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Saturday, Mar. 01, 2008

Simon gets no say

'Idol' contestant has the last lyric, singing what comes naturally

Ardent observers of American Idol and similar shows often say it is better to make it onto the show, be seen by the masses, and bow out early.

The idea is you get the Idol exposure, but then you're free to go get your own record deal and chart your own path, rather than being locked into the prize.

Mandisa, a competitor two years ago in the season that ended with Taylor Hicks as the winner, took her Idol cred straight to the contemporary Christian market.

"When I saw Randy Jackson on Larry King Live with Taylor Hicks and Katharine McPhee, his advice to them was to do the music that comes the most naturally," Mandisa says. "That's what comes natural to me, to sing about Jesus and all that he's done for me, and encourage his people."

It's a strategy that has worked out well for the singer, who comes to Lexington Thursday as part of Newsong's annual Winter Jam tour. Last year, she released her solo debut, True Beauty, on EMI's Sparrow Records, one of contemporary Christian music's biggest labels.

The album was nominated for the Grammy for best pop/contemporary gospel album (Israel and New Breed's A Deeper Level won) and Mandisa is up for female vocalist of the year and new artist of the year in the Gospel Music Association's Dove Awards.

To preview Winter Jam, we got on the phone to talk to Mandisa about her music and Idol's devilish judge Simon Cowell. Here are highlights of the chat:

Q: What do you think when you watch American Idol now?

A: I will say I am very impressed with what I've seen so far. ... But I have a different take on seeing people being ridiculed, because I was one that was ridiculed by Simon.

I used to think it was really funny. Now, I find myself praying for the people being humiliated, because I know what it feels like. It's not an easy thing, especially if you know you'll never see Simon again.

I was able to see Simon again, and get some closure on it. ... I feel like when Simon gets to the end of his life and sees the impact he has had on people's lives, I don't think it'll be worth it, even with all of the money and all of the fame.

Q: So you had closure with Simon?

A: Oh, yeah. They aired it. I told him I forgave him, because Jesus forgave all that I had done wrong, so I could certainly extend that grace to him. His response was incredible, but then, when they aired it for the whole world to see, that was far beyond anything I could have asked for. I was able to stand up to Simon in a way that people might not expect. I felt like I was able to do that for myself and all of the other people he humiliated.

Q: You always hear that on Idol it's better to not win, so you can go where you want to go instead of where the winner has to go. Do you think you've benefited from that?

A: I remember I was really upset when I was eliminated in ninth place, for a lot of reasons. But in hindsight, I am so thankful, because I think the expectations that are placed on the people that win are so high. We found out recently that Taylor, who won my season, was just dropped from his record label. And when I look at the fact that he sold 800,000 albums, that is not a failure by any means. But because he was a winner of American Idol and there were such high expectations placed on him, he is considered to be a failure.

I completely disagree. I love his album.

But the fact I came in ninth place, there was very little expectation placed on me.

And Chris Daughtry, who came in fourth place on my season, didn't have expectations as high. But the Grammy Awards just happened, and Chris and I were the only two people from my season that were nominated for Grammys.

Q: Tell us about True Beauty and what you like about it.

A: The fact that it has been received so well is overwhelming. You do music because it speaks to you and you hope it speaks to your audience.

My favorite song on the album is God Speaking, because he hears us and speaks to us. It's not an audible voice. I've never heard the audible voice of God, but he speaks to us in a lot of different ways. That message has really resonated with people and the whole notion of true beauty is huge in my life. That really resonates with women, that we don't need to be defined by society and what they say is beautiful. We're beautiful because God created us and paid careful attention in knitting us together.

Q: What's being on the Winter Jam tour been like?

A: It's a lot like being on the American Idol tour. We're playing these big arenas, and the music is just as diverse. I couldn't be any more different than Chris Daughtry. And now, on this tour, we have a band called Skillet, which is pretty hard rock. But the fact that we're just as diverse and selling out these arenas is great, and that we're singing about the Lord is the biggest difference.

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