If you followed my blog during the season, you know my feelings on Danny Gokey. He was my favorite from the very beginning, and then I just completely turned on him. I didn’t like his song choices, I thought he was getting too cocky, I hated how Simon was shoving him down our throats.
But when he sat across from me and looked me in the eyes, it was hard not to like him. He says, “You know what I mean?” a lot and you actually do know what he means because he’s so good at drawing you into his world.
The publicist told me I only had time for two questions with him, so I tried to get right to the heart of it. And he tried to do the same…
Angela: Since I only have two questions, let’s get right to it. Lots of rumors about the record deal. What can you say?
Danny: I can’t say nothin’.That’s what I gotta say. Put it like this. There’s good stuff happening. There’s definitely good stuff happening.
A: So your fans can be relieved that they will hear more from you?
D: Yes, they will hear more. They can be relieved.
A: I follow you on Twitter, so I know you are so busy. You’ve got a lot going on.
D: A lot going on. Absolutely. The foundation, the record, eyewear, a lot of different things. It’s good things to have, it’s dreams. How do I—It’s like, I’m very happy with my life right now. You know what I mean? A lot of people know my story and it’s not that I want to harp on it, but I’m so proud of myself for what I’ve come through and I want to encourage people to come through the same thing. Know what I mean? Not to be kind of caught up in their situations, but to just kind of, you know, dream. I’m kind of trying to round up what I feel in this little brief moment here, but like—Are you coming to the show tonight?
A: Oh yes.
D: So, like, I want to entertain people. And not only do I want to entertain, I want my foundation to inspire. And that’s what I see in the future. You know what I mean? And so I’m excited for the opportunity. It’s very interesting. I’m a very lucky man.
A: And my last question. What’s it feel like for you when you take the stage, to hear the people scream your name?
D: It definitely, it feels good, because people are, they like me. You know, it’s a good feeling. They like all of us, but it’s just nice to know that you feel affirmed when you’re up there. If they were booing, I wouldn’t want to be up there. To have them kind of welcome you by clapping, they kind of welcome you on up, show us what you’ve got. I like it. I do like it and I’m growing into it trying to become a better performer.
A: I’m going to sneak in another question while she’s not paying attention. What’s one thing that you want people to know about Danny?
D: That I’m real. I’m just a real person. I’m not like—I don’t know how to say it—I’m just a real person. And I go through things like everyone else goes through things and I’m a compassionate person and I hope people see that the charitable side of me is not to get a pat on the back, but it’s how I was raised. It’s not about me it’s about people getting together to do something collectively better as a whole. You know what I mean? I want my music to go further than me, but I want to connect with people. That’s how I feel. I was raised in the church, so I got a lot of my stuff from the church.
A: That’s fantastic. I know you’ve got to run. It was a pleasure meeting you and I look forward to the show tonight.
D: Thank you. Thanks for coming out.
Even though I had just mere minutes with him, Danny managed to come off way more sincere than he ever did on the show. Combine that with his great stage presence and that gut-wrenching performance of “What Hurts the Most” and I have to say I am more conflicted about him than ever…
Especially since I read that he told Slezak that his album will be country, but a new kind of country.
Hmmm…
