American Idol Season 3 champ Fantasia Barrino will return to reality television in a new unscripted series on VH1 that will premiere in early 2010.

The project will chronicle the nine-time Grammy Award nominated singer’s life as a recording artist and single mother.

“Fantasia’s life has been an open book, but at 24 years old, her story has just begun,” executive producer Randy Barbato says. “We look forward to smashing expectations and revealing the fresh, funny and unexpected side of this one-of-a-kind country girl and superstar.”

The nine-time Grammy nominee, who has also been on Broadway and played herself in the Lifetime movie version of her autobiography Life Is Not a Fairy Tale, will chronicle her life as a recording artist and young single mother on the series.

“Fantasia has one of the most fascinating stories in show business, from her tough upbringing to her meteoric rise on the national scene thanks to American Idol,’” Jeff Olde, executive vp original programming at VH1, said in a statement Thursday.

“Her challenges from fame and her unwillingness to fail have combined to create a larger-than-life talent who appeals to music lovers around the world. So many people wanted to work with her on this, but Fantasia is now part of the VH1 family, and we’re so happy to have her.”

The 24-year-old North Carolina native will reprise her role as “Celie” in The Color Purple: The Musical playing at the Kennedy Center in Washington this summer. Her autobiography, Life Is Not a Fairy Tale, led to a Lifetime movie in which she played herself.