Behind the Idols (part one)
By Russ Breimeier & Andree Farias
posted 05/06/08

American Idol remains one of the most watched programs on television, and has its share of Christians among the contestants. Though some have expressed skepticism that believers can have any impact on a show with "idol" in its title, three finalists from the nation's biggest singing competition have demonstrated you don't have to win it all to be relevant or on a stage to make a difference. Mandisa, Chris Sligh, and Phil Stacey all made it into the Top 12 of the popular singing competition, but none of them walked away the top winner—Mandisa placed ninth in Season 5, while Chris placed tenth in Season 6 and Phil made it to the Top 6 that same year. Nevertheless, all three landed record deals and have plenty of stories about the relationships they forged behind the scenes. And since their time on the show, American Idol has become more tolerant and receptive of Christianity, never more clearly demonstrated than a live performance of "Shout to the Lord" on national television. Did these contestants play some small part in that? All three vocal sensations were more than willing to walk us through their Idol experience and share how their faith was demonstrated throughout.

Mandisa: 'There was great camaraderie overall. We would always pray together before we would go on stage to sing, and we'd always talk about the Lord. We would even have Bible studies on the tour.'

Why did each of you audition for Idol in the first place? What were your hopes and expectations?

Mandisa: I auditioned because I've watched the show since the first season—I'm addicted to it! And I knew it was my last year to do it because of their age limit. I didn't expect much. I certainly didn't think I'd make it much further than the first round.

Even though you're an experience professional, leading big worship conferences with Beth Moore and Travis Cottrell?

Mandisa: I would've been completely content being a worship leader and background singer for the rest of my life. But I don't want to get to the end of my life wondering "What if?" I want to live with no regrets. I never envisioned this huge career, but I'm so thankful for what's happened now.

How about you, Chris?

Sligh: I actually tried out for two years in a row—Season 4 and Season 5—and had never made it past the first round.

Mandisa: That's the hardest part.

Sligh: It is the hardest, when you have just 15 to 30 seconds to impress somebody a cappella. I only tried out [for Season 6] because a friend told me to. I didn't really care. My band was doing really well and we were starting to get major label interest, but I was like, "I don't need American Idol." Wise as my friend was, he said, "Look, I'll pay for you to go now because I really think that you'll regret this if you don't." So I went thinking it'd just be for fun, and maybe I'd get to meet another famous person out of it. I was completely goofing off and being silly [during the audition process], even joking around with the judges before I started singing—and then I made it through. I think it was partly because I was not nervous that time, but I really have no other explanation than to say it was God's timing. I had done it two years in a row thinking I have to make it on American Idol. Then I tried out on a whim without hanging my hopes on it, and God opened so many other doors beyond what I could have seen.

Mandisa: I've said the same thing. There were so many incredible singers that I heard the day of the audition—amazing and much better than me. They were certainly people that were better looking than me. A lot of it has to do with looks. So the only explanation I have for being able to make it all those rounds is to say that the Lord wanted me to do it and the Lord really did bring me to the place where I was successful. So I can take very little credit for what happened.

Phil, was your experience similar?

Phil Stacey: Absolutely. When I auditioned for American Idol, it was because friends asked me to. I was reluctant to do it, but prayed about it with my family and church before going in. We ultimately looked at it as a mission opportunity. I only wanted to win if God would use it somehow—if God had a bigger purpose for me to affect the lives of others.

So you viewed it as a form of ministry, with a big groundswell of support offstage?

Stacey: Churches and pastors [from my area] were coming together in prayer that God would be glorified through the mainstream market somehow. My wife was praying for me throughout the audition, as well as my family and church family. I certainly believe that God put me there. I auditioned with 103,000 others, and there's just no way in the world that I was going to be Top 6 out of 103,000 people. I have to believe that it's because there's something in my heart that needs to be shared with the masses. I believe God put me there to share that.

Mandisa, you were one of the most outspoken contestants about their faith on TV. What was it like sharing your faith behind the scenes?

Mandisa: There were several people who were Christians in my season. Chris Daughtry and Paris Bennett, of course, as well as Kellie Pickler and Katharine McPhee, who had both recently become Christians at that time. There were others who were outspoken that didn't make the Top 12, like Brooke Barrettsmith. The two of us latched on to each other immediately. We prayed and fasted together for three days before going to Hollywood, because we felt like the Lord was going to do something mighty. And he certainly did, not just in my life, but in hers as well. [Brooke Barrettsmith releases her debut through Essential Records on June 10.]

There was great camaraderie overall. We would always pray together before we would go on stage to sing, and we'd always talk about the Lord. We would even have Bible studies on the tour. Many of them were at a point where they wanted to learn and grow [in their faith], and it was really great that any time they needed prayer, they knew that they could come to me. To this day, I still get phone calls from them saying, "Hey, I'm going through such and such. Would you mind praying for me?" That means a lot to me, because I know we point people to the Lord by the love that we show. It's not even about preaching at them, but how you treat others. I think that's vitally important for the body of Christ—to learn how to love others.

So you formed some strong relationships with other contestants because you were so open about your beliefs?

