Look at this!
Two of the top four songs played across Christian radio stations in the United States! I’m so happy! Of course, next week, we can expect these to plummet out of the charts, but still, not a bad achievement, no?
Here are seven reasons why Mandisa Hundley is HOT.
7. She wasn’t afraid to stand up for her beliefs. Y’all heard the furor with her saying that she doesn’t intend to perform at gay-targeted events because she doesn’t agree with the gay lifestyle. She also supports Beth Moore, a woman intensely hated by the gay community. People used this against her, calling her closed-minded and a lot of hurtful things. I may not agree with her stand, but I give her some credit for at least trying to be consistent.
6. She made it to the American Idol Top 12 without compromising anything. She sang songs and made them her own. She took chances and stood up for her choices. Best of all, she forgave Simon Cowell.
5. She’s beautiful. I don’t care what the haters say. Mandisa is a big, beautiful black woman with a heart on the inside as beautiful as she is on the outside.
4. She’s topped the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Sales chart for five weeks. Only the World is the first song – in recent memory – to top this particular chart. Believe it or not, she has more #1’s on Billboard charts than either Bo Bice, Diana DeGarmo, Blake Lewis, or Taylor Hicks.
3. She’s got the voice of an angel. The woman can SANG. If you don’t believe me, check out True Beauty, or her contributions to either Michael W. Smith’s Christmas album, the American Idol Season Five commemorative album, or the Dance Praise compilation.
2. She fights her weight battle with grace. If you read Idol Eyes, her book on faith, fat, and fame, you’ll find she struggles with weight just like any of us. (Okay, me.) I love how she’s so honest and open with her struggle. It gives all us plus-sized individuals hope.
1. She’s a God-fearing sister. In a world of Britneys and Jamie Lynn Spears, having a woman stand up for her faith and live it out as best she can is a strong testimonial to her faith and her God. I only hope I can raise Nicki to be just as strong as she.
(Um, hey folks at Mandisa’s management, you know what’d be a lovely Christmas gift for a Filipino fan who can’t order her CDs because EMI won’t ship ’em to the Philippines? A nice signed Christmas Joy EP or a photo, an email, a phone call. Come on, folks, make a Fandisa happy.)
