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Mandisa
Mandisa atTheAmerican Idol Experience in 2009
Background information
Birth name	Mandisa Lynn Hundley
Born	(1976-10-02)October 2, 1976 Citrus Heights, California, U.S.
Died	April 18, 2024(2024-04-18) (aged 47) Franklin, Tennessee, U.S.[1]
Genres	CCM gospel R&B
Years active	2004–2024
Labels	EMI Sparrow
Website	mandisaofficial.com

Mandisa Lynn Hundley (/mænˈdiːsə/) (October 2, 1976 – April 18, 2024), knownmononymously asMandisa, was an Americangospel andcontemporary Christian recording artist. She began her solo career as a contestant in thefifth season ofAmerican Idol finishing in ninth place. Her albumOvercomer won aGrammy forBest Contemporary Christian Music Album; she was the fifthAmerican Idol contestant to win a Grammy.^[2]

Mandisa Hundley was born on October 2, 1976, inCitrus Heights, California, where she was also raised.^[3][4][5] The Hundley family lived in Citrus Heights during Mandisa's growing up years and she attended school there, graduating fromEl Camino Fundamental High School in 1996. Following high school, she attendedAmerican River College inSacramento, where she studied vocal jazz.^[5] She then transferred to study at Tennessee'sFisk University for vocal performance, and was a member of the school's "Jubilee Singers". Mandisa graduated from Fisk in 2000 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in music.^[5][6]

Before her solo career, Mandisa worked for a short time as a recording session backup singer for artists such asSandi Patty,Shania Twain, andTrisha Yearwood.^[7]

In 2005, Mandisa auditioned inChicago for the United States talent competition television showAmerican Idol. After referring to herself as "just Mandisa", she was billed on the show as "Mandisa". When she provided background information to the show's producers, she said that her musical influences were diverse, fromWhitney Houston toDef Leppard.^[8]

Idol judgeSimon Cowell made several comments about Mandisa's weight after her successful audition. He quipped, "Do we have a bigger stage this year?"^[9][10] Then whenPaula Abdul commented that Mandisa had a "Frenchie" growl to her voice, Cowell responded that a more apt comparison would be toFrance itself.^[10] The comments and others drew the ire of theNational Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, (NAAFA) and was one of the reasons Mandisa entitled her 2007 album,True Beauty.

When Mandisa spoke to the judges just before the season's cut to 24 semi-finalists, she told Cowell: "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 wrongs could be forgiven, I can certainly extend that same grace to you."^[11] Cowell apologized to her immediately, saying that he was "humbled".^[11]

On the March 7, 2006,Idol show, she said in her pre-performance video that she sucked her thumb until she was 24 years old. She performed a rendition ofChaka Khan's "I'm Every Woman" which drew praise from all three judges. Mandisa was among the 12 contestants chosen on March 9, 2006, as a finalist inIdol's fifth season. She was eliminated fromAmerican Idol on April 5, 2006, in the top nine (she,Paris Bennett, andElliott Yamin were in the bottom three). None of them had previously been in the bottom three). She, like most of the eliminated contestants, appeared onThe Tonight Show with Jay Leno a day later.^[12]

On July 27, 2007, after being eliminated fromAmerican Idol—Mandisa performed the song "I Don't Hurt Anymore" on the TV talk showLive with Regis and Kelly. She joinedGladys Knight and others at theApollo Theater for the benefit concert "Back to Harlem," to raise money for various charities. Mandisa was featured alongsideKirk Franklin ontobyMac's song "Lose My Soul" from his albumPortable Sounds (2007).^[13]

Mandisa's first full-length albumTrue Beauty was released on July 31, 2007. The album debuted at No. 1 on theTop Christian Albums charts, making it the first time a new female artist has debuted at No. 1 in the chart's 27-year history.^[14] It also debuted at No. 43 on theBillboard 200, an unusually high debut on that chart for aChristian artist. It also garnered aBest Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album nomination.^[15] Showcasing Mandisa's stylistic range was the task set before the five sets of producers who lined up to work with her on the album:Shaun Shankel,Brown Bannister,Christopher Stevens,Drew Ramsey and Shannon Sanders (Drew and Shannon), Robert Marvin, and Josiah Bell. Mandisa personally spent time with the album's writers before the songwriting process began, sharing her vision for the project and what she hoped to communicate through the songs.

Her first single, "Only the World," was released on May 22, 2007. The song had a successful debut on theBillboardHot Singles Sales chart, which tracks commercial single sales, debuting at No. 2 and reached No. 1 the following week. It is also getting major airplay onChristian radio stations. It was written byMatthew West, Sam Mizell and Clint Lagerberg. (West also co-wrote two other songs on the album.) Her cover of "Shackles" features a horn section provided by LiveHorns.com with Tommy Vaughan on trumpet, Rodney Mills on trombone, and Shane Philen on sax. They also appear on Mandisa's performance of "The Right Thing" on theVeggieTales soundtrack forThe Pirates Who Don't Do Anything.

The second single "God Speaking" was released to Christian radio in October 2007. A third single, "Voice of a Savior," written by West, was serviced to Inspo radio in mid-2008, where it peaked in the Top 5 of Radio and Records' Soft AC/Inspo chart.

