Danny Gokey (right) and fellow 'Idol' finalist Lil Rounds sing at BankAtlantic Center. (Allen Eyestone / The Post)
Adam, Kris lead surprisingly solid ‘Idols Live’ | 
See more photos | Set list, audience review | Meet Scott and Matt | Meet Lil and Megan
DANNY GOKEY: (Who, given some bloggers’ perception that he was arrogant, was fairly down to earth and humble. You never know. I don’t even know, as I spent a pleasant five minutes in his presence. But he seemed pretty nice to me, and I was one of those who was sick of him being pimped. Talented kid, though.)
Q: Have you had any time to explore the cities you’ve been in?
A: Not really. We come and go, although we did have a day off in Tampa. We had a whole day at the beach, and that was the best kind of site-seeing.
Q: What are you enjoying about the tour?
A: One of the best parts is singing, and also the audiences. It’s a 50/50 thing. Singing’s not interesting if there’s no one there to hear you. It’s been really cool. But that beach day was the best day of my whole year, which has been inflitrated with “American Idol” since January. It’s hard to find that place (to decompress), but this is the making of us.
Q: Can you ever prepare for this sort of exposure?
A: It’s been surprisingly hard. I don’t think I thought it would be this stressful. But the tour is much lighter than the show was.
Q: Do you read what’s written about you on the Internet?
A: I try to stay away from that. I feel like I’m getting better at keeping all that in the right perspective, about what to focus on and what not to focus on, on what is temporary.
Q: You obviously shared some personal things about yourself on the show (Danny’s wife died not long before his audition), things that some writers and bloggers felt free to expound on, because they were out there and they could interpret them any way they wanted. Did that…
A: Did that bother me? It bothered me big time. People who tend to be like that don’t go anywhere in life, because they’re not happy and they want to get someone else, to make someone else unhappy. I can’t focus on that.
Q: One last question: Your duet of “All Night Long” with Lionel Richie on the finale was so much fun, and I could see that smile on your face when the music came on and people freaked out.
A: That was the biggest moment of my Idol experience. I was just ear-to-ear. Lionel Richie became like a mentor for me behind the scenes. It was just amazing.
MORE TO COME, GUYS! STAY TUNED FOR THE REST OF THE INTERVIEWS, AND THE SHOW REVIEW. AND CHECK OUT MY TWITTER UPDATES!
Great interview! Thanks so much! Danny has had a lot of criticism that really wasn’t fair, especially for someone who had so recently been struck by tragedy. I wonder how we would have coped in such a situation! I feel he did (and is still doing) tremendously well! Kris is my favorite, but I love Danny’s voice too.
Danny Gokey is one of the most exciting talents and people to grace the American Idol Stage. Never ever in the bottom three. I am in awe about how honest, open and sincere he seems to be. As for his talent, like Simon Cowell said to Danny within everyone’s earshot, in the video: “Danny says goodbye to Paula, Randy and Simon after the American Idol Show” on Utbue : ” You are really REALLY a good singer” then Simon turned to the others and said: ” I mean serioulsy, this guy is one of the BEST ! ”
Well Danny may have missed being an American Idol by a relatively few votes, but to me and millions of others he is an American “Hero”.
Danny is my favorite. But I always enjoy a performance by Kris and I really enjoyed Adam Lambert doing Mad World.
Danny Gokey just has something extra —I loved every one of his
performances–and, never NEVER saw any arrogance— don’t know what those bloggers were talking about !! He was the best vocalist on the show–and, I am hoping his first release will just be out the park !!!!!!
I belive that danny was robbed on american idol 4 a man with such a big heart and soul 2 never been in the bottom three 2 have been voted off !That man is a true gift of god and I hope it makes it really big because he deserves it .all that he is doing giving back 2 the world with his wifes foundation thatis a true idol God Bless!
My husband and I had the pleasure of meeting Danny backstage after the Sacramento, CA, concert and IMHO he really got a bad rap from alot of people/press (then again, we are all entitled to our opinions). He was sweet, genuine, high-energy and funny as all-getout! Our concert was then ight after the one year anniversary of Sophia’s passing…he smiled the whole time except briefly when we mentioned we had made a donation the day before in Sophia’s honor. He was very thankful and I could see the sadness in his eyes. He put on a great show (as did all the Idols although Scott and Danny were always ny favorites…and let me say that all the Idols I met were warm and down-to-earth, really nice folks) and he has lots of plans for after the tour…we’ll be seeing Danny around for a long time with his drive and talent :)
Thank you all so much for taking the time to say all that you have. As Danny’s teenage youth pastor, I too, had to stop reading all the junk on the internet. Talk about a truly sincere and genuine person, Danny has always been that. It hurt me to see all of the unfounded and untrue propaganda. Fortunately, the real Danny Gokey has a strong foundation and an even stronger God and both will prevail in the end. Having had the honor and privilege of speaking (and praying) with him throughout the competition, we know right where he stands. But these few words of encouragement REALLY help. Thanks again!