{"id":93928,"date":"2024-04-30T01:38:22","date_gmt":"2024-04-30T01:38:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/30\/american-idol-honors-season-5-alum-mandisa-after-her-death\/"},"modified":"2024-04-30T01:38:22","modified_gmt":"2024-04-30T01:38:22","slug":"american-idol-honors-season-5-alum-mandisa-after-her-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/30\/american-idol-honors-season-5-alum-mandisa-after-her-death\/","title":{"rendered":"American Idol Honors Season 5 Alum Mandisa After Her Death"},"content":{"rendered":"


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\n Mandisa.<\/span> Paras Griffin\/Getty Images for AFFIRM Films A Sony Company<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

American Idol<\/i><\/a> paid tribute to season 5 alum Mandisa<\/b> on Monday, April 29, following her death at the age of 47<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n

Former contestants Melinda Dolittle<\/strong>, Colton Dixon<\/strong> and Danny Gokey<\/strong> made a special appearance to sing \u201cShackles (Praise You)\u201d by Mary Mary during the episode, which was the first song Mandisa performed when she hit the\u00a0 Idol<\/em> stage for the first time in 2006.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve known [Mandisa] for over 20 years,\u201d Melinda shared following the performance. \u201cWe started off playing background and sessions together, and she got on Idol and I cheered for her and I came the next season and she cheered for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Danny meanwhile, said Mandisa was a true \u201ccheerleader\u201d of other people\u2019s music, noting that she was someone to lean on when he was dropped by his label \u2014 and subsequently picked up by another \u2014 years prior. \u201cIt just felt amazing and she was always that person,\u201d she gushed of the musician.<\/p>\n

The trio also discussed the importance of \u201cShackles,\u201d with Colton telling host Ryan Seacrest<\/strong> that the gospel song \u201csums up her life. I think she came in praisin\u2019 and she left praisin\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cBut our loss is heaven\u2019s gain.\u201d<\/p>\n

News broke on April 19 that Mandisa died in Nashville one day prior. \u201cWe can confirm that yesterday Mandisa was found in her home deceased,\u201d a rep for the singer said in the statement. \u201cAt this time we do not know the cause of death or any further details. We ask for your prayers for her family and close knit circle of friends during this incredibly difficult time.\u201d<\/p>\n

David Pierce<\/b>, the Chief Media Officer for California radio station K-Love, addressed Mandisa\u2019s death as tributes poured in.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\tRelated: <\/span>Former \u2018American Idol\u2019 Contestants Gone Too Soon: Show Alums Who Died<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tGone too soon. While many budding musicians got their big breaks on the\u00a0American Idol\u00a0stage through the years, a handful lost their lives not long afterward. Nikki McKibbin, who appeared alongside Kelly Clarkson and Justin Guarini on season 1, died in November 2020 at the age of 42.\u00a0The\u00a0Fear Factor\u00a0alum, who finished in third place on the [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cMandisa loved Jesus, and she used her unusually extensive platform to talk about Him at every turn,\u201d he said on April 19. \u201cHer kindness was epic, her smile electric, her voice massive, but it was <\/b>no match for the size of her heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added, \u201cMandisa struggled, and she was vulnerable enough to share that with us, which helped us talk about our own struggles. Mandisa\u2019s struggles are over. She is with the God she sang about now. While we are saddened, Mandisa is home. We\u2019re praying for Mandisa\u2019s family and friends and ask you to join us.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A cause of death has not yet been confirmed, but local authorities believe there is \u201cno indication\u201d of \u201csuspicious or criminal activity,\u201d per a spokesperson for the Franklin Police Department.<\/p>\n

Before her death, Mandisa was candid about her ups and downs, revealing in 2017 that her friends intervened during a dark period in her life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI came out of the movie theater, this was after years of me being in that dark place and ignoring everybody, and I noticed that my car had a bunch of sticky notes all over it,\u201d she recalled on Good Morning America<\/i>. \u201cAs I got closer to it I realized that those notes said things like, \u2018We love you. Come back to us. We miss you.\u2019 And then as I got closer to my car, a group of my friends, who I had shut out, they were there.\u201d<\/p>\n

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