Thanks to Entertainment Weekly for this review of the first single released by Mandisa...

Mandisa still had enough fans left to propel "Only the World" straight to the top of Billboard's singles sales chart this week. (Though not nearly enough to get her comparable spots on the more important Hot 100 and Hot 100 Airplay charts.)

We're not sure, however, why anyone other than a diehard Fandisa would give this more than a couple spins. It's got a sweet, sunny melody, and Mandisa's voice rings out clear and on-key throughout. But those motivational lyrics ("It's only the world I'm living in/It's only today I've been given/There ain't no way I'm giving in") sound like they come from a rejected Hallmark card, and the half-hearted rhythm guitar licks and bobbing bassline provide approximately 95 percent less funk than, say, Maroon 5's last single.

As Mandisa herself puts it in the first verse, "nothin' new here's/What I do here."

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.