She says she wants to represent the "Fabulous And Thick" (FAT) sisters. The plus-size singer says the battle with weight loss has been the biggest struggle in her life but she is determined to be victorious.
Mandisa is very religious and the first person she'll thank if she wins will be Jesus because "he saved my life". She is a regular worship leader at Beth Moore's Living Proof Live conferences throughout the U.S.Here's a brief video of Mandisa on the American Idol TV show.
Mandisa recently showed her compassionate nature during the program. One of the judges, Simon Cowell, had earlier cracked a juvenile comment "Do we have a bigger stage this year?" just after she had walked off the stage, during an earlier portion of the show and before she became one of the 24 finalists.
Mandisa responded when she first had a chance to speak in front of the judges recently;
"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". and "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."
Update March 21st: Mandisa sang a powerful version of "I don't hurt anymore" tonight. Does anyone know where I can get a video clip?