Dream a Reality on ‘Idol’

Fantasia Barrino’s fantasy of pop stardom became a reality Wednesday night when she was named the winner of “American Idol.”

Barrino grabbed runner-up Diana DeGarmo in a bearhug and twisted her around as tears streamed down her face.

“Thank you much,” she sobbed. “I broke my shoe!”

She added: “I’ve been through some things, but I worked hard to get to where I’m at.”

Barrino, a 19-year-old single mother from High Point, N.C., with a powerful, gospel-tinged voice, topped DeGarmo, a 16-year-old from Snellville, Ga.

DeGarmo said: “I’m so proud to have come here with Fantasia. She’s my girl, and you guys will treat her well.”

The judges of the Fox TV singing contest had pretty much crowned Barrino the winner the previous night, when she dazzled them with a powerful version of George Gershwin’s “Summertime” and two other songs.

But viewers pick the winner, through phone and text-messages. Host Ryan Seacrest said 65 million phone votes were cast, up from 24 million last season.

Barrino will get a recording contract.