Mandisa: I really think so. The "kiss-off dinner" is the one you have after you're eliminated, and everybody stands up to say something about you. Sometimes it's light and funny, but at mine, every single person that stood up … It was just so touching because they said, "We don't know what we're going to do without you now. You brought morality to us. You're the person that I know is always praying for us. You're the one that I know if I'm having a bad day, I can come to you and find encouragement." It meant the world to me that my faith was not just onstage. That meant more to me than anything else in the world. They knew what I believed, they knew that I was praying for them, and they knew that they could talk to me when it came down to the deeper things in life.

Chris Sligh: 'We would have these long conversations about why we believe what we believed. That was that kind of thing that got me more excited—getting to talk about faith in really deep ways that wouldn't necessarily come out in any other situation.'

Since most of the Top 12 finalists were Christians on Season 6, I presume it was a similar experience for you other two?

Chris Sligh: In a very relational way. When you make the Top 24, they bring you in a few weeks early, so you're out in California riding around through the mountains in these big ol' vans together. They put five of you [in there] and you get carsick together—it feels like you're in a swivel chair.

That's where Phil and I got to know each other. We were both believers and we made that pretty obvious. The other guys in the car would then ask us, "Why do you believe this stuff?" We found out later that they'd been burned in some way or other by Christians. So it was really cool because in this hour-long drive going from one side of the mountain to the other, we would have these long conversations about why we believe what we believed. That was that kind of thing that got me more excited—getting to talk about faith in really deep ways that wouldn't necessarily come out in any other situation.

Stacey: We had a great time together. Everybody gets really close in this situation. There were several other Christians among us, so when we were backstage, we would sing praise and worship music together. I remember sitting down at the piano and I'd be playing with Jordin [Sparks] and the others. We did a lot of Israel & New Breed, a lot of Lakewood stuff, Hillsong, Chris Tomlin, Passion, Matt Redman—we all knew the same songs.

Sometimes it would bother the other people around, but we'd simply tell them, "We can't find a keyboard anywhere else—there are other places to be if you want to!" At the same time, we'd have a lot of other people from the show come and join us—background vocalists, make-up artists, hair stylists …

So you weren't just building relationships with fellow contestants, but everyone else involved behind the scenes.

Sligh: They were our friends too, and I'm very passionate and intentional about saying thanks to the team around me. I understand that without them, I wouldn't be doing this. We would constantly hang out with them, joke around with them. I think that that kind of thing says a lot about who we are as people, because those of us who were believers were very intentional about meeting others. I know Phil, Melinda [Doolittle], and I would go out of our way to really connect with those people backstage.

Mandisa: That was always great for me too. There's a lot of support staff on that show, so it was a pleasure to get to know them. And in turn, it was great to have different people come up to me and say, "I knew that you were a sister [in Christ] when I first met you."

It's clear you all lived out your faith behind the scenes. Do you think you ever got through to anyone personally?

Mandisa: [Season 5 finalist] Elliott [Yamin] grew up Jewish, and I'll never forget him saying to me that he flat out didn't believe in God. I remember him giving an interview where a woman said to him, "Obviously God had a plan for you," and he told her, "Nah, I don't know if I believe in God." What's really interesting to me now is that he signs his autographs with "God bless you." And when his mother recently passed away, he was talking about how he knows she's in a better place. So things are happening that are bringing people like Elliott to at least acknowledging God, and I feel that after a while we'll see people acknowledging that Jesus as their Lord and Savior. So I continue to pray for every single one of the people on American Idol. I pray for Simon, I pray for Paula, I pray for Randy—I personally think that when Simon comes to know the Lord, he's going to be like a modern-day Paul. There's going to be a revolution because of it!

Phil Stacey: 'I auditioned with 103,000 others, and there's just no way in the world that I was going to be Top 6 out of 103,000 people. I have to believe that it's because there's something in my heart that needs to be shared with the masses. I believe God put me there to share that.'

Did you ever feel ill-prepared to be a backstage witness?

Stacey: I've studied Greek and Hebrew—I'm a preacher's kid and a grandson of two preachers and the son-in-law of another preacher. So I've got a lot of background in theology. People, particularly non-Christians, would come to me with tough questions: "There are contradictions in the Bible. How would you explain this?" They would ask me anything tricky. I didn't push anything on anybody. I think Jesus gave us the greatest example in that he just lived his life, he did what the Father was sending him to do, and people came to him with questions.

Every one of us had a chance to share our faith. It's an amazing thing that God has given us [this chance] and has trained us. Chris [Sligh] is a missionary's son, so he's also trained in the Word. Melinda, Jordin, and LaKisha [Jones] all know the Word too. If God hadn't brought us up the way we are, we wouldn't be prepared to answer such questions. If you're not covered with the full armor of God, you're vulnerable. It's easy to become totally vulnerable when you're out there, you've got constant things coming at you, so we would regularly engulf ourselves in scripture and prayer.

Look for part two of this interview next week, as the American Idol finalists share personal lessons from their time on the show, their hopes for their individual music careers, and their opinions on how a worship song like "Shout to the Lord" would be featured prominently on live television.

In the last year, Mandisa released her debut project True Beauty as well as her Christmas Joy EP; she currently plans to release her second full-length in early 2009. Phil Stacey's self-titled debut is newly available in both Christian and country markets. Chris Sligh's solo debut Running Back to You is also available in stores, following up his previous project with his band Half Past Forever.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/music/interviews/2008/americanidols-0508.html