GospelPundit.com jumped on the phone up with Mali Music today, as he was en route to a rehearsal for his major performance on American Idol tomorrow night!
Check out what he had to say about the incredible opportunity, his upcoming album and more…
***
GP: Congrats on the American Idol opportunity! That’s huge!
Mali: Thank you!
GP: What thoughts are running through your mind as you prepare for tomorrow’s performance?
Mali: Purpose and destiny. It’s like… you’re 7 or 10 years old. You hear a word. It speaks on something in your future, but you have no idea how it will come. Then, in those moments while you’re trudging forward, focused on the daily bread, you come upon a milestone and get an opportunity that reminds you—- not only is God with you, but He hasn’t forgotten what He said.
Those are the things that cause you to be inspired, to keep going. They lift you beyond any affirmation that man can give. And, they lift you beyond any criticism man can give. You’re safe in the hands of God, which is a great place to be.
GP: Amen. You’ve been blessed with a really peculiar platform and the gospel industry has really been cheering you along as you get mainstream opportunities– from being signed to RCA Records to, now, performing on the American Idol stage. How are you staying grounded?
Mali: I think it all has to do with the preparation that takes place behind the mountain. David stayed grounded. He was built that way, without him knowing what was to come. The time he spent with God when no one knew his name, when he was barely even important to his own father… he was just being obedient to the man in charge. I say “obedient” is how I grew up. It was an invisible life of servitude, then God brought me forward. I’m a backline man that God brought to the front.
GP: Yeah.
Mali: Now, practically, it’s been my mother, my father, my pastor, and my relationship with God. And my team– Holly Carter… And it’s been the inspiring messages that I get from the Body—-the remnant, the kingdom-minded people that understand what is happening. There’s a huge move, a huge shift. And I cannot wait to see the flood of souls. Also, it didn’t come cheap and it didn’t happen overnight. People have been chipping away at this wall for some time– from The Winans to John P. Kee, Fred Hammond to Kirk Franklin… tomorrow is our celebration of the wall coming down.
GP: That’s great stuff. You’re performing your new single, “Beautiful,” on American Idol tomorrow. What do you hope people will take away from your performance?
Mali: I want them to say, “Who is this guy?” *laughs* I want to raise suspicion– not just on the style or the sound, or even the quality of the sound, but “what is this feeling? What is on him? How do I get some?”
That’s what I want. I want it to be like, “whoa, wait… we thought we’d seen it all.” I just wanna hold up a light saying, “there’s plenty of us and we’ve always been here.”
GP: Absolutely. And I think you’ve got lots of people praying for you in that. Any word on when the full album is finally coming out?
Mali: The album is dropping in May! People will see that I have not changed. I have evolved, but this is Mali, guys! *chuckling* This is me.
GP: Well, do well tomorrow! You’ve got thousands and thousands of people rooting you on and we know you’ll represent the Body well.
Mali: Thank you, man.
***
There you have it, folks. Don’t forget to tune-in to American Idol tomorrow, Thursday, March 13, 2014 at 8pm ET/7pm CST.
You can support his performance by posting the following graphics to your social networks–
Source: Gospelpundit.com
