She’s living proof that you don’t have to win “American Idol” to be a winner. After traveling with Beth Moore’s praise team for 4 years, Mandisa leapt to national recognition in the final rounds of “American Idol’s” fifth season. But fame didn’t come without a price. Looking back on her sometimes-stormy experience, she muses, “My faith certainly went through some tests of fire, but it’s stronger because of that.” Mandisa has not been idle since her Idol days: her debut CD collected Grammy and Dove Award nominations, she joined music legend Gladys Knight on stage at Harlem’s historic Apollo Theater for a benefit, and signed on as a spokesmodel for Ashley Stewart Stores. All of which just goes to show, as Mandisa says, “The journey is difficult but the final destination is worth it.”
She’s living proof that you don’t have to win “American Idol” to be a winner. After traveling with Beth Moore’s praise team for 4 years, Mandisa leapt to national recognition in the final rounds of “American Idol’s” fifth season. But fame didn’t come without a price. Looking back on her sometimes-stormy experience, she muses, “My faith certainly went through some tests of fire, but it’s stronger because of that.” Mandisa has not been idle since her Idol days: her debut CD collected Grammy and Dove Award nominations, she joined music legend Gladys Knight on stage at Harlem’s historic Apollo Theater for a benefit, and signed on as a spokesmodel for Ashley Stewart Stores. All of which just goes to show, as Mandisa says, “The journey is difficult but the final destination is worth it.”
