Danny Gokey said he knew all day Wednesday that he would be voted off “American Idol” that night.
Predicted by many to make the Top 2, the church music director from Milwaukee said when the show’s host Ryan Seacrest announced that Kris Allen was safe, he knew he wasn’t.
“I was very confident in the fact that it was it for me,” Gokey, 29, said Thursday during a conference call with reporters. “Actually the whole day I kind of thought it was it for me. Did I want it to be it for me? No. You know, I can be very transparent, and I wanted to go for the gold just like they did, and it didn’t work out that way.”
Next week, the mellow Allen and showy Adam Lambert go head to head in the finale of the popular Fox singing competition.
Gokey said his much-talked-about scream at the end of his version of Aerosmith’s “Dream On” on May 5 might have been a variable in getting voted off.
“I guess I was thinking about that this morning. I was like ’Man, maybe that was the downfall’ because the week before, I had a really good performance,” he said.
Gokey said he tried to rearrange more songs, but those didn’t always make it on the show.
“People want to see a creative element,” he said. “They want to see an old song made fresh again. I think ‘Idol’ from this point on, ever since last year, you can’t go on singing the same arrangement of a song. You’ll get bashed.”
Gokey auditioned for the show only four weeks after his wife, Sophia, died last summer from surgery for a congenital heart defect. Sophia loved the show, and they had agreed he would try out.
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American Idol - Season 8
Besides touring this summer with the top 10 finalists, Gokey plans to grow Sophia’s Heart Foundation, which he started after she died. The foundation helps children who need “restoration in various areas of their lives,” according to its Web site.
Gokey, known for his assortment of spectacles, plans to start his own eyeglass line or even model them to raise money for the foundation. He said he has about 50 pairs now, up from the 15 at the show’s start.
He also wants to make a “soulful” album with rhythm and blues beats and a hint of salsa and meringue.
Gokey said he was proud of his accomplishment, although there were things he would have done differently. Not only did he try his best despite his insecurities in competition, but he had to deal with his grief.
“I saw strength in me that I didn’t know I had,” he said.
Now he wants to tell people: “If I can do it, you can do it.”
To do that, he’s going to incorporate the foundation’s work into his music, possibly featuring children it has helped in his concerts, he said. He wants to start a music movement to “revolutionize a culture, to change people’s hearts.”
“So not only will I entertain people but they will walk away feeling good, but also it’s not a temporary good,” he said. “They are going to want to make a change.”