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(For your listening pleasure, this blog post contains a stream of One Word by American Idol Season Five finalist Elliott Yamin, off his debut album Elliott Yamin. GannsDeen.com does not offer Elliott Yamin mp3’s for download. If you like what you hear, please leave a comment in the Comments box. Come back to GannsDeen.com for the latest and best in Christian, country, and pop music.)

I promise this will be the last Elliott Yamin-themed entry on GannsDeen.com for a long time. As a fitting conclusion to week-long coverage of Yamin’s Philippine tour, we are uploading Yamin’s new American single, One Word, for your consideration.

One Word is a slow-to-midtempo ballad much in the same vein of Yamin’s surprise hit, Wait For You. When Yamin tested One Word during his Philippine tour, it received quite a positive response, which could bode well for Yamin’s nationwide push when the single is officially released for airplay on October 16.

Listen to Elliott Yamin One Word mp3

Elliott Yamin One Word lyrics after the jump.

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(For your listening pleasure, this blog post contains a stream of Tattoo by American Idol Season Six winner Jordin Sparks, off the yet untitled upcoming Jordan Sparks debut album. GannsDeen.com does not offer Jordin Sparks mp3’s for download. If you like what you hear, please leave a comment in the Comments box. Come back to GannsDeen.com for the latest and best in Christian, country, and pop music. Thanks to Sometimes Ticklish.)

American idol Season Six winner Jordin Sparks has released her debut single. A midtempo track called Tattoo, this is a radio-friendly ditty that can only serve to raise Jordan Sparks’ star higher and higher. While comparisons to Beyonce’s Irreplaceable have been raised, Sparks has deflected criticism with much aplomb, choosing instead to focus on promoting the album and living up to the pressure that comes with being American Idol.

Listen to Jordan Sparks Tattoo mp3
Lyrics to Jordin Sparks Tattoo after the jump. Read more

ALBUM TITLE: True Beauty
ARTIST: Mandisa
RECORD LABEL: Sparrow/EMI-CMG
OVERALL RATING: Four stars (out of five)
MUST-HAVE DOWNLOADS: God Speaking, Unrestrained, Only The World, Shackles (Praise You), True Beauty, (Never Gonna) Steal My Joy
YOU CAN AFFORD TO MISS: Only You

American Idol finalist and now Sparrow recording artist Mandisa Hundley has much to be thankful for, as do her fans. With the record-breaking release of True Beauty, Mandisa becomes the first female artist in Billboard history to debut at #1 on the Billboard Christian and Gospel Albums charts with her debut album. With a #1 single (Only the World, Billboard Hot Singles Sales charts, 5 weeks) and more than 31,000 albums sold in three weeks, Mandisa proves herself one of American Idol Season Five’s more chartworthy contestants.

Sparrow Records certainly pulls out all the stops for True Beauty. With a list of who’s who producers, including Doubledutch, Christopher Stevens, Shaun Shankel, Drew & Shannon, and multiple Dove Award winner Brown Bannister, Mandisa finds herself in very capable hands, allowing her natural charisma and style to flow effortlessly through this 11-track stunner of an album. Mandisa’s vocal skills are highlighted flawlessly throughout the album, with her stellar pipes ranging from a soft and gentle whisper (channel: Most Holy Lord, You have my attention, from Unrestrained) to a blasting furnace (several sections of her kick-butt retouch of Mary Mary’s Shackles); the various song styles show Mandisa’s ability to adapt to a variety of musical genres, further cementing her skill as a singer and performer.

There is an adequate mix of fast and slow songs on True Beauty, and the fast ones do not disappoint. Album opener Only The World is an obvious first-single choice, and for good reason. The Matthew West-penned toe-tapper has “hit” written all over it, with its catchy guitars and feel-good rhythm. (West also contributes Voice of a Savior, a power ballad that speaks of unity and how people search for something to give meaning to their lives.) The track that follows it, True Beauty, is an ode to self-esteem and girl power, packaged in a head-bopping hiphop beat; Mandisa wrote the lyrics to the album’s title track. After featuring her on Lose My Soul, Christian rap-rock artist TobyMac returns the favor with his group DiverseCity in the dancefloor nugget Love Somebody, a catchy, disco-esque stomper of an album track if ever I’ve heard one.

Mary Mary’s Shackles (Praise You) gets a synth horns-drenched uptempo remix, courtesy of Christopher Stevens, who deserves all the props for the rearrangement of this definitive Christian hit; Mandisa lets herself go all out on this stunning revival that can definitely have you headed straight for the dance floor. The Every Heartbeat-esque (Never Gonna) Steal My Joy is a poppy joyful track, while Oh My Lord, which features the Fisk Jubilee Singers, of which Mandisa was once a member, channels old-school Afro-American church gospel rhythms.

