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Mandisa on "American Idol"

M

MyCatKnight

Anyone catch her do MaryMary's "Shackles" last night? What was your take on her performance, & how it was taken? We were at a Passion Play reheasal & missed it. MSNBC.com mistakenly called it "Wanna Praise You."

I know this is a radio board, but let me justify this by saying it's "helping my show prep through consulting the valued opinions of my radio peers" [rather than my dreading of wading through 65 pages worth of opinions on crosswalk.com]. :)
 
> Anyone catch her do MaryMary's "Shackles" last night? What
> was your take on her performance, & how it was taken?

It wasn't her best, but, due to very weak performances up to that point, her performance appeared strong. Her -- I don't know the musical term, but I'm tempted to say "key" -- was higher than MaryMary's, and the mix had her voice more out front than the original; consequently, a direct comparison is a little tough. That said, with Mandisa hitting higher notes (though obviously off at a few points), some would be tempted to say Mandisa's version was "better" than the original while others would say she screamed it. She ad-libbed and vamped a fair amount to show off her ability while leaving the chorus to the background singers.

"How it was taken" and the "controversy" come from not just the song itself but what she said before the song and over the intro. In the video package setup for the song, she said, “I first heard it on the radio and have been singing it in church for years now. It means a lot to me because it’s a testimony that there is nothing too hard for God.” Then, talking rather quickly over the brief intro, Mandisa actually hit the post of the song that she, herself, was about to sing! That's where the even bigger "panic" set in -- she said, "This song goes out to everybody that wants to be free. Your addiction, lifestyle, or situation may be big, but God is bigger!"

At the conclusion, the room exploded, but Randy immediately began to downplay her performance, Paula looked to be drugged again as she struggled to say something about worshipping at a new church of Mandisa, and a visibly very angry Simon appeared furious at this use of "his" airtime and proclaimed the song to be "a bit indulgent" and went on to say, "I didn’t get that – it was not for me."

Keying off of the word "lifestyle," the gay community found Beth Moore (who writes about, among *many* other things, gays coming out of the homosexual lifestyle) cited on Mandisa's AI bio as an idol or something and went absolutely nuts. Message boards seem to suggest that the gay community teamed up with angry secularists to each place votes for "everyone but Mandisa."

There are some other things people might be discussing...the wrong phone number that appeared briefly during her segment and her decision to wear very unflattering jeans, in particular.



> MSNBC.com mistakenly called it "Wanna Praise You."

...because the show did.
 
>
> "How it was taken" and the "controversy" come from not just
> the song itself but what she said before the song and over
> the intro. In the video package setup for the song, she
> said, “I first heard it on the radio and have been singing
> it in church for years now. It means a lot to me because
> it’s a testimony that there is nothing too hard for God.”
> Then, talking rather quickly over the brief intro, Mandisa
> actually hit the post of the song that she, herself, was
> about to sing! That's where the even bigger "panic" set in
> -- she said, "This song goes out to everybody that wants to
> be free. Your addiction, lifestyle, or situation may be big,
> but God is bigger!"
>
> At the conclusion, the room exploded, but Randy immediately
> began to downplay her performance, Paula looked to be
> drugged again as she struggled to say something about
> worshipping at a new church of Mandisa, and a visibly very
> angry Simon appeared furious at this use of "his" airtime
> and proclaimed the song to be "a bit indulgent" and went on
> to say, "I didn’t get that – it was not for me."
>
> Keying off of the word "lifestyle," the gay community found
> Beth Moore (who writes about, among *many* other things,
> gays coming out of the homosexual lifestyle) cited on
> Mandisa's AI bio as an idol or something and went absolutely
> nuts. Message boards seem to suggest that the gay community
> teamed up with angry secularists to each place votes for
> "everyone but Mandisa."



I also remember hearing Mandisa making those comments just before her performance. It's interesting to note that the gay community was so upset about those statements, in light of the fact that she made no specific reference to which "lifestyle" she was referring. After all, all of us have some sort of "lifestyle". The fact that the gay community was bothered by her statements (when they weren't specificially singled out as the "lifestyle" in question) speaks volumes.

As far as her performance goes, I thought she did well, but maybe not as well as in some her past appearances.






*************************************************

There'll be no radio in Heaven.
Will you be there?
www.PassTheWord.net
 
It is important for Christian radio to note that Mandisa has been travelling with Praise and Worship leader Travis Cottrell for a number of years. I think the arranger did a bad job on the key of the song, as well, but she still did better than a number of the others (can you say Lisa and Bucky?).

As for Simon's condescending attitude, what did he expect when he allowed the singers to choose their favorite song. While I'm glad that Mandisa sang a Christian song for all the county to hear... I think the entire show was a little bit indulgent for me. Give them a theme, or a controlled list of songs and let them go... part of the competition is seeing how much you can get the entertainer to stretch beyond their comfort zone without losing their personality.

Anyway, Christian radio stations and announcers who want to see someone with a strong faith-based personality and presence go all the way on Idol should do all they can to encourage listeners to watch and vote for Mandisa on a regular basis.

One other note, don't know too much about McPheever, but last night in the results show, she referred to "God's plan" for her life.... if anyone knows about her relation to God (and hopefully, Christ).... let us know.
 
She set a very good example for contemporary Christian music stations in that, not only did she let the music do the talking, she also reaffirmed the message in the music with what she SAID before and after the song.

> Anyone catch her do MaryMary's "Shackles" last night? What
> was your take on her performance, & how it was taken? We
> were at a Passion Play reheasal & missed it. MSNBC.com
> mistakenly called it "Wanna Praise You."
 
> She set a very good example for contemporary Christian music
> stations in that, not only did she let the music do the
> talking, she also reaffirmed the message in the music with
> what she SAID before and after the song.


Very good point! <P ID="signature">______________
~Always leave a hole when you go.
</img></P>
 
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