::ALBUM REVIEW::

Since Idol, Mandisa Hundley (who goes professionally as Mandisa) left season five pursuing an ambitious and rare attempt to enter into Contemporary-Christian-fluttered gospel. And while she definitely sported the chops and stage persona of an R&B diva while on the show, she nevertheless felt easier with performing inspirational numbers; best represented when she belted out funky heavyhitters like “I’m Every Woman” or Mary Mary’s “Shackles (Praise You).” Her 2007 CCM debut, True Beauty, boasted impressive record sales and debuted at number one on the Christian charts - a staggering first for a new female in the last 27 years of the charts’ history. But fans who expected to hear more of the soul power she represented well on the show got a mixed bag of predictable sub-par CCM pop material and the occasional vocal highlights. Most of her voice felt tranquilized and amazingly quieted when matched with the jambalaya mix of ordinary and safe songs from the lengthy list of contributing Christian pop producers. “God Speaking,” a reflective ballad done with the force of a Yolanda Adams or CeCe Winans pop worship song, did emerge as one of the better moments from the disc.

On her second album, Freedom, Mandisa returns to her CCM forte’ by uniting with Brown Bannister and Christopher Stevens. And some of the selections have an obvious deja’ vu tinge that connects itself with her first project (another Mary Mary remake, another gospel choir tribute), but mostly all the elements presented here work towards the advancement of Mandisa’s artistic growth. “Leave It In the Valley,” one of the album’s strongest offerings, is churning with lots of innocent playfulness (especially with the background whistles) and uplifting lyricism that plays well with the warm arrangement. “My Deliverer” is also very generous in building a contagious melody around a radio-ready rhythm. With its bubbly charm and Mandisa’s big-voiced pipes, the song has enough drive to shoot her into the top tier of gospel’s finest. “The Definition of Me,” with its Britney Spears meets Natalie Grant edgy pop sound, is a radical jump into much better lyrics (“I want the lamp/I want the light/I want the beauty, only inside/I want the one that you can’t see to be the definition of me”) and with the right push could easily be one of her biggest singles - if ever released. And even some of the ballads like “He Is With You” and the worshipful “Broken Hallelujah,” though a bit drowsy in spots due to their very safe arrangements, are also pleasantly appealing and well placed in between all the heavy-hitting fast cuts.

On the more urban-spiced material, Mandisa makes better and smarter choices this time around in trying to appeal to audiences beyond the CMM bracket. “Dance Dance Dance,” originally recorded by Mary Mary as a single-to-compilation release on the Gotta Have Gospel! Series, is slightly tweaked away from a softcore club track into a more hi-NRG/house mix with its futuristic synth layout. While her version has enough bounce to make Mary Mary’s version seem bland, it still is a few beats away from sounding overtly urban. “Freedom Song” opens with a mournful organ prelude and the backing of a harmonic choir, but quickly slips into a smoking Beyonce’-throttled performance. She even pulls out some head-bobbing, snap-neck attitude and really convinces listeners of her newfound liberties in Christ. While short in its time length and even shorter in its unfortunate cliff-hanging fadeout, it’s the boldest song of the set and probably the boldest Mandisa is going to get into grittier urban R&B.

There is no question that Freedom is a better organized and well-suited experience than her debut. It’s a much healthier mix-bag of pop and gospel, but still - in certain places - Mandisa isn’t always interesting and memorable. Sure she’s a versatile singer, knowing how to tone down her voice for the pop radio ditties and superbly trained to belt out big notes on urban-sliced workouts, but having the right arrangements, the best material and with the exact amount of soul is just the kind of direction Mandisa needs to play to her strengths. Freedom is better, neater and far more interesting enough to push her away from being labeled just another safe, predictable CMM singer.