True Beauty isn’t short of ballads, however. The jewels of True Beauty are two worshipful ballads: God Speaking and Unrestrained. God Speaking, written by Ronnie Freeman, is a contemplative ballad that speaks of how God can reach out to us in infinite ways; Unrestrained, on the other hand, is a truly worshipful song that takes its inspiration from the grace and forgiveness extended Mary Magdalene when she washed Jesus’ feet with her hair, tears, and perfume. (Luke 7:36-50) Written by Tony Sutherland and Calvin Nowell, both of whom have their own versions of Unrestrained on their respective websites, Unrestrained is taken to soaring new heights by Mandisa. Both must-have ballads are delivered, naturally, by the Clive Davis of the Christian music industry, Brown Bannister. Other ballads worth noticing include the aforementioned Voice of a Savior and album closer He Will Come. As a matter of fact, the only real hiccup on the album is the rather forced upbeat track Only You, a misstep for Shaun Shankel, who hit a home run with Only The World.

Note: if you purchase True Beauty off Amazon.com, you will receive a special enhanced CD that allows you to enter a special section of Mandisa’s website that gives you free downloads and behind the scenes videos. I got a remix of Only The World that was marginally good.

Click here to listen to Mandisa’s version of God Speaking or here to listen to Mandisa’s Only the World.

Listen to Mandisa Unrestrained mp3, with Unrestrained lyrics after the jump.

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American Idol Season Five finalist Mandisa has debuted at #43 on the Billboard 200 with her debut album, True Beauty (Sparrow/EMI). By selling a little over 17,000 copies, 9th placer Mandisa bests 5th placer Paris Bennett, whose debut album, Princess P (306 Entertainment), debuted at #133 with a little over 6,400 units sold. True Beauty had the benefit, however, of a hit Contemporary Christian single, Only the World, which spent five weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot Singles Sales chart.

Actual tallies will be released on Billboard.com tomorrow, but unless BarlowGirl registers an increase in sales, which seems highly unlikely given the Christian group’s lack of a hit single on the Contemporary Christian singles charts, it seems apparent that Mandisa has debuted as well at #1 on the Billboard Top Christian Albums and the Billboard Top Christian and Gospel Albums charts. If this is, in fact, true, that means that Mandisa would have earned the 131st and 132nd and 133rd #1s for the American Idol franchise. (When Only the World topped the Billboard Hot Singles Sales chart, she added to the initial 130.) It would also mean that the debut of Mandisa’s True Beauty at #43 on the Billboard 200 means American Idol’s Season Five has surpassed Season Three for having the highest number of chart-worthy singers with albums to their credit.

Update: It is true! Mandisa debuts at #1 on the Billboard Top Christian Albums and Billboard Top Christian and Gospel albums charts. She is the first female solo artist in the history of the chart to debut at #1 with her debut album! Congratulations, ‘Disa!

Am I a Mandisa fan? Heck, yes. I can’t wait for my True Beauty album to get here, because it takes 4-6 weeks to ship to Manila from the USA. I wanted to add her up on MySpace, but apparently, I can’t get that add. *sigh* You know what I want? A Mandisa interview for LIVEtheLIFE. That’d rock my socks. Come on, Lord, make it happen in Jesus’ name.

(For your listening pleasure, this blog post contains a stream of a radio rip of Carrie Underwood’s So Small, off the upcoming Carrie Underwood sophomore album, Carnival Ride. GannsDeen.com does not offer Carrie Underwood mp3’s for download. If you like what you hear, please leave a comment in the Comments box. Come back to GannsDeen.com for the latest and best in Christian, country, and pop music.)

American Idol Season 4 and Grammy Award winner Carrie Underwood’s sophomore album, Carnival Ride, is undoubtedly one of the most anticipated releases of 2007. The carrier single off Carnival Ride is titled So Small, and was serviced to country radio less than 24 hours ago. So Small, a country power ballad co-written by Carrie Underwood, will no doubt help Carrie Underwood set country airwaves on fire once again.

So Small is the first Carrie Underwood single in which she shares a writing credit. In an interview with Beville Darden of AOL Music, she says So Small is about how “people invest so much of their time and energy into things that aren’t really important, and you don’t really realize that until it’s too late.”

