Mandisa Performs on "Good Morning America", Talks Simon Cowell and 100-Pound Weight Loss

Instead, the opportunity turned into heartbreak, thanks to a comment from then-judge Simon Cowell.

As Hundley, 35, stood before the judges, Cowell, known for his often brutal appraisals of contestants, commented not on Hundley's soulful sound, but her size.

"Do we have a bigger stage this year?" he said.

"It was just hurtful and mean and the one thing I didn't want to have happen," Hundley said.

The gospel singer, who told Cowell on that show that she forgave him, also took Cowell's words to heart and changed her life.

She set a goal to lose 100 pounds and started by changing her diet.

She also found a love for the dance-inspired exercise craze, Zumba, and hired a personal trainer.

Hundley says her fans and her religion kept her on track. However, she does admit that she struggled to keep up her motivation at times.

"There was a time when I didn't feel like getting up and going to Zumba one day. I had done everything right. I got on scale and I had gained 1.8 pounds, so I tweeted that I was through with it. And when I woke up from my nap I had tons of messages saying, 'Don't give up.' And more than that, they said, 'I appreciate knowing that you're real and that you go through difficult times,'" Hudley said this morning on "Good Morning America."