Danny Gokey
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| Danny Gokey | |
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 Gokey in his hometown of Milwaukee, Wisconsin on May 8, 2009.
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Daniel Jay Gokey |
| Born | April 24, 1980 |
| Origin | Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Genres | Country, CCM, blue-eyed soul, country pop |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter, church music director |
| Instruments | Vocals, acoustic guitar, piano |
| Years active | 2008–present |
| Labels | 19 Recordings/RCA Nashville |
| Associated acts | Sugarland |
| Website | Official site |
Daniel Jay "Danny" Gokey (born April 24, 1980) is an American country music singer and church music director from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was the third place finalist on the eighth season of American Idol.12 After his placing on the show, Gokey signed to 19 Recordings and RCA Records Nashville as the beginning of a career in country music, releasing the single "My Best Days Are Ahead of Me." His debut album, My Best Days, was released in March 2010.
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Early life
Gokey started singing with his family in church, but stated he would rather record mainstream music than perform solely contemporary Christian music. He has been the worship director at his church in Milwaukee, Faith Builders International Ministries, for several years.3
He is the fifth of six children. He has a brother, Charles, and four sisters.45
He has acknowledged the influence of Jeffrey and Robin Pruitt, the pastors of the church he works at and called his faith the "key to who I am."6
On July 9, 2008,7 four weeks before he auditioned for American Idol, Gokey's wife underwent routine surgery for congenital heart disease.89 It was her third surgery, but she died from complications.810 The couple had been together for 12 years, and Gokey credited her for his success.11 Sophia was a fan of American Idol and encouraged Gokey to be a contestant,8 and Danny started a foundation in her name Sophia's Heart Foundation12 with some of her family members who are also musicians. The foundation includes a program to provide donated musical instruments to students.
American Idol
Overview
Gokey rose to national fame with his participation in the eighth season of American Idol. On August 8, 2008, he auditioned in Kansas City, Missouri, along with his friend Jamar Rogers, who is also from Milwaukee.citation needed Both made it through to Hollywood, but Rogers was eliminated from the competition prior to the semifinals.citation needed Gokey's American Idol audition occurred only four weeks after his wife's death in July 2008.13
Gokey, along with runner-up Adam Lambert were the judges favorites throughout the season, consistently earning high praise from all four judges. Judge Simon Cowell said that he expected Gokey would make the finale, going head to head with Lambert, because they were the two best singers in the competition, but Kris Allen went on to win the season.citation needed
During Rock Week (Top 4 week), Gokey's take on Aerosmith's "Dream On" was panned for the extended scream with which he finished the song.14 Gokey was eliminated during Top 3 week, after his performance of Joe Cocker's "You Are So Beautiful."
During the season 8 finale on May 20, 2009, Gokey performed a duet with R&B superstar Lionel Richie. The performance opened with Gokey singing a true-to-the-original soulful ballad solo of Richie's "Hello," and then Richie joined Gokey for a duet of his hits "Just Go" and "All Night Long".15
Performances/results
| Week # | Theme | Song choice | Theme-related artist | Order # | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audition | Auditioner's Choice | "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" | Marvin Gaye | N/A | Advanced |
| Hollywood | First Solo | "Kiss from a Rose" | Seal | N/A | Advanced |
| Hollywood | Group Performance | "Somebody to Love" | Queen | N/A | Advanced |
| Hollywood | Second Solo | "I Hope You Dance" | Lee Ann Womack | N/A | Advanced |
| Top 36/ Semi-Final 1 |
Billboard Hot 100 Hits to Date | "Hero" | Mariah Carey | 12 | Advanced |
| Top 13 | Michael Jackson | "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" | Michael Jackson | 3 | Safe |
| Top 11 | Grand Ole Opry | "Jesus, Take the Wheel" | Carrie Underwood | 8 | Safe |
| Top 10 | Motown | "Get Ready" | The Temptations | 9 | Safe |
| Top 9 | Top Downloads | "What Hurts the Most" | Rascal Flatts | 3 | Safe |
| Top 8 | Year They Were Born | "Stand by Me" | Mickey Gilley | 1 | Safe |
| Top 7 | Songs from the Cinema | "Endless Love" – Endless Love | Diana Ross & Lionel Richie | 5 | Safe |
| Top 7 1 | Disco | "September" | Earth, Wind & Fire | 3 | Safe |
| Top 5 | Rat Pack Standards | "Come Rain or Come Shine" |
Frank Sinatra | 4 | Safe
(Top 2) |
| Top 4 | Rock and roll Duet Solo |
"Renegade" with Kris Allen "Dream On" |
Styx Aerosmith |
3 5 |
Safe 2 |
| Top 3 | Judge's Choice (Paula Abdul) Contestant's Choice |
"Dance Little Sister" "You Are So Beautiful" |
Terence Trent D’Arby Billy Preston |
1 4 |
Eliminated |
- ^1 Due to the judges using their one save to save Matt Giraud, the Top 7 remained intact for another week.
- ^2 It was only announced that Allison Iraheta received the lowest number of votes this week. The other member(s) of the bottom two or three were never revealed.
