Fantasia Earns Her First Gospel #1 Hit with Dennis Reed and the Gap

Fantasia Barrino was the winner of the third season of American Idol. Her coronation song, "I Believe," debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. She had also sat at the pinnacle position of the Hot R&B chart with her single "When I See U."  Now, Fantasia Barrino can add another #1 to her resume. Barrino, Dennis Reed & The Gap's "Necessary" flies 10-1 on Billboard's Gospel Digital Songs chart (dated July 2), up by 546 percent to 3,000 downloads sold, according to Nielsen Music.

Reed, also a vocal coach, wrote "Necessary" and self-released it more than a decade ago on the act's album Water Walker (finally released digitally in 2014). While coaching background singers for Fantasia, she learned of the song, took Reed on her current tour, and has been performing it in concert with Reed at the piano. On June 13, she posted a Facebook Live video of their performance of the song in Houston, sparking its sales gain; concurrently, Water Walker enters Gospel Catalog Albums at No. 1.

"It's an incredible story," Reed tells Billboard. "I have been selling copies out of the trunk of my car for years." He is hoping that the song's sudden success will help him secure a recording contract. He also plans to re-record it with Fantasia. "Necessary" is a "song for the hopeless," Reed adds. "I think it's for everyone that's made mistakes."

In November, Barrino announced that she had started work on her next album. She posted a short clip of her and R. Kelly in the studio on her official Instagram account. "No Time for It," the first single from the album, was released on January 7, 2016. Barrino is working with music executive and producer Ron Fair. The Definition Of... will be released in United States on July 29, 2016. 

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