. And too often now, when she's working on new projects, the media coverage and attention she receives is more about her personal life than her work. When she was about to release her last album, Back To Me, in August 2010, two weeks before the actual release date she was hospitalized for what was described as a suicide attempt via a medication overdose. That crisis overshadowed her album, and the two years that followed brought tabloid and gossip website reports about her alleged affair with a married man and the pregnancy that resulted from it.
Now that Fantasia's going full force into the spotlight this spring to promote her new album--and looking the best she's looked in years--journalists and bloggers are going to want to ask her the same questions over and over about her personal life. She should be experienced in handling media by now, and should address those questions a couple of times, get them out of the way, and for the next six months only talk about her music. And that advice is coming from me, a journalist who doesn't like it when interviewees dodge or deflect questions.
Fantasia talked about her personal life and recent turmoil in the April 2013 cover story of Sister 2 Sister magazine.
When she stopped in Greenville, South Carolina on Friday, she spoke to one of the local news stations. The interview she gave could've basically been the same as the ones she gave nearly three years ago as "she battled back" from turmoil. She needs to be telling her fans why they should buy her new album and what it sounds like; not what she's been through again and again. If she's really got her life together this time, it'll show in her work.
Media will give her all the camera time and print pages she wants if she's willing to dish the dirt on her personal life. But that's not going to help her sell albums. It didn't the last time.
If anything, she should do what many of her peers in the industry do these days: shun traditional media and instead use social media to get her message out. She does, after all, have more than 3 million fans on Facebook. And that message should be about her new music, which if her first single "Lose To Win" is any indication, she's got a good album on the way. I'm particularly interested in hearing track five from the 13-song album. It's titled "Without Me" and features Kelly Rowland and Missy Elliot.
Fantasia has had lots of well-documented hardships, drama, and turmoil in her life, and she's always been rather honest and open about it. It was fine when she discussed those issues on her first two albums, because not only did she gain tremendous notoriety from winning American Idol in 2004, but her story and triumph over tragedy were among the things fans endeared most about her, in addition to her soul-stirring voice.
But now Tasia's a superstar, who's been in the public eye for nearly a decade. And too often now, when she's working on new projects, the media coverage and attention she receives is more about her personal life than her work. When she was about to release her last album, Back To Me, in August 2010, two weeks before the actual release date she was hospitalized for what was described as a suicide attempt via a medication overdose. That crisis overshadowed her album, and the two years that followed brought tabloid and gossip website reports about her alleged affair with a married man and the pregnancy that resulted from it.
Fantasia worked with Charlotte trainer Sonya McRoberts to drop the baby weight.
Credit: instagram.com/TasiasWord
Credit: instagram.com/TasiasWord
Now that Fantasia's going full force into the spotlight this spring to promote her new album--and looking the best she's looked in years--journalists and bloggers are going to want to ask her the same questions over and over about her personal life. She should be experienced in handling media by now, and should address those questions a couple of times, get them out of the way, and for the next six months only talk about her music. And that advice is coming from me, a journalist who doesn't like it when interviewees dodge or deflect questions.
Fantasia talked about her personal life and recent turmoil in the April 2013 cover story of Sister 2 Sister magazine.
When she stopped in Greenville, South Carolina on Friday, she spoke to one of the local news stations. The interview she gave could've basically been the same as the ones she gave nearly three years ago as "she battled back" from turmoil. She needs to be telling her fans why they should buy her new album and what it sounds like; not what she's been through again and again. If she's really got her life together this time, it'll show in her work.
Media will give her all the camera time and print pages she wants if she's willing to dish the dirt on her personal life. But that's not going to help her sell albums. It didn't the last time.
If anything, she should do what many of her peers in the industry do these days: shun traditional media and instead use social media to get her message out. She does, after all, have more than 3 million fans on Facebook. And that message should be about her new music, which if her first single "Lose To Win" is any indication, she's got a good album on the way. I'm particularly interested in hearing track five from the 13-song album. It's titled "Without Me" and features Kelly Rowland and Missy Elliot.
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