True Beauty
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Mandisa Mandisa was a fan favourite on the hit reality television show "American Idol" in season five. She instantly impressed thousands of Christians after she proclaimed, on-air, forgiveness to Simon Cowell,...
The Altar and the Door
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Casting Crowns Casting Crowns were discovered just four years ago by a Christian music legend himself – Steven Curtis Chapman. After landing a recording contract with Reunion Records and vaulting to fame with songs...
Only The World - Mandisa | Posted March-26-2009
Mandisa was a fan favourite on the hit reality television show "American Idol" in season five. She instantly impressed thousands of Christians after she proclaimed, on-air, forgiveness to Simon Cowell, (the show’s most harsh judge) after he made an offensive remark about her weight.
After landing a spot in the top nine contestants on the show, she performed "Shackles" by the gospel duo Mary Mary, and received not-so great reviews from the shows' judges. She received enough votes to keep her one more week, where she was voted out after never even being in the bottom three of the voting scheme.
Just one year after Mandisa was voted out, she released Idol Eyes her story on how she dealt with ‘faith, fat and fame’. Shortly before the release of her book, Mandisa announced she had signed a record deal with EMI, a branch of SONY BMG, the same branch that signed other Christian artists such as Chris Tomlin and tobyMac.
Only the World is best described as a great ‘reminder’ song for what is yet to come. The entire song is devoted to the joyous event of when we get to heaven. The song opens by giving the idea of having constant hardships and quickly jumping into the chorus which brings much joy and hope. The song reminds us that the hardships we face come from the world we living in, after it was painted with sin. While the world is full or hurt and pain the song reminds us that there is no point in giving in or giving up since our Father is creating a place of perfection and peace for us- Heaven. The song repeatedly reminds us that Heaven is worth the hard times we’ll face here on earth, as they are only temporarily while what awaits us is eternal.
With the song, Mandisa gives us a sound of contemporary with a touch of her Black Gospel roots. Only the World was an excellent song for Mandisa and her producers to pick to showcase what to expect from her album and I’m sure that it’ll be a chart topper in the Christian genre.
Best Christian Song Played Today | Posted November-01-2007
Casting Crowns were discovered just four years ago by a Christian music legend himself – Steven Curtis Chapman. After landing a recording contract with Reunion Records and vaulting to fame with songs such as Who Am I and Voice of Truth the band instantly became one of today’s most successful Christian artists. Their achievements include 2 Dove Awards, 1 Grammy Award and 8 GMA Music Awards. The band’s success continues to grow gaining more and more radio play and fans every day. After releasing two studio albums along with other Live recording albums and DVD’s the band set August 28th 2007 as their release date for the third Studio album, The Alter and the Door. In early July the band released their single East to West to their MySpace page and radio airwaves urging fans to order a copy of their new album, quoting that they should not be disappointed with the direction the band has went, referring to the style of the songs.
One thing that Casting Crowns should be noted for is that their lyrics speak what most people want to say. Speaking in real terms and sharing the bands feelings and struggles is what I feel makes Casting Crowns a fan favorite. East to West is no different than their other material in this means, and speaks exactly what millions of people feel on an everyday basis.
The opening lines set the mood for the song by sharing that we ‘yearn for peace and rest’ even when we are surrounded by yesterday’s chains that keep us tied to the bondages of our past. Even though we know that Jesus casts our sin aside once we ask for forgiveness, we still don’t fully live in that freedom.
Mark Hall (lead vocalist) breaks into the course by asking Jesus to show him just how far He has cast them, and then referring to the East to West - which shows that there is no possible limit in the distance. Christ’s truth gets drowned out while we are in storms of life, and in our human nature we forget that Jesus still does cast our sins aside.
Time and time again the song goes back to how the war begins at the start of everyday and how we are constantly reminded of our faults and failures. During these times we let go of the truth Jesus spoke of and find ourselves standing, thinking ‘just how far is the east from the west’. Again the course breaks out asking Jesus to show us just how far the east is from the west and is finally answered – from one scarred hand to the other.
Frankly, East to West is possibly one of the best Christian songs that is being played today. All throughout the song the truth of Christ’s forgiveness is displayed and I feel this is the most important message to portray to people. Vocally, I feel that this is some of Casting Crowns' finest, and I, along with thousands of fans am extremely excited for the success of their new CD release.
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