American Idol 6 infiltrated by Christians

There was an interesting article in The Christian Post (don't ask..) about three of the American Idol finalists this year.

"Several Christians made the big cut to make it as the final 12 competitors in this year’s American Idol: Jordin Sparks, Melinda Doolittle, and Chris Sligh have all sang their way into America’s homes - and each of them share a link to the Gospel Music Association (GMA) to some degree. The trio stands as an achievement for Christians as they help break stereotypes in mainstream media, which has often looked down upon the Christian genre as lower in quality. Moreover, in addition to proving that people of faith can sing, these contestants are also becoming witnesses for Christ.

“I want them (non-believers) to know that God loves them, Jesus died for them, and that God has a plan for their life,” explained Sparks in her online e-profile at the GMA website. “I want them to see and hear that being a Christian and singing about it isn’t weird!”

Each of the three artists has strong Christian accolades backing themselves. Sparks and Sligh both have roots back to the GMA Music in the Rockies - a showcase event for aspiring, often unsigned, songwriters and artists in the Christian music industry. Today’s renowned professional artists also attend to help these amateurs mature. Sligh took home first place in the Pop-Adult Contemporary/Inspirational Song category during the conference in 2003 for writing “Only You Remain.” Last week, Sligh resonated one of Christian music’s greatest hits by singing dcTalk’s “We Just Wanna Be Loved.”

Sparks became the Overall Spotlight Winner at the 2004 GMA Academy in Washington, D.C., and grabbed top prize in the Country/Southern Gospel category. As for Doolittle, she has performed as a backup singer in Nashville, home to most of today’s Christian chief artists."

Now, I'm would've guessed that a couple of the divas would have a gospel background, but Jordin Sparks does seem a bit full-on in her remarks on the GMA website. She's welcome to her beliefs, but she comes across as evangelical. I hope for her sake that she's not habouring any homophobic beliefs. Remember what happened to Mandisa last year on American Idol 5? A story broke about her anti-gay beliefs and she got canned that very week despite starting out as one of the stronger finalists.

The public and media can be brutal when faced with socially unacceptable beliefs. Ask Ann Coulter!