Mandisa, who was nominated twice for a Grammy and competed on American Idol’s fifth season, delivers her fourth studio album entitled Overcomer.
It is appropriately named not only because Mandisa did not win American Idol, but also because she has overcome harsh feedback and negativity with her positive and empowering albums. On this album, her songs, saturated with biblical truth and God’s promises, boast synthy, pop, and dance-infused beats and instrumentation that support memorable and singable melodies. Vocally, she is impressive and inspiring, with her gospel roots evident.
The title track opens the album and sets the mood high:
“You’re an overcomer! Stay in the fight ‘til the final round! You’re not going under!”
Mandisa belts her encouragement and it rushes out from the speakers and into the listener’s spirit. The lyrics in her songs are powerful reminders of God’s faithfulness and love. She also puts words to music that sometimes we are too afraid to express.
The album speaks truth.
In light of the fact that we are overcomers in Christ (John 16:33, 1 John 5:1), Mandisa sings, in Back to You, about what our response should be: just keep giving our lives back to Him.
True to His Word, as we give ourselves to Christ, He draws near to us (James 4:8), closing the distance during the times we have wandered away. Mandisa shares that promise in The Distance.
There is a beautiful balance between the up-tempo songs and soulful ballads on this album. While Face 2 Face catches Mandisa dreaming and dancing about what heaven will be like, the two songs that follow, Press On and What Scars Are For, are an encouragement to keep going in the difficult times. The lyrics serve as a reminder that scars point to God’s faithfulness even in the midst of our brokenness. Joy Unspeakable and At All Times could be used as service-opening songs in a worship set, while Praying for You is a stripped-down, acoustic-y song for her future husband. It makes me want to pick up my guitar and play along because it resonates with my single spirit.
After I finished listening to Overcomer, I felt uplifted as the hooks and melodies bounced around in my head long after the songs stopped playing.
As a young woman, the words Mandisa sings are relevant and appropriate. While a few of her songs appeal to a specific audience, in particular younger women and so may be unrelatable to some, this album can be enjoyed by many. This album is certainly a worthy follow-up to her last successful one. I pray that the promises and biblical truths that it holds find roots deep in listeners’ spirits, so they can sing with confidence that they are overcomers too.
Wanna Sneak Peak? Listen to "Overcomer" here.
This week we will give away 3 copies of Mandisa's new CD - Overcomer to 3 winners. Enter below to win!
A native of New Jersey, Denise Trio is a full-time worship leader, mentor, designer, and blogger based out of Fort Lauderdale, FL. She wants to use her voice to inspire others to seek healing and pursue restoration of broken relationships. Follow on her blog Blond Moment of the Day or on Twitter.
Disclosure: We received access to this music for free. We were not required to write a positive review and all opinions are our own. This post contains “affiliate links.” Thank you for supporting Circles of Faith.