American Idol Alum Mandisa's Debut True Beauty Hits Today Amid Rave Reviews and Appearances

American Idol Alum Mandisa's Debut True Beauty Hits Today Amid Rave Reviews and Appearances

Artist's Debut Ties in with Ongoing Campaign for Positive Self-Image

NASHVILLE, Tenn., July 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Just over a year ago Mandisa shot to instant fame when millions of TV viewers across the nation were captivated by her winning smile and powerhouse vocals as she sang her way into the final rounds of "American Idol's" fifth season. Today everyone can hear Mandisa again as her debut project, TRUE BEAUTY, releases nationwide.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070731/CLTU117 )

"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," Daily Variety associate editor Phil Gallo told USA Today after watching Mandisa's performances on "Idol."

Working as a singer is indeed what has happened, and whether recognizing her "Bold, Natural Talent," (US) her "considerable pipes" (Entertainment Weekly), her "passion and musical aplomb" (San Francisco Chronicle), her "Effervescent gospel-pop" (USA Today) or giving her 3 out of 4 stars (People), critics agree on one thing: this girl can sing!

Kicking off a string of promotional appearances, that included The Today Show, Mandisa performed her hit number one single "Only the World" last Friday on LIVE! With Regis & Kelly. Mandisa's return trip to the program was coupled with a first for the long running talk show, for the first time LIVE! With Regis & Kelly offered viewers a free digital download on their website from an artist performing on the show. Viewers and fans were able to download the title track "True Beauty" for free four days before the album released. With the release of TRUE BEAUTY, Mandisa fans will finally get what they've been waiting for: a full-length project that, to no one's surprise, packs a pretty powerful punch. A collection of funky rhythms, gospel-tinged melodies and pure pop power ballads, True Beauty reflects a versatility that few vocalists possess, and Mandisa delivers the goods with an unaffected ease.

Showcasing Mandisa's stylistic range was the task set before the five sets of producers who lined up to work with her on the album-top-notch names like Shaun Shankel (Beyonce, Natalie Grant); Brown Bannister (Amy Grant); Christopher Stevens (TobyMac); Drew Ramsey and Shannon Sanders (India.Arie, Johnny Lang); and Double Dutch, the team of Robert Marvin and Josiah Bell (Matt Kearney, Matt Redman). Mandisa also spent personal time with the album's writers before the songwriting process began, sharing her vision for the project and what she hoped to communicate through the songs. The end result is a seamless flow of tracks that create a diverse landscape for messages of hope, inspiration and faith.

The album's bouncy title track, which she co-wrote with producer Drew Ramsey and singer/songwriter Cindy Morgan, defines an essential theme in Mandisa's own terms: "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 explains. "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."

"Only the World" is the album's funky, energetic first single, which has already spent five consecutive weeks on Billboard's Top Single Sales chart, and is currently #5 on the Christian AC radio chart, receiving over 16 million audience impressions. Written by Matthew West, Sam Mizell and Clint Lagerberg, it captures Mandisa's joyful spirit well. "We all have difficult days we wish we didn't have to go through, but it gives you so much peace and joy when you realize that it's only the world we're living in, and one day we're going to go to a much better place," she says of the song's theme. "This song makes me want to roll down the window, turn up the volume, throw my hands up and just have fun!"

The desire to live free of society's expectations sits at the heart of the messages interwoven throughout True Beauty. Issues of self-esteem and self- worth are front-and-center among those that most young women struggle with today, and Mandisa admits she is no different. "My struggle with my weight has been the biggest struggle of my life. Rather than turning to alcohol or drugs when I was going through emotional times, I turned to food. As a result, I've become unhealthy-and it's a day-to-day process to overcome.

"On the flip side, we as women are not defined by the way we look, even though society would tell us otherwise by what we see in music videos, magazine covers and beauty pageants," Mandisa continues. "They give us this unattainable standard of beauty that doesn't really exist. It's amazing how the self-esteem of young girls is so low right now because of what society is feeding them, and I really do hope that America is waking up to the importance of that issue. If we really understood that our value is not based on how we look, but in who we are as people-I really think we would be much more free."

"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 ....'"

   To keep up to date with all things Mandisa, go to   http://www.mandisaofficial.com/    About EMI CMG Label Group:  

Brentwood, Tennessee-based EMI CMG Label Group is comprised of Sparrow Records, Forefront Records, and Credential Recordings, in addition to providing A&R and marketing support for sixstepsrecords via a joint venture and licensing partnership. Balancing freedom, discipline, creativity, profitability and ministry, EMI CMG Label Group strives for excellence in artist development. The Label Group is a division of EMI Christian Music Group. For further information, please visit www.emicmg.com .

About EMI Christian Music Group:

Established in 1994, EMI CMG is the world's largest Christian music organization and includes EMI CMG Distribution and EMI CMG Publishing in addition to EMI CMG Label Group and EMI Gospel. It is part of EMI Music North America which is a part of EMI Group. For further information, please visit www.emicmg.com .

About EMI Music in US:

EMI Music North America is a part of EMI Group. Its US units include The Blue Note Label Group, which includes the Angel, Blue Note, EMI Classics, Manhattan and Narada imprints; The Capitol Music Group, which includes the Capitol and Virgin imprints; Capitol Nashville; Caroline, which includes the Astralwerks, Caroline Records and Internationally Known imprints; EMI Christian Music Group; EMI Televisa Music; and Mute. Its EMI Music Marketing unit comprises catalog marketing, strategic marketing and sales for all of EMI's US labels. For further information, please visit www.emigroup.com .

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Source: The Media Collective

CONTACT: Velvet R. Klem, velvet@themcollective.com or Lori Isaacs,
lori@themcollective.com, both of The Media Collective, +1-615-591-7989

Web site: http://www.themcollective.com/
http://www.mandisaofficial.com/
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Profile: International Entertainment