Mandisa, a singer who rose to prominence in the fifth season of American Idol and went on to become a Grammy Award-winning Christian artist, died at her home in Nashville, Tenn. on April 18.
Idol released a statement of its own, calling Mandisa “an adored icon” both on the show and in the music industry.
If you’re a longtime American Idol viewer, you likely first encountered Mandisa’s soaring vocals in 2006.
Mandisa struggled, and she was vulnerable enough to share that with us, which helped us talk about our own struggles.