So Small currently stands at #11 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs, #98 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #67 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay. It debuted at #14 on the Canadian Hot 100, her best debut ever on that chart. You can now download So Small on I-Tunes; purchasing the So Small single today will help raise its Hot 100 rank as early as two weeks from now. (Once again, thanks, Berg.)

Listen to Carrie Underwood So Small mp3
Carrie Underwood So Small lyrics after the jump Read more

(Listen to God Speaking by Mandisa, off the amazing Mandisa debut album True Beauty. GannsDeen.com does not offer Mandisa mp3’s for download, and encourages you to purchase God Speaking or the album, True Beauty, from your favorite online or offline record store. If you like what you hear, please leave a comment in the Comments box. Please come back to GannsDeen.com for the latest and best in Christian, country, and pop music.)

God Speaking is Track 3 on American Idol finalist and now Sparrow recording artist Mandisa’s debut album, True Beauty. Penned by Christian songwriter Ronnie Freeman, whose own recording is currently Top 5 at Inspo radio, God Speaking is an anointed song that will touch your heart, I virtually guarantee it.

God Speaking is definitely one of the best tracks on True Beauty, and possibly one of the best possible Contemporary Christian album tracks in 2007. Congratulations out to Mandisa for a spectacular recording.

Listen to Mandisa God Speaking mp3

Click after the jump to read the Mandisa God Speaking or Ronnie Freeman God Speaking lyrics. Read more

(For your listening pleasure, this blog post contains a video upload of Reba McEntire and Kelly Clarkson’s Because of You, off the Reba McEntire album Duets. If you like what you hear, please leave a comment in the Comments box.)

Country superstar Reba McEntire is shaking things up a bit. Her new album, Duets, is a diverse set of collaborations with a variety of artists, including Season One American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson. Reba McEntire and Kelly Clarkson duet on Because of You originally by Clarkson, and it is a humdinger. Reba’s voice, while renowned for its emotion, soars to powerful new heights with the drama on this song, and Clarkson, well, Kelly is Kelly.

Give this one a listen. It’s worth it. Video after the jump. Read more

(For your listening pleasure, this blog post contains streams of Mandisa’s True Beauty, off the Mandisa album True Beauty. This version is taken from her live performance on American Idol Extra. It also contains Mandisa’s True Beauty lyrics. GannsDeen.com does not offer Mandisa mp3’s for download. If you like what you hear, please leave a comment in the Comments box.)

American Idol Season 5 finalist Mandisa Hundley’s new single, Only The World, hit number one on Billboard’s Hot Singles Sales chart this week, making Only the World the 126th #1 song for the American Idol franchise and Mandisa’s first chart topper. Mandisa’s debut album, True Beauty, follows on July 31.

A second airplay track, however, is the title track from Mandisa’s debut album. She sang True Beauty live on American Idol Extra. People are searching for Mandisa True Beauty mp3s, but we’ll be happy to stream it to you instead to protect copyright.

We also encourage you to purchase Mandisa’s True Beauty legally on iTunes or your favorite digital single store. Visit MandisaOfficial.com or www.myspace.com/mandisa for more information.

Listen to Mandisa True Beauty mp3

Lyrics to Mandisa True Beauty after the jump. Read more

(For your listening pleasure, this blog post contains streams of Season Five American Idol finalist Paris Bennett’s Ordinary Love, off the Paris Bennett album Princess P. It also contains Paris Bennett’s Ordinary Love lyrics. GannsDeen.com does not offer Paris Bennett mp3’s for download. If you like what you hear, please leave a comment in the Comments box.)

Season Five American Idol finalist Paris Bennett’s debut album, Princess P, recently debuted at #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart. The single, Ordinary Love, was produced by Jon Jon Traxx, a collaborator of Beyonce.

Listen to Paris Bennett’s Ordinary Love mp3

Paris Bennett lyrics Ordinary Love right after the jump. Read more

(For your listening pleasure, this blog post contains streams of Jordin Sparks’ This Is My Now, sung at the American Idol 2007 finals.

It also contains Jordin Sparks This Is My Now lyrics.

Christian artist Scott Krippayne wrote This Is My Now, a winner at the American Idol songwriting competition, with New Day Church pastor Jeff Peabody.

GannsDeen.com does not offer Jordan Sparks mp3’s for download. If you like what you hear, please leave a comment in the Comments box. Thanks to Rickey for the mp3s.)

Listen to Jordin Sparks This is My Now

Jordan Sparks This is My Now lyrics after the jump. Click here to listen to Jordan Sparks Tattoo. Read more