LOS ANGELES, May 27 (UPI) -- Single mom Fantasia Barrino won the third season of Fox TV's "American Idol," following in the footsteps of Kelly Clarkson and Ruben Studdard.
Barrino won a majority of the record 65 million votes cast to win the "American Idol" title on Wednesday's show.
Voting for Wednesday's finale was up 24 percent from the second season's final show, the New York Daily News said.
Barrino won a $1 million recording contract and a new car.
Barrino, a High Point, N.C. native, joins other "Idol" veterans with the impending release of a CD, a new single on the airwaves and a featured spot on this summer's "American Idol" tour.
The new star, who first auditioned in Atlanta, beat out more than 70,000 hopefuls who turned out for "Idol" tryouts throughout the United States.