Post-Idol career
Gokey was nominated in his state of Wisconsin for a WAMI (Wisconsin Area Music Industry) Award for Best Christian/Gospel Artist of the Year.16
As of September 2009, Danny Gokey has finished his tour with the other idols on the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2009, and he is also working on his foundation, Sophia's Heart, which was set up to help disadvantaged children.17
Gokey, known for his many pairs of eyeglasses that he often wore on the show, has stated he may start an eyewear line to help raise funds for his foundation.18
On September 1, 2009, Gokey signed with 19 Recordings/RCA Nashville, becoming the first third place finisher to record with 19 and the first male Idol to be signed to a major Country label. 19 On November 19 2009, 19 Recordings and RCA Records announced the release of the debut single "My Best Days Are Ahead of Me."20 Gokey's debut album, My Best Days, was released on March 2, 2010. It debuted on the Billboard charts at #4 and was the highest debut by a male Country performer in 18 years. Gokey also has the highest debut of digital downloads sold by any new male solo country artist ever. 21In support of the album, Gokey will be the opening act on Sugarland's Incredible Machine tour which began in April.22
Awards and nominations
| Year | Association | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Wisconsin Area Music Industry (WAMI) | Best Christian/Gospel Artist of the Year | Nominated |
| Teen Choice Awards | Choice Summer Tour (with American Idol Top 10) | Nominated | |
| 2010 | Wisconsin Area Music Industry (WAMI) | Male Vocalist of the Year | Won 23 |
| 16th Inspirational Country Music Awards | Inspirational Mainstream Country Song, "My Best Days" | Pending | |
| Mainstream Country Artist | Pending |
Discography
Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales threshold) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US | CAN Country | CAN | |||
| 2010 | My Best Days
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3 | 4 | 13 | 95 |
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Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions |
Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US | |||
| 2009 | "My Best Days Are Ahead of Me" | 24 | 82 | My Best Days |
| 2010 | "I Will Not Say Goodbye"A | 41 | — | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | ||||
- A Current single.
Digital singles
| Year | Single | Peak positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| US | |||
| 2009 | "You Are So Beautiful" | 125 | Non-album song |
Music videos
| Year | Song | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | "My Best Days Are Ahead of Me" | Wes Edwards |
| "I Will Not Say Goodbye" |
References
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This article uses bare URLs in its references. Please use proper citations containing each referenced work's title, author, date, and source, so that the article remains verifiable in the future. Help may be available. Several templates are available for formatting. (December 2009) |
- ^ Danny Gokey: 'Idol's New Hero.
- ^ "Introducing Danny Gokey: Get to know Hollywood Hopeful Danny Gokey." American Idol.
- ^ "American Idol finalists are church worship leaders" Associated Press via WNCT, February 20, 2009.
- ^ "Danny Gokey Biography". Tvguide.com. 1980-04-24. http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/danny-gokey/bio/296849. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
- ^ "American Idol Top 36: Danny Gokey" by Leslie Anne Wiggins, WITI-TV FOX 6,
- ^ "Milwaukee's Gokey wows judges, makes 'Idol' finals" Tim Cuprisin, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, February 18, 2009.
- ^ Social Security Death Index
- ^ a b c "Milwaukee man says he's prepared to give his all to make 'Idol' finals" by Tim Cuprisin, Feb. 13, 2009, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
- ^ "'Idol's grieving Danny Gokey hopes to lighten up" Jill Serjeant, Feb 19, 2009, Reuters.
- ^ "American Idol Selects First Three Finalists", AP story run in the New York Times.
- ^ "‘Idol’s’ Danny Gokey: My Wife ‘Is The Reason For My Success’" Access Hollywood, February 20, 2009.
- ^ "Danny Gokey Photo Gallery" WITI February 18, 2009
- ^ "Danny Gokey — “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” Audition — American Idol 8 : American Idol 9 –". Rickey.org. http://www.rickey.org/?p=11026. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
- ^ "'American Idol' Rock Week Makes Us Scream On Like Danny Gokey". http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1610808/20090507/story.jhtml. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
- ^ "Top 2: Lionel Ritchie and Danny Gokey jam – The Marquee Blog – CNN.com Blogs". Marquee.blogs.cnn.com. http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2009/05/20/top-2-lionel-ritchie-and-danny-gokey-jam/. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
- ^ Danny Gokey: East Troy Singer Beats Danny R. Gokey at WAMI Awards
- ^ [1]dead link
- ^ "American Idol's Danny Gokey Sees Rosy Future in Glasses". E! Online. 2009-05-15. http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/watch_with_kristin/b124061_american_idols_danny_gokey_sees_rosy.html. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
- ^ "News : American Idol's Danny Gokey Signs to 19 Recordings/RCA Nashville". CMT. 2009-09-02. http://www.cmt.com/news/news-in-brief/1620651/american-idols-danny-gokey-signs-to-19-recordings-rca-nashville.jhtml. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
- ^ "Danny Gokey switches singles". USA Today. 2009-11-19. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/idolchatter/post/2009/11/danny-gokey-switches-singles/1. Retrieved November 20, 2009.
- ^ Danny Gokey Makes Chart History with Debut Album!
- ^ Gokey to tour with Sugarland
- ^ "WAMI Award Winners". The Post Crescent: p. A-6. April 13, 2010. http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20100413/APC0101/4130564/1004&located. Retrieved 5 June 2010.
- ^ [2]
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Danny Gokey |
- Official website
- Danny Gokey at American Idol
- Danny Gokey on Twitter
- Sophia's Heart Foundation (Official charity website)
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