American Idol's Mandisa Releases Debut Album

American Idol fans are probably interested to know where their favorite past contestants are and what they are doing with their careers. Indeed, over the past several seasons, some of the most talented singers in the competition have been eliminated several episodes before the finale. A press release announces today that Mandisa, an American Idol Season 5 alum, will have her first album released Tuesday. The album is titled "True Beauty" and will be released nationwide.

Mandisa gained quite a following throughout her time on American Idol. You probably remember Simon Cowell giving her a hard time early in the season for her appearance. But, Mandisa won fans over with her powerful singing voice and charming personality. Experts also agreed that Mandisa could definitely sing. Daily Variety associate editor Phil Gallo told USA Today after watching Mandisa's performances on, "Mandisa is powerful and has tremendous breath and pitch control, and there's no reason that woman should be working as anything other than a singer."

With the release of her first album, her singing career is off to the races. Mandisa performed her hit number one single "Only the World" last Friday on Live with Regis & Kelly. Viewers of Regis & Kelly were actually able to download Mandisa's title track, "True Beauty", for free four days before the album released.

The press release announces that the album contains a diverse range of songs. The album is said to feature funky rhythms, gospel-tinged melodies, and pop ballads. Five sets of prestigious producers worked with Mandisa on the album. Among them were Shaun Shankel, Brown Bannister, Christopher Stevens, Drew Ramsey and Shannon Sanders, and Double Dutch. These powerhouse producers have worked with such famous artists as Beyonce, Amy Grant, India Arie, Matt Kearney, and others.

Mandisa talked about her title track and explained what it meant to her, "Visions of perfection/Such a misconception/'Cause the real connection is deeper than the eye can see. It's all about the fact that our view of beauty should not be built around our outside. An unfading beauty comes from a gentle and quiet spirit." Mandisa went on to explain, "I really believe that someone can have an inward beauty that shines so much that it makes them even more beautiful on the outside. We chose this as the album's title because this is such an important message to me."

Mandisa truly has a beautiful voice and seems like a beautiful person as well. She spoke of her motivations for singing by saying, "More than just a career, I really want to have a ministry that has an impact on people. I just want to follow through with what is in my heart. I never want to look back and wonder, 'What would have happened if ...."

With her album released today, Mandisa has taken a big step in the direction of her dreams.

Sources:

PR Newswire Press Release, http://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/main.jsp?resourceid=3526212