Fantasia is dedicating her performance at the 2019 BET Awards to her brother, Xavier Barrino.
ET’s Kevin Frazier spoke with the singer on the red carpet at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, where she offered an update on her brother, who was critically injured in a near-fatal motorcycle crash in 2017.
“My little brother, who got into an accident not too long ago, he’ll be walking soon,” Fantasia shared. “He had his last surgery, and I believe this is when he’ll get up and walk, so I’m dedicating my performance to him tonight.”
“I think [it’ll make me emotional],” she added. “And it’s going to make me sang. Not sing, but sang.”
Barrino was told by doctors following the crash that he may never walk again, but Fantasia revealed on social media in March 2018 that her brother was making progress, and was able to stand up by himself. At Sunday’s awards show, the American Idol alum will sing her new single, “Enough.” She told ET that it feels good to see the song’s success after going independent.
“It’s something I’ve been fighting for for a long time. No disrespect against any of the labels, but artists work very, very hard, and we should be able to control our stuff. We should own our stuff,” she explained. “I always talk to the legends in the game, and they would always tell me like, ‘Don’t kill yourself when you look up and you don’t have any money. You don’t have anything to show for it.’ So that’s what I’m doing. I’m taking what belongs to me.”
“Everything’s good,” Fantasia added of her life right now, sharing that she’s thrilled to feel the support of her community at the BET Awards. “It means a lot to see how people come together, and celebrate each other. People don’t do that a lot. People need more of that. … Here, everyone’s respecting the gift, everybody’s loving on each other. And that’s what everyone love about BET.”
