Matthew West Remembers Mandisa: ‘A Bright Light’
By Movieguide® Contributor
In Matthew West’s latest podcast episode, he reflected on his long-time friendship with fellow Christian artist Mandisa, who died earlier this month.
“At this particular moment in my story, there is sadness, and there is mourning over the loss of a dear friend, Mandisa,” West shared. “…My good friend Mandisa has gone on to be with Jesus. Myself and my family have been praying for her family. Just very saddened to hear the news.”
Movieguide® reported on April 19:
Grammy Award-winning Christian artist Mandisa died on Thursday, April 18, at her home in Nashville, Tennessee. She was 47 years old. Her cause of death is unknown.
“We can confirm that yesterday Mandisa was found in her home deceased,” a rep for the singer told PEOPLE. “At this time we do not know the cause of death or any further details. We ask for your prayers for her family and close knit circle of friends during this incredibly difficult time.”
The California native first found fame during Season 5 of AMERICAN IDOL, where she earned a spot in the Top 10.
“I was actually in New York last Thursday night. We were actually in a celebration moment because my good friend Anne Wilson’s new record, ‘Rebel,’ was releasing. And we’re in New York for her performance on the TODAY show. And it was the night before that we got the call that Mandisa had passed away,” West shared.
Early the next morning, he took a walk through New York’s quiet streets. He put his earbuds in and listened to all the songs he and Mandisa wrote together.
“[I] just kind of had a moment…just thanking God for her friendship, praying for her family and just feeling sad for the fact that she’s gone now. We had been friends over the years. Matter of fact, after she was on AMERICAN IDOL, she signed her record deal with Capital Records and needed a first radio single, and I had written a song called ‘Only the World,’ and she heard it, and it wound up being her first radio single,” West explained.
“That was my first experience, I think, having my song being on national television because, of course then she was on AMERICAN IDOL. She’d go on all the TV shows, and she’d be performing ‘Only the World,’ and it was a really special connection that we had,” he said. “Well, then we started writing songs together, and those were some of my favorite moments spending time in the room with Mandisa.”
The pair also hosted the K-Love fans awards and toured together.
“When I think about the songwriting, she could never figure out—she would always say, ‘Matthew, I don’t understand how a white boy, like you, can like, change styles, and write a song for me. I don’t get it.’ And she kept saying that over and over. ‘You’re a white boy, but like, you don’t write songs like a white boy,’” West chuckled.
“And I can hear her like, being so sassy with me just like that. And my face would turn red ‘cause I didn’t even know, like, what am I supposed to say to that, you know?” he said.
Mandisa had another running joke with West that she repeated often in interviews.
“She’s like, ‘I’m pretty sure that you are a black girl trapped in a white boy’s body,’” West laughed. “That’s what she would say in radio interviews. And it was her form of paying me a compliment because, stylistically, I could write songs that fit Mandisa’s style.”
“But then she took it a step further, and I will never forget this. She’s like, all right, if you’re gonna write songs the way you do with me, then you need a new name. And so she named me Mathwesta. And she announced it on the radio with my friends in Florida at the Joy FM…So it was Mandisa and Mathwesta.”
West explained that she had struggles, and there were times when no one could reach her. But whenever she came out of those dark periods, she had a “bright light” that would come out of her.
“I wanna read some lyrics that came out of [one of those hard times]. I’ll never forget she had come out of a really hard season in her life, and I remember. I can picture the room we were in, and it was our first time getting back together since she had been struggling, and she wound up making a record called ‘Out of the Dark’…That was what she was going through,” West said.
Mandisa previously told Salem Media that writing “Out of the Dark” helped her out of depression.
“So we wrote this song called ‘I’m Still Here,’ and part of it was actually telling the music industry ‘I’m still here’ ‘cause she had gone quit a while without making a record,” West said.
West read all of the lyrics of “I’m Still Here,” which pays homage to Mandisa’s hit, “Overcomer.” Some of the lyrics read:
Yesterday
Had me knocked to the ground
Had me down for the count
My faith a million miles away
And I dropped outta sight
This overcomer, lost her
Will to fight…
I’m still here (I’m still here)
Hope is rising, waking up my soul (waking up my soul)
I’m still here (I’m still here)
All my broken, turning beautiful
‘Cause I feel my heart beat beating
And my lungs breathe breathing
Guess my God’s not done with me yet (done with me yet)
‘Cause I’m still here (I’m still here)
All my yesterdays are gone
And the best is yet to come
The best is yet to come
West believes Mandisa is now experiencing the “best of yet to come.”
Last week, West posted on Instagram:
“I am so incredibly saddened to hear about the loss of my friend Mandisa. I will always cherish the memories of times we spent together hosting award shows, going on tour, and most of all helping her tell her story in the songwriting room. The first song she released after appearing on American Idol was a song we wrote called “Only the World” and the lyrics hit different right now
Heaven is a place
Where the tears on every face will be wiped away
Oh and I can’t wait to go
But for now, it’s enough to know
This is only temporary
This is only
Yes it’s only the world I’m living in
It’s only today I’ve been given
There ain’t no way I’m giving in
‘Cause it’s only the world
I know the best is still yet to come
‘Cause even when my days in the world are done
There’s gonna be so much more than only the world for me
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