American Idol fans were left stunned and devastated back in April when the singer Mandisa, who came in ninth on season five of the singing competition, was found dead in her home at the age of 47. Now, her cause of death has been revealed, and her father is responding to it.
Mandisa’s Cause Of Death
An autopsy report obtained by People Magazine revealed that Mandisa died of complications of class III obesity. This manner of death is listed as natural. Mandisa’s father John Hundley confirmed the autopsy results.
“The [autopsy] report confirmed the comments I made at her home-going celebration, ‘Mandisa did not harm herself,'” he told Fox News. “It was a natural death associated with obesity.”
The Cleveland Clinic states that class III obesity is a disease in which someone “has a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or higher or a BMI of 35 or higher and is experiencing obesity-related health conditions.”
Mandisa was found by friends dead in her home in Nashville, Tennessee on April 18. The Grammy winner “was last known alive approximately three weeks” earlier.
Find out more about this in the video below.
Mandisa’s History
Born and raised in Citrus Heights, California, Mandisa fell in love with music in college. This led to her becoming a backup singer. Later, she auditioned for season 5 of American Idol, making it all the way to the top nine.
The season was eventually won by Taylor Hicks. Mandisa competed on the show alongside such future stars as Kellie Pickler, Chris Daughtry, and Katherine McPhee.
Check out one of Mandisa’s American Idol performances in the video below.
Related: Kellie Pickler’s Reaction To Meeting Clint Eastwood Is Priceless!
Afterwards, Mandisa released her debut album “True Beauty” in 2007. It was an immediate hit, as it debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Christian Albums chart. Mandisa was actually the first new female artist in history to score this honor.
Mandisa would go on to release five more albums in her career. In 2014, she won the Grammy for best contemporary Christian music album for 2013’s “Overcomer.”
Check out her song “Overcomer” in the video below.
Mandisa’s Struggles
Sadly, later that year, Mandisa’s life took a turn for the worse when her best friend and backup singer Kisha Mitchell died of breast cancer while pregnant. This sent Mandisa into what she described as “a deep pit of depression.”
Mandisa turned to food during this period and gained a significant amount of weight. She quickly became a recluse, shutting out both her friends and her passion for music.
“You’re battling shame, and you don’t want to leave the house,” she later said. “I didn’t leave the house, for the most part.”
“When I got up, I went downstairs, sat in the recliner, and I watched television nonstop,” she continued. “The only time I left was when I got tired of pizza delivery and decided to get McDonald’s.”
Mandisa Considered Suicided – Turned Life Around
Mandisa was “so miserable” that she even considered suicide.
“I am a woman of faith, and I believe that heaven is real, and when I do leave here, I’m going to be in heaven with Jesus,” she remembered. “One of the things I started hearing during that dark period was: ‘You’re in so much pain. If you take your life, you could be in heaven right now with Jesus.'”
Thankfully, Mandisa’s friends staged an intervention for her and convinced her to get counseling. Turning her life around, Mandisa released her album “Out Of The Dark” in 2017. With this album, she channeled her pain into her music.
In 2022, she released her memoir “Out of the Dark: My Journey Through the Shadows to Find God’s Joy.”
Rest in peace, Mandisa.
More About:Reality TV News