For a story on conference participant author Karen Kingsbury, click here. 

WANT TO GO?

Extraordinary Women Conference

WHERE: Charleston Municipal Auditorium

WHEN: Starts 6 p.m. Friday and 7:30 a.m. Saturday

TICKETS: Advance tickets $69, at the door $89

INFO: http://www.ewomen.net or 800-526-8673.

NOTE: Mandisa performs Friday. Individual tickets for her show are not available.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Contemporary Christian singer and former "American Idol" contestant Mandisa loves performing at women's conferences. She's been doing a lot of them this fall, appearing on the Women of Faith and the Extraordinary Women Conference tours across the country.

On Friday, the Extraordinary Women Conference comes to the Municipal Auditorium, and Mandisa brings her voice.

"It's my favorite audience in the world," Mandisa said. "There's just something where thousands of women get together. There's a freedom. There's vulnerability. We tend to share our lives when we're in a community like that."

Part of what Mandisa shares is her story. Three years ago, she was a contestant on "American Idol." Mandisa was praised for her voice, but during auditions, "Idol" judge Simon Cowell made a number of sharp comments about the singer's weight while she was off-stage.

Because the auditions were taped for a later broadcast, Mandisa saw Cowell make those statements. She confronted him on the show. 

She told him, "What I want to say to you is that, yes, you hurt me and I cried and it was painful, it really was. But I want you to know that I've forgiven you and that you don't need someone to apologize in order to forgive somebody. I figure that if Jesus could die so that all of my wrongs could be forgiven, I can certainly extend that same grace to you."

 For a story on conference participant author Karen Kingsbury, click here. 

WANT TO GO?

Extraordinary Women Conference

WHERE: Charleston Municipal Auditorium

WHEN: Starts 6 p.m. Friday and 7:30 a.m. Saturday

TICKETS: Advance tickets $69, at the door $89

INFO: http://www.ewomen.net or 800-526-8673.

NOTE: Mandisa performs Friday. Individual tickets for her show are not available.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Contemporary Christian singer and former "American Idol" contestant Mandisa loves performing at women's conferences. She's been doing a lot of them this fall, appearing on the Women of Faith and the Extraordinary Women Conference tours across the country.

On Friday, the Extraordinary Women Conference comes to the Municipal Auditorium, and Mandisa brings her voice.

"It's my favorite audience in the world," Mandisa said. "There's just something where thousands of women get together. There's a freedom. There's vulnerability. We tend to share our lives when we're in a community like that."

Part of what Mandisa shares is her story. Three years ago, she was a contestant on "American Idol." Mandisa was praised for her voice, but during auditions, "Idol" judge Simon Cowell made a number of sharp comments about the singer's weight while she was off-stage.

Because the auditions were taped for a later broadcast, Mandisa saw Cowell make those statements. She confronted him on the show. 

She told him, "What I want to say to you is that, yes, you hurt me and I cried and it was painful, it really was. But I want you to know that I've forgiven you and that you don't need someone to apologize in order to forgive somebody. I figure that if Jesus could die so that all of my wrongs could be forgiven, I can certainly extend that same grace to you."

Cowell apologized.

"His response was absolute humility," she said. "He said he felt small."

Mandisa finished ninth in season six, during the same competition that crowned Taylor Hicks champion, but also featured Kellie Pickler, Bucky Covington, Katherine McPhee and Chris Daughtry. All have gone on to music careers with some success.

She keeps in occasional touch with some of her fellow contestants and with "Idol" contestants from other seasons, but not so much with the judges. "You sign a non-fraternization agreement when you go on the show," she said.

Still, she's seen them since, when she visited the show.

"Simon's eyes bugged out of his head when he saw me," she laughed. "I'd lost about 80 pounds. It was a very redemptive moment for me."

She's still losing weight, thanks in part to healthier eating, exercise, visits with a personal trainer and a counselor.

"And I turn to the Lord," she said. "That's the biggest thing. All those people, like my trainer, aren't with me all the time; Jesus is."

A career in religious music is a natural fit for her, and Mandisa has done well. Her first album, "True Beauty," was nominated for a Pop/Contemporary Gospel Grammy. She's also been nominated for three Gospel Music Association Dove Awards.

Her latest album, "Freedom," was released in the spring.

The award nominations are great, and selling albums keeps the record company happy, but Mandisa says she tries not to measure her success by those kinds of numbers. She hopes the path her life has taken can serve as an inspiration, just what is possible for a person of faith who keeps her faith and shows a little courage.

"In the end," she said, "did I use my story, did I use my music to make a difference?"

Wherever her career goes, she believes the answer to that question is yes.  

Reach Bill Lynch at ly...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5195.