Singer Fantasia Barrino and swimmer Michael Phelps are celebrating their birthdays today.
Fantasia Barrino, 30
image courtesy of Jennifer Graylock/INFphoto.com
R&B singer and actress Fantasia Barrino turns 30 today. Barrino was the winner of the third season of the reality television series American Idol in 2004. After the competition, she released her debut single, "I Believe," which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the same year, she released her debut album, Free Yourself, which went on to be certified Platinum and earned Barrino three Grammy nominations in 2006. That same year, she released her second album, Fantasia, which featured the single "When I See U" which topped the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for eight weeks. The album was certified Gold and received three Grammy nominations in 2008.
Barrino played the part of Celie in the Broadway musical The Color Purple, for which she won a 2007 Theatre World Award. Her third studio album, Back to Me, was released in 2010 and features the single "Bittersweet," which peaked in the top ten on the R&B chart. The single won her a Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.
Barrino released her fourth studio album, Side Effects of You, in 2013, which featured guest appearances from Big K.R.I.T., Kelly Rowland and Missy Elliott. The album received favorable reviews, and debuted at No 2. on the Billboard 200 chart.
Michael Phelps, 29
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American swimmer Michael Phelphs turns 29 today. Phelps is known as the most decorated Olympian of all time, with a total of 22 medals. He also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold medals (18), Olympic gold medals in individual events (11), and Olympic medals in individual events for a male (13). After winning eight gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Phelps took the record for the most first-place finishes at any single Olympic Games. In the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Phelps won four golds and two silver medals, making him the most successful athlete of the Games for the third Olympics in a row.
Phelps has won a total of 71 medals in major international long-course competitions, totaling 57 gold, 11 silver, and 3 bronze spanning the Olympics, the World, and the Pan Pacific Championships. After the 2008 Summer Olympics, Phelps started the Michael Phelps Foundation, which focuses on growing the sport of swimming and promoting healthier lifestyles.
Phelps has said he won't be attending any more Olympic events, but in April 2014, Phelps announced he would come out of retirement.