So at least they admit how crappy they were to him behind his back. Michael gives a good interview though.
Here it is folks (and sorry for the delay): Idolatry‘s hotly anticipated, five-part interview with Danny Gokey. With apologies to fans of the profoundly awkward, neither Kristen Baldwin, nor her alter ego Kristen With Glasses, participated in this sit-down chat. Idolatry’s commentary episodes may be brutally scathing — a place where EW staffers and I can vent our visceral feelings about American Idol – but if a contestant is game enough to pay us a visit, we’d never go out of our way to make him or her feel unwelcome or uncomfortable. In fact, the goal of these interview segments is to be as unfiltered as possible, but just as important, to give you a better sense of each and every Idol finalist — as I think we’ve seen all season, the best portions of contestants’ personalities often seem to end up on Fox’s editing-room floors. And so it was in that spirit we approached our conversation with Danny. Press play below to hear his thoughts on wanting people to like him, shopping in the “women’s department,” and dreaming about trying out for season 9. Danny also responds to record producer Howard Benson’s contention that he’ll never make a record, gives a surprising answer about the way certain media outlets painted season 8 as a referendum on social issues, and addresses the criticism that followed his semifinal performance of “Hero” (after a relative held up a picture of Danny’s late wife for the camera). Check back later this weekend for the cherry on top of the Idolatry season sundae: An action-packed interview with Kris Allen. (In the interim, check out bonus outtakes of Missy Schwartz’s most excellent feature story on the season 8 champ from this week’s issue of EW.) We’ll also be serving up a LaKisha Jones conference-room performance during the week, so keep checking back, or better yet, click here and sign up for our Idol email alerts, which will alert you to our coverage of America’s favorite talent show all through the unbearable off season.
Video is in Five Parts
I like Danny! But why are there a lot of Danny Haters! I think that they are just jealous and insecure of him! He is a good man and a very talented person! He has a foundation that helps people specially kids and he share his talent to a lot of people! We should give Danny a credit for that. Really do hope that Danny will have a successful career! =)
quite interesting to end the show with interviewing Danny~
they have been mean to Danny all the season but Michael got a good interview.
and it appeals to me that Danny took control of the interview^_^
I think this was a fair interview. It is hard to be mean to someone in person. This guy was clearly an Adam fan, but he gave Danny the same opportunity.
I have to give credit to”scum pond” for giving a fair interview. I thought DANNY held his own. He has so much class..And looks so good!! I apologize for writing all my other comments in cap. letters. I did’t know that it meant I was shouting..As you can tell I’m new to the computer!!!
Looks like I posted all my thoughts about the interview under the other thread where we were discussing it!
Karen, no problem with the “shouting”! If you’re new to forums, how would you really know the “rules”? With the caps, you sure got the message across that Danny IS SO HOT!….not that we needed to be reminded of that!
Twitter: Upsnodowns
I have watched most of the Danny’s post-Idol interviews and I must say Michael Slezak’s was the best. Slezak was horrible to Danny throughout the season and I was wondering if he would be as cruel to Danny in person. I suspected he would be respecful and he was. Danny is really good at interviews because he talks from the heart and seems so honest. There is no pretense there. I hope Slezak learned to appreciate Danny for who he is and realizes that Danny was not and is not deserving of all the hateful things Slezak and other Danny-haters have said about him. Oh, and Danny did look smokin’ hot!!!!
I don’t know where to put this….but Danny twittered that the same airline that lost his luggage when he went to NYC lost it AGAIN when he flew back home to Milwaukee late last night!!!
I have the highest respect for Danny. Anyone who can remain positive amidst so much unjust criticism shows that they have great character. I know Danny will be successful in whatever he sets out to do because of this. Thanks to everyone who supported him and didn’t get caught up in all the gossip and slander. For those who did, I hope you see the error of unjustly verbally assaulting someone. Treat others the way you want to be treated.
Unfortunately the hate still continues in the comments section of most websites and blogs online. I couldn’t understand it in the beginning and I still can’t understand it. It still hurts to see it. But knowing that Danny can see it too, this is…..”what hurts the most”…..
Shirl, you make me cry! I really hate for Danny to see all those nasty remarks.. If someone would twitter him and tell him to come to this site and see how much he is loved and respected.. I thought with AI over it would get better. I wonder after doing the interview with Danny if Slezak has changed his opinion of him. If he hasn’t then he’s still a “scum pond”…
One thing that I really noticed about Danny.. is he does not seem to be at all affected by any of this..He does have my respect for sure I just think that he really does not care what others are saying he does not seem to get sad or mad about it or anything except when he misses a note on Idol=) LOL!! HE just has such a good character all these haters who continue to blog about him should stop wasting their time because he sure does not let it effect one minute of his time!!! And he does not care what anyone thinks of him..he is just going to make great music and he has a great point who cares if your defined to me it is just putting you into one category with album then..why not make a combination album with losts of different styles on it!! And when you think about it that is what alot of artists end up doing anyway- they start with rock then their next album is country then maybe some soul then maybe some R& B etc. Danny just wants to make one really super cool album for all of us to enjoy!! And I cant wait to hear it!!!!! Go Danny!! make the album that is on your heart it will soar to the top=)
i somehow believed that all this hatred Danny received from Michael or Kristen was the propaganda of the producers.
They knew exactly what happened on the internet and they would magnify certain point.
I remembered that the whole season they just focus on 3 things of Danny: the back story, the comments from the judges and the scream on. And we all know that the first two things were completely out of Danny’s control! Not until rock week did they finally find something different to talk about…
Thinking back, i cannot help thinking that Danny was throwing off the bus when we came to top13.Not even once had he got the so-called ‘pimp spot’, and himself knew clearly that the exaggerated comments from some of the judges did him no good. And from motown week, we knew that