While the rumormill is still buzzing about whether or not she is pregnant with boyfriend Antwuan Cook's baby, singer Fantasia hit the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans on Friday (July 1) without missing a beat.

Decked out in an empire-waist black sequin dress, the 25-year-old took to the stage without shoes, performing a one hour set but never making mention of her possible bun in the oven. During her show, the 'American Idol' winner stuck mostly to songs from her most recent album, 'Back to Me,' before treating the crowd to singles from both her debut and sophomore albums, as well as a few cover songs. "I don't know what it is about New Orleans, but I want to give ya'll a big ole kiss," she said before launching into the 1986 Prince hit, 'Kiss.'

The high energy performance also found the North Carolina native getting a little personal with the crowd, without making direct mention to the trials and tribulations that have plagued her over the last year. "Say what you want to say about me but you ain't been through what I been through," she said before launching into the single 'Angels.'

The night turned out to be an 'American Idol' reunion of sorts as Fantasia left the stage and fellow alum Jennifer Hudson performed her set. The svelte singer, who has also had her share of tragedy with the murder of her brother, mother and nephew, seemed upbeat as she performed mostly music from her latest effort, 'I Remember Me.'

Earlier, Boyz II Men kicked off the night's festivities, setting things in motion by performing a bevy of their singles including 'I'll Make Love To You,' 'Mama' and the colossal hit 'Bended Knee,' which upon its release in 1992 spent a record breaking 13 weeks atop the Billboard singles charts.

The Essence Musical Festival will be held through July 3. For more information, visit www.essence.com.



Watch Fantasia Perform 'Bittersweet' in the BoomBox Studios

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