‘American Idol’ alum, gospel singer Mandisa dead at 47, police investigating
Mandisa, a gospel singer who kicked off her singing career as a contestant on “American Idol,” died. She was 47.
Mandisa’s father, John Hundley, confirmed her death to Fox News Digital, saying it was a shock. It’s unclear what caused the singer’s death.
Authorities are “conducting an active death investigation stemming from a body that was discovered Thursday evening at a residence,” Franklin Police Department Public Information manager Max Wintz told Fox News Digital.
Mandisa competed on season 5 of “American Idol,” which aired in 2006. She made it to the top nine in the music competition show. A year later, she released her first full-length album, “True Beauty.”
During her time on “American Idol,” she became known not only for her powerhouse vocals, but also for an inspiring speech she gave to judge Simon Cowell. After her audition, Cowell made comments about her weight, and later in the process she confronted him about his comments in a conversation with him and his fellow judges Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson.
“Simon, a lot of people want me to say a lot of things to you,” she began. “But this is what I want to say to you is that, yes, you hurt me, and I cried and it was painful. It really was. But I want you to know that I’ve forgiven you and that you don’t need someone to apologize in order to forgive somebody. I figure that if Jesus could die so that all of my mistakes could be forgiven, I can certainly extend that same grace to you.”
Cowell immediately gave her a hug, telling her that he felt “humbled,” then noted he felt “one millimeter small.”
His comments helped inspire the name of her first album. In 2013, she told The Hollywood Reporter, “Coming straight off ‘American Idol,’ and having Simon Cowell talk to me about the way I look, I recorded ‘True Beauty,’ [asking questions like] ‘Where am I going to put my value?’, ‘Am I going to determine my worth by people like Simon or am I going to put my trust into what God says about me?'”
The gospel album went on to do well on music charts, landing at no. 43 on the Billboard 200 after its release. It also earned her a Grammy nomination for best pop/contemporary gospel album.
Mandisa was nominated for the same award in 2010 for her album “Freedom,” and for best contemporary Christian music album for 2012’s “What If We Were Real.” She won the award in 2014 for her album “Overcomer.”
She notably was absent from the awards ceremony, explaining on her website the next day that she’d skipped the show because of her busy schedule, she was reluctant at having her appearance critiqued and because “I have been struggling with being in the world, not of it lately. I have fallen prey to the alluring pull of flesh, pride, and selfish desires quite a bit recently.”
That same year, she experienced an intense personal loss when a close friend died after battling cancer. In a 2017 interview on “Good Morning America,” she revealed her friend’s death left her questioning her faith and struggling with her mental health.
“It got pretty bad — to the point where if I hadn’t gotten off that road I wouldn’t be sitting here today,” she admitted. “God is what I say. He saved my life quite literally.”
