Fantasia Talks Life, Love & Reflects On Her Future With News 2's Tracey McCain

The High Point native told our Tracey McCain in an one on one interview, despite her hectic life on the road, she still considers herself a hometown girl. Barrino often visits her grandmother, nieces and nephews, who all still live in High Point. One thing she can't resist: "Grandma's cooking! You don't get food like that on the road," said Barrino.

Next to getting a week's worth of home cooked meals, Barrino is also excited about performing in front of a hometown crowd. Barrino plays Celie in 'Oprah Winfrey Presents the Color Purple.'

Barrino says she did a lot of soul searching to bring her character to life and as it turns out, playing Celie helped heal some of the stars old wounds in the process.

"Somebody just needs to hear some encouraging words," said Barrino. "They need to know they can keep on keeping on. And that's what this play does."

Barrino made those comments about the musical and her character Celie, almost as if she was talking about herself.

"I had my child at a young age, at 17. I dropped out of school in the 9th grade, dealt with low self esteem, and feeling like I wasn't good enough. I guess that's why I had to play this part. I don't think it was something I wanted to do, it was something I had to do," said the season three 'American Idol' winner.

In the musical, 'Oprah Winfrey Presents The Color Purple, Fantasia's character Celie conquers her childhood tragedies and turns them into blessings. It's the same page Fantasia herself turned as a single mom.

"I saw the play and I said, if that woman I just seen on stage can go through all of that, and still in the end come out with a smile on her face, then I can make it through another day."

A health scare almost kept Fantasia from reviving the role in this year's performance.

"Singing is all I know and I ended up with two tumors in my vocal chords. It scared me but it was a trying time for me then," she said.

The trials didn't end, but the personal set backs only challenged her more. It seemed the play came at the right time.

Now the 25 year old has her eyes set on her future.

"I would of course love to get married and have more kids. But right now the sky is the limit. Whatever God has for me I'm up for the challenge," said Barrino. She then quickly added she never forgets where she comes from.

"My friends still talk junk to me. Girl you know you should have called me last week," she joked. "Everybody still treats me like Tasia because nothings changed about me. I still laugh and talk and kick my shoes off. And I like that about me."

She's got a few new projects coming up. Fantasia's fans can look forward to her third album and a VH1 documentary on her life.

Even more important, Fantasia is earning her GED. It's something she promised her mom she'd earn when she dropped out of school more than 10 years ago.

Fantasia Barrino is performing in all upcoming shows. The next one is tonight at 7:30pm. The last performance is Sunday at 7:00pm.