Mandisa accepts the award for Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year at the 2014 Dove Awards in Nashville, Tennessee.
Mark Humphrey/AP
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Mark Humphrey/AP
Mandisa accepts the award for Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year at the 2014 Dove Awards in Nashville, Tennessee.
Mark Humphrey/AP
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Mandisa, a contemporary Christian singer who appeared on “American Idol” and won a Grammy for her 2013 album “Overcomer,” has died. She was 47 years old.
A representative for the singer told the Associated Press that the singer was found dead Thursday at her home in Nashville, Tennessee. The representative said Mandisa’s cause of death was not yet known.
Mandisa, whose full name was Mandisa Lynn Hundley, was born near Sacramento, California, and grew up singing in church. She rose to fame after finishing ninth on “American Idol” in 2006.
As she left, host Ryan Seacrest told the singer she was “a great spirit on the show.”
Mandisa went on to release her debut album in 2007 titled “True Beauty”, which received a Grammy nomination that year for Best Contemporary Pop and Gospel Album.
She went on to release five more albums, including a Christmas album.
In 2014, she won the Grammy for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album for “Overcomer,” her fifth album.
Mandisa has spoken openly about her struggles with depression, releasing a memoir titled “Out of the Dark: My Journey Through the Shadows to Find God’s Joy” in 2022 which detailed her experiences with severe depression, weight-related challenges, the pandemic of coronavirus and his faith. .
Christian radio station K-Love paid tribute to the singer on social media on Friday, saying, “Mandisa had struggles and she was vulnerable enough to share that with us, which helped us talk about our own struggles. “
