Former "American Idol" winner Fantasia Barrino, recently welcomed her second child.The 27-year-old R&B singer, who in 2004 became the only single mother to win the FOX singing contest series, gave birth to a baby boy named Dallas Xavier on Tuesday, December 13, at a hospital in her native North Carolina, People magazine reported.
"I feel so blessed that my son Dallas Xavier was born healthy and is a wonderful new addition to our family," she told the magazine. "I thank all my fans for their well wishes and continued support."
Barrino also has a 10-year-old daughter, Zion. She announced her second pregnancy during a charity concert in Florida in July and revealed on "The Wendy Williams Show" in October that the child was a boy.
Barrino has not revealed the name of her new baby's father. She was last linked to a man named Antwaun Cook. His ex-wife, Paula Cook, claimed in court last year that Barrino had had an affair with her husband in August 2009 and that it had spurred the couple's divorce. Barrino acknowledged the relationship but said that the man had told her he was separated at the time.
When asked if she was still with Cook, Barrino told Williams: "I'm not going to talk about that."
Barrino has in the past said that the scandal helped spur her to attempt suicide in August 2010. She was rushed to the hospital after overdosing on sleep medication and aspirin.
"I think I was just overloaded with everything, with carrying six years of so much," Barrino said on ABC program "Good Morning America" at the time. "I always take a licking and keep on ticking. It just became heavy for me to the point that I just wanted to be away from the noise. The first little piece of drama that they can find, it blew up so much and I just began to get tired of taking so many licks."
Barrino was a 19-year-old impoverished single mother when she auditioned for the third season of "American Idol," which aired in 2004. Her daughter, Zion, was 2 at the time.
Barrino, a North Carolina native, always wanted to become a singer and sang in her church's choir as a child. She dropped out of school when she was in the ninth grade and revealed in her 2005 memoir, "Life Is Not A Fairy Tale," that she still could not read well as an adult.
She wowed judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson on "American Idol" consistently with her performances. But Barrino was criticized by viewers who felt her upbringing, education and status as a single mother made her a bad role model.
Since appearing on "American Idol," Fantasia has released three albums and won a Grammy in February for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for her single, "Bittersweet," although she opted not to attend the Grammy Awards ceremony. She performed at the 2011 Essence Music Festival in New Orleans.
Barrino also began an acting career after her "American Idol" victory. She appeared in the musical "The Color Purple" on Broadway and played herself in a 2006 Lifetime television movie that is based on her memoir. In 2010, she appeared in a VH1 reality show, "Fantasia For Real."
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