Grammy-Winning Christian Artist, Mandisa, Passes At 47
Grammy, Dove Award and K-LOVE Fan Award winner Mandisa was found deceased in her Franklin, Tennessee home on April 18. She was 47.
Born Mandisa Lynn Hundley in California, she attended Fisk University in Tennessee to study music, and was a member of the renowned Fisk Jubilee Singers. She rose to fame appearing on season five of American Idol in 2006, and released her first album, True Beauty, a year after her time on the show. The project debuted at the top of the Top Christian Albums chart, and was nominated for a Grammy—her first of five career nominations.
View this post on Instagram
In 2014, she won the Grammy for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album for her album Overcomer, which included the chart-topping title track as well as the top 10 singles “Stronger” and “Waiting for Tomorrow.” In 2017, after a hiatus from music, Mandisa released her fifth and final album, Out of the Dark. In 2022 released a memoir, Out of the Dark: My Journey Through the Shadows to Find God’s Joy, in which she detailed past trauma and overcoming some mental health struggles during a difficult season of life.
Along with her Grammys, Mandisa also won numerous Dove Awards in contemporary Christian categories and the K-LOVE Fan Award twice. With more than 1.6 million records sold, over 820 million global career streams, one Platinum and two Gold certified singles, Mandisa made a huge impact on Christian music.
Her cause of death has not yet been made public, and her services have not been announced.