TVSquad

Confession time: I was scared when the call came from on high to help cover American Idol this year. Yes, I've watched it from the beginning and got wrapped up with the whole Kelly/Justin thing like the rest of the country, and unlike the rest of the country, I actually saw From Justin to Kelly (thank you, $5 WalMart DVD bin). After the first few seasons, however, I started to lose interest.

I was right there when Ruben and Carrie won, but was in no way a member of "The Soul Patrol." I didn't really care which David took the crown, and I didn't exactly rush out to see Fantasia on Broadway. After seven seasons, all of the contestants started to look the same to me. Everyone ran together, and no one stood out. I know that Daughtry has gone on to have a decent career, but I couldn't for the life of me tell you which season he was on. It was all white noise.

That is, until Nick Mitchell came on the scene.

American Idol champ Fantasia Barrino is bringing out the big guns for her second album. The R&B vocalist's second outing will drop on December 12th, and this time she's bringing Missy Elliott, Outkast's Big Boi, Babyface and Swiss Beatz with her. The only big name producers she hasn't snagged are Timbaland, Kanye and The Neptunes, but give Miss Thing time.

Fantasia seems to be pulling a Mary J. Blige on her second release - beefing up the hip-hop element and telling fans, "I've let go of things from the past and I'm having a good time. Now I'm on a whole different level." No more drama for Ms. Barrino, and man, did she know from drama. The High Point, NC native is a single mother who struggled with literacy problems and had her rags to riches stories made into a Lifetime original movie directed by Debbie "Fame" Allen.