Singer Mandisa, a favorite voice at American Idol 2006, passed away at her home at the age of 47, due to complications from stage 3 obesity.

Singer Mandisa. Photo: Instagram

The autopsy results were announced on June 4, according to TMZ . Medical examiners confirmed that Mandisa weighed 221 kg at the time of her death.

The female artist died in April at her home in Nashville. The report states that Mandisa’s friends found her decomposing body at her residence on April 18. She was last seen alive three weeks earlier. There was no evidence of injury or poison in the female singer’s body. Her death was determined to be natural.

Type 3 obesity is a disease in which a person “has a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or higher and is experiencing health conditions related to obesity,” according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Mandisa with American Idol 2006 contestants. Photo: Wire

Mandisa experienced severe depression when her best friend passed away from breast cancer in 2014. She became a recluse and struggled with her mental health battle with food, leading to significant weight gain. In her memoir released in 2017, Mandisa confessed that she thought about death during her darkest times. After three years, the female singer overcame and returned to her passion for music.

Mandisa was born in 1976 in California. She participated in American Idol season 5 and placed in the top 10. After the competition, she released her debut album True Beauty in 2007. Mandisa’s 2013 album Overcomer won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album, making her a fifth American Idol contestant to win a Grammy.

Over the course of a nearly 20-year recording career, Mandisa has released five albums and a Christmas song collection.