TVSquad

Does Gary Coleman have a reality show yet? At this point, it seems that everyone and their brother is getting a reality show. You knew the end was nigh when Kim Kardashian's entire family got a reality show. That's a family getting a show based on a big ass. And I mean that in more ways than one. Keshia Knight Pulliam, who's famous for being a cute little girl on The Cosby Show twenty years ago is getting her chance to shine. Now 30, Pulliam is set to "star" in a reality show for Oxygen about her fun, young life with her live-in boyfriend. Yawn, man I think I fell asleep typing that.

But that's not all! Fantasia Barrino is getting her own reality show on VH1 and it doesn't have anything to do with skanks or dating! Fantasia won American Idol way back in Season 3, had her own Lifetime movie and a successful book and musical accolades to spare. But she's been more out of the public limelight in recent years while she performed on Broadway in The Color Purple. But still, I think Taylor Hicks needs a reality show more than Fantasia.

Welcome to the final installment of "AI Aftermath," where we explore Idol's past. Each installment, as one more American Idol hopeful is eliminated from the competition, we take a look back at contestants past who were eliminated at the same point. We'll examine how they did on the show and what they've been up to since their eliminations. In honor of David Cook's crowning as your American Idol, we will look back at other winners.

This week: The Winners, featuring Kelly Clarkson (Season One), Ruben Studdard (Season Two), Fantasia Barrino (Season Three), Carrie Underwood (Season Four), Taylor Hicks (Season Five) and Jordin Sparks (Season Six).

(S06E13) "The votes are in," Ryan says to start off the show, and this, my friends, is what we've all been waiting for, isn't it? It's finally OUR turn. Tonight we send four people packing, crushing their hopes and dreams in front of a live audience and millions more watching from home. This is true, live, exciting entertainment. And soon we'll know who's in, who's out, and if our favorites are safe...or not.

But first, the judges sum-up their thoughts about the competition, so far. Randy says he thinks this year it's gonna be a "girl's race," but Simon still thinks two or three guys show potential. Paula says the boys have only one way to go, and points up towards the heavens. Unfortunately, she's wrong. Some people can definitely spiral lower and lower (Sundance, Sanjaya, and Antonella, I'm pointing at you) and we'll all be here to watch.

Fox has confirmed that Season Three Idol winner, Fantasia Barrino, will perform live on Thursday's first results show and will also make a "special announcement." This show airs on February 22 (8-9 PM ET).

Idol and Fox sure do love to tease us with "special" or "surprise" announcements, don't they? Will Fantasia provide us with a hint about this year's promised "unexpected twist?" Probably not.

Howard Cohen of MiamiHerald.com seems to think so. In today's post he points out that several AI finalists didn't take top prize, but the show still helped catapult them to success. Jennifer Hudson's Golden Globe win last night certainly puts her on the top of the list for "Most Successful Ex-American Idol Losers," well, at least for the time being.

We reported last week that the Lifetime biopic on American Idol contestant Fantasia Barrino shows that the producers of the hit reality show actually pushed Barrino to quit the show after news of the baby she had as a teen and her educational background came out. Now a producer of the show calls the allegation "absolutely and totally untrue."

Ken Warwick tells the NY Post that they knew all about Fantasia's background from the very first day she was on the show, and they never asked her to quit. He calls it a "complete fabrication."

It's interesting because not only is this scene in the movie, it's the opening scene, and serves as a jumping off point for the rest of the movie and is shown again at the end, to frame the pic. It's also interesting because the movie uses actual footage from the show, including her audition, her performances, and the reactions of Simon, Paula, and Randy. So Idol must have OK'd the film.

Hmmm...

So did a lot of people. Ba-DAH-boom! Thank you very much, I'm here all week! Try the veal!

Seriously though, American Idol producers tried to force Fantasia Barrino to quit the show, and this was after she made it to the finals. Seems that Idol was concerned that revelations that Barrino had a child in her early teens and the fact that she was a high school dropout that had literacy problems. But Fantasia wouldn't quit, and the rest is history.

I'm surprised a show like American Idol would want to force out someone who was a high school drop out, because it sounds like the perfect "rags to riches, come back against all odds" type of story they'd eat up. The other part, having a child as an unwed mother, I guess is more understandable (Idol seems to have a problem with "morals" and has kicked off several contestants), though I don't think that should disqualify anyone either. Besides, didn't they know about all this stuff before she made it to the finals?

American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino will star in a Lifetime Original Movie about her own life, called Life is Not a Fairy Tale: The Fantasia Barrino Story. The press release describes her story as "inspired by the true story of Fantasia Barrino, a teenage mother who overcame poverty, sexual abuse and illiteracy by using her incredible voice to rise to national prominence." Fantasia will play herself. Loretta Devine (Crash), Viola Davis (Traffic) and Kadeem Hardison (A Different World) will also star. Debbie Allen will direct.

Filming begins later this month in New Orleans.