Christian ‘American Idol’ Alum Mandisa Tragically Passes Away At 47

Mandisa, the Christian rock singer whose Grammy-winning career was launched by her stunning performance on “American Idol,” has died at 47.

Christian radio station K-LOVE announced the artist’s passing, according to the New York Post, telling listeners the California native passed away at her home in Nashville, Tennessee on Thursday.

“Even more than her music, the Platinum-selling singer will forever be known for her huge heart and sincerity,” K-LOVE said in a statement to the Daily Mail.

“Mandisa loved Jesus, and she used her unusually extensive platform to talk about Him at every turn. Her kindness was epic, her smile electric, her voice massive, but it was no match for the size of her heart,” David Pierce, station manager, added as well.

“Mandisa struggled, and she was vulnerable enough to share that with us, which helped us talk about our own struggles.”

The performer, whose full name was Mandisa Hundley, became a household name in 2006 after making the cut for the top 5 performers in the fifth season of “American Idol.” She credited her musical vocation to inspirers such as Def Leppard and Whitney Houston, who turned 80 earlier this month.

She faced headwinds on “American Idol”, not only from fellow competitors but the judges as well. Simon Cowell, a staple of the show since its inception, made several on-air comments about her weight that wouldn’t fly in today’s world of body positivity and #MeToo movement.

After she auditioned, Cowell asked his fellow judges, “Do we have a bigger stage this year?”

“It was my worst fear come true,” Mandisa recalled in a later interview, “because it’s been the biggest struggle of my life and because it’s something I feel so vulnerable about. For him to have said that and for it to air on national television — I was devastated. After the show was over, just a bunch of my friends gathered around me and they began to pray for me. They began to pray for Simon. They asked the Lord to have mercy on him, and they began to ask the Lord to help me to forgive Simon. I realized in that moment that this was about so much more than me and my hurt feelings.”

Producers built up the episode with the plan to have Mandisa shout Cowell down for his remarks, but what she did next shocked them.

“I just thought, ‘Oh, trust me. I’ve got some words for him.’ It’s not what they expected, but I did it because it was what the Lord wanted me to do.”

“You hurt me,” she said to Cowell on that show. “It was painful. It really was. But I want you to know that I have forgiven you. You don’t need someone to apologize in order to forgive somebody. I figured that if Jesus could die so that all of my sins could be forgiven, I could certainly extend that same grace to you.”

The conflict ended with Cowell apologizing and giving her a hug.

The 47-year-old studied vocal jazz at American River College in Sacramento and music at Fisk University in Tennessee. Her debut album, “True Beauty,” was released in 2007, topping the Christian album charts and rising to number 43 on the Billboard Top 200 while breaking records for the debut of a Christian female artist. “True Beauty” received a Grammy nomination that year for Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album.

Her fifth studio album, “Overcomer,” was released in 2013 to widespread critical acclaim and earned her the Grammy for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album.