In November 2007, Mandisa released a holiday EP,Christmas Joy EP, which features the song "Christmas Makes Me Cry", a duet with frequent collaborator Matthew West. Earlier that year, Mandisa also recorded "Christmas Day," a duet withMichael W. Smith. The EP peaked at No. 2 onBillboard's Hot Christian AC chart, stopped from reaching No. 1 by her duet with Smith, "Christmas Day". It was the first time in the history of the Christian singles chart that a solo female artist was featured on the top two singles at the same time. On October 14, 2008, Mandisa released a full-length Christmas album,It's Christmas.

Freedom was released on March 24, 2009.^[16] There had also been reports that Mandisa would be releasing "We Are Family" which is a Bonus Track onNapster on April 14, 2009. The song was available for a short time on Amazon.com added toFreedom labeled as "Freedom + Bonus Track". It also debuted at No. 83 on theBillboard 200.

What If We Were Real, was released on April 11, 2011. In March 2011 she began a tour with comedianAnita Renfroe promoting the album. The first single off "What If We Were Real," a track titled "Stronger," peaked at No. 1 on theBillboard Christian Songs chart on June 18, 2011. The album has remained on theBillboardChristian Albums for 76 consecutive weeks as of September 2012. It debuted at No. 66 on theBillboard 200. The second single, "Waiting for Tomorrow," peaked at No. 3 on theBillboard Christian Songs chart the week of January 28, 2012. The third single, "Good Morning", features fellow Contemporary Christian musiciantobyMac, with whom Mandisa collaborated on "Lose My Soul".

Mandisa's fourth studio album,Overcomer, was released on August 27, 2013, and debuted at No. 29 on theBillboard 200 Albums Chart, her highest peak on that chart to date.^{[citation needed]} The title track "Overcomer" was released in late July, hitting the Billboard Christian Top 20 in its third week on the charts. It went to No. 1 on that chart by October 2013 when it also appeared on the mainstreamBubbling Under chart.^[17]

Mandisa won the Best Contemporary Christian Music Album forOvercomer at the56th Grammy Awards. The title song from the album also won Best Contemporary Christian Music Song for songwriters David Garcia,Ben Glover, andChristopher Stevens.^[18] She declined to attend the Grammy Awards, however, saying, "I have fallen prey to the alluring pull of flesh, pride, and selfish desires quite a bit recently. I knew that submerging myself into an environment that celebrates those things was risky for me at this time.”^[19][20] Her fifth and final album,Out of the Dark, was released on May 19, 2017.^[21][22] The lead single, "Unfinished", was then released on March 10, 2017. The song reached No. 8 on theBillboard Hot Christian Songs Chart. A compilation of her best songs,Overcomer: The Greatest Hits, was released in February 2020.^[23]

Mandisa lived inFranklin, Tennessee, a Nashville suburb. After her 2006 appearance onAmerican Idol, she worked toward improving her health with a focus onweight loss. In a 2006 interview withThe Advocate, she said she had anaddiction to food.^[24] The title of her second album,Freedom, was inspired by her experience of overcoming what she said was an addiction to food.^[25] As of March 2009, it was reported that she lost 75 pounds. By February 2011, she reached her goal of losing 100 pounds.^[25]

After the loss of a close friend tobreast cancer in 2014, Mandisa gained back much of the weight she had originally lost, as well as experiencingdepression,anxiety, andthoughts of suicide. The loss of her friend, accompanied by a personal sense of betrayal by God, led her to retreat from the public.

In May 2017, Mandisa returned to the public eye. Speaking openly about her struggle with depression, she appeared on podcasts and wrote a memoir,"Out of the Dark: My Journey Through the Shadows to Find God’s Joy". When she releasedOut of the Dark in 2017, it was the first album she had recorded in three years.^[26][27]

On April 18, 2024, Mandisa was found dead at her home inFranklin, Tennessee, at the age of 47.^[28][29][30] The Franklin Police Department announced the following day that they had opened an investigation into her cause of death.^[31] At her memorial service, Mandisa's father John Hundley stated she was found unresponsive on the left side of her bed and speculated she had been unable to call for help with her phone on the right side of the bed.^[32] On June 4, 2024, it was ruled she died due to complications ofclass III obesity, with the manner of death listed as natural.^[33] She reportedly weighed 488 pounds at the time of her death.^[34]

Several music artists and television celebrities including frequent collaboratorTobyMac and Matthew West paid tribute to Mandisa after the news of her death was released.^[35][36]American Idol paid tribute to her on the April 29 episode of the show, withColton Dixon,Danny Gokey, andMelinda Doolittle performing "Shackles (Praise You)".^[37]

Studio albums

• 2007:True Beauty
• 2008:It's Christmas
• 2009:Freedom
• 2011:What If We Were Real
• 2013:Overcomer
• 2017:Out of the Dark

• Official website
• Mandisa atIMDb
• Mandisa discography atDiscogs
• February 21, 2006Sacramento Bee article
• MTV Mandisa Interview
• STREETBRAND Magazine Interview
• April 19, 2024-FOX17 NEWS-Mandisa Dies At Her Nashville Home
• K-LOVE Honors the Life & Musical Legacy of Mandisa

• 1976 births
• 2024 deaths
• 21st-century American singers
• African-American Christians
• 20th-century African-American women singers
• 20th-century American women singers
• 20th-century American singers
• American gospel singers
• American Idol participants
• American performers of Christian music
• Fisk University alumni
• Grammy Award winners
• Singers from Nashville, Tennessee
• Musicians from Sacramento, California
• People from Citrus Heights, California
• Performers of contemporary Christian music
• Sparrow Records artists
• EMI Records artists
• 21st-century American women singers
• People from Antioch, Tennessee
• 21st-century African-American women singers

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