'American Idol' Star and Grammy Winner Mandisa Found Dead at Home at 47
Former "American Idol" star Mandisa was found dead at her home in Tennessee this week.
Former American Idol star Mandisa was found dead at her home in Tennessee this week, RadarOnline.com can confirm. She was 47.
Mandisa’s father confirmed the American Idol alum and Grammy winner’s death in a statement to TMZ on Friday morning.
The artist was open about her struggle with depression.
According to the late Gospel singer’s father, Mandisa - whose full name was Mandisa Hundley - was found dead on Thursday insider her home in Franklin. Her cause of death is not currently known.
David Pierce, who serves as the chief media officer at the popular Christian radio station K-Love, confirmed Mandisa’s devastating death further in a statement released on Friday morning.
"Her kindness was epic, her smile electric, her voice massive, but it was no match for the size of her heart,” Pierce said. “Mandisa struggled, and she was vulnerable enough to share that with us, which helped us talk about our own struggles."
"Mandisa’s struggles are over,” he continued. “She is with the God she sang about now. While we are saddened, Mandisa is home. We’re praying for Mandisa’s family and friends and ask you to join us."
An autopsy has been completed and the cause of death is pending, according to the local medical examiner's office.
As RadarOnline.com previously noted, Mandisa was perhaps best known for landing in the Top 10 when she appeared on Season 5 of American Idol back in 2006. She placed ninth.
Mandisa cited both Whitney Houston and Def Leppard as some of her main musical influences during her time on American Idol.
She also reportedly studied vocal jazz at American River College in Sacramento, California and later went on to study music at Fisk University in Nashville.
The Gospel singer’s debut album, True Beauty, was released in 2007. Her fifth album, Overcomer, was released in 2013 and won a Grammy for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album one year later in 2014.
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Christian singer Mandisa's father does not believe self-harm was involved in her death, and said at her funeral service that she was "weak" from Covid-19.
Mandisa’s final album was titled Out of the Dark. It was released in 2017.
The California-native made headlines during her appearance on American Idol nearly 20 years ago following an awkward and tense interaction with judge Simon Cowell.
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Cowell made several distasteful comments about Mandisa’s weight at the time, and he later apologized after the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance and Mandisa confronted him about the cruel remarks.
"What I want to say to you is that, yes, you hurt me and I cried and it was painful, it really was,” she told Cowell shortly before she was named an American Idol semi-finalist. “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.”
Simon Cowell was forced to apologize after he weight-shamed Mandisa during an "American Idol" performance.
“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,” she added.
R.I.P. Mandisa.
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