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From your experience, is it frowned upon to sing Christian songs on American Idol?

Mandisa When I sang Mary Mary's "Shackles," the producers were not really happy about it. But it's not like I had to convince them. If the song gets cleared [legally through publishing], then you can technically sing whatever you want to.

Phil Stacey The producers want us to be who we are. There have been Christians on the show for a long time. I think that Bo Bice laid a lot of groundwork with the producers [during Season 4], just in the fact that he was a good Christian on the show. He would be there and read his Bible any time they were sitting idly during rehearsals. Carrie Underwood was also a great example of a Christian that same year. Then Mandisa comes along the following year and she's very evangelical with her approach, publicly saying, "I'm here to share the love of Jesus Christ." The following season it's me, Chris, Melinda, Jordin, LaKisha, and others coming out and saying we're Christians too, singing songs to glorify Jesus Christ. We were encouraged to do what we want to do, so it's apparently become less frowned upon [the last couple years].

Mandisa, Chris, and Phil joined Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith for a worshipful performance during the Dove Awards.

There really is a contrast between the flak Mandisa caught for singing "Shackles" and two years later when contestants are singing "Shout to the Lord" and Dolly Parton songs explicitly referencing Jesus.

Mandisa Dolly Parton Week was like Jesus Week on American Idol! Things really have changed a lot in two years. We never would have gotten away with singing "Shout to the Lord" in my season. I think that the more people that have come on and talked about their faith, the more it's broken down barriers.

So you believe there must be some sort of change of heart among the producers?

Mandisa I will say this. Simon Lythgoe, the son of executive producer Nigel Lythgoe, was also a producer on American Idol when I was there. He's since had a radical conversion and come to know the Lord. So I would not be surprised at all if some of it has rubbed off on [his father].

Chris Sligh [After singing Mute Math and dc Talk] when I was on, I was told by Nigel to stop singing "that Christian music crap." Now they're singing "Shout to the Lord" on Idol Gives Back one year later? Obviously something's changed.

Making it to the finals on American Idol must have done wonders for your self-esteem. Did you leave the show with any life lessons?

Mandisa I'm a transformed woman after American Idol. I went to Hollywood thinking it was a world enthralled with beauty. Since I'm not your typical size-two-blonde-with-blue-eyes, I went in pretty down on myself, feeling like I couldn't possibly make it any further. Then I realized that I didn't have to look like that. I really started to look into the Word, which told me that beauty didn't come from my outward appearance, but from my inner self. I love that 1 Peter says that it comes from a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight, and comes from cultivating a relationship with him. My time on American Idol taught me that lesson, and I don't know if I would've learned it if I hadn't been on it.

Sligh I've always been a pretty confident guy, but sometimes I can be overconfident and cocky. I think that was something that God had to challenge me on. At the beginning of my season, I was an early favorite to win according to producers and the media—in my mind, there was no reason in the world why I wouldn't make the Top 5. I went in buying my own hype for a while.

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