GOSSIP & ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

Fantasia opens up about how her personal life helped to prepare her for playing Celie in The Color Purple because she “lost everything twice” after winning American Idol.

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The powerhouse singer earned critical acclaim and awards for her portrayal of Celie since her Broadway debut in the musical in 2007. The role hit close to home after people took advantage of her as a naive new star. “Celie and I have a lot in common,” Fantasia told PEOPLE in a recent interview.

Fantasia was only 19 when she won American Idol in 2004 and “very, very green” about the entertainment business.

Fantasia describes herself as “just a little girl from High Point, North Carolina that liked to sing. She didn’t know nothing about the industry. She didn’t know anything about, ‘Maybe you should look this way, dress this way, talk this way, smile for the cameras a certain way.’”

“While I was singing for everybody else, I was actually singing my way through and to some things.”

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In addition to her team stealing her money, Fantasia’s father sued her for how she portrayed him in her memoir Life Is Not a Fairy Tale. “It wasn’t easy. I lost a lot. I lost everything,” she said.

“You have to become a businesswoman and you link up with great business partners, but it doesn’t have a lot to do with love. It took me a long time to figure that out,” she revealed.

“I didn’t know anything about contracts. I didn’t know anything about checking your money and making sure every day your stuff was where it was supposed to be. I just trusted and believed everybody that came into my life.”

See why Fantasia says she is like Celie and “grateful” for hitting rock bottom before her triumphant comeback after the flip!