Big doin's on American Idol this week and this time we're not talking about the first viewer voting shows of season six. Yesterday, FOX released several statements in conjunction with the show.

Tuesday night host Ryan Seacrest mentioned that there would be a surprise guest on Thursday night's (voting) results show. FOX said yesterday that the special guest tonight will be season three Idol champion, Fantasia Barrino, who will perform and make a "special announcement." 

Since winning the title in 2004, Fantasia has been anything but idle (yes, I've been waiting five full seasons to use that homonym). Her debut release  "I Believe" was the first single to hit Billboard's Hot 100 chart in the Number One position.  Later that same year, her debut album Free Yourself sold over one million records, earning her a platinum sales award.  Her music has received over twenty nominations from the Grammy Awards, American Music Awards, Vibe Awards, Soul Train Awards and Soul Train “Lady of Soul” Awards, Billboard Music Awards and R&B and Hip-Hop Awards, BET Awards, NAACP Image Awards, and Teen Choice Awards.

In 2005 she had a New York Times best-seller with her autobiography Life is Not a Fairy Tale.  The Lifetime cable channel made the memoir into an original movie in the summer of 2006.  It became the second-most watched film in Lifetime's 22-year history, as well as the highest rated cable movie premiere for 2006.  There's an encore presentation scheduled for Friday night, February 28th, at 9 P.M. EST, again on Lifetime.

This past December, Fantasia's second album was released.  The self-titled record gave her the chance to work with several noted musical guests: Missy Elliot, Big Boi, OutKast, Dre & Vidal, Swizz Beatz, and songwriter Diane Warren all added bits to the final mix.

Besides her own recordings, Ms. Barrino is slated to appear on Aretha Franklin's next album, due out later this year. More?  A further connection with the Queen of Soul will be her appearance on the United Negro College Fund's An Evening of Stars: Tribute to Aretha Franklin television special. "Baby, I Love You" and "Rock Steady" are the Aretha songs Fantasia is scheduled to sing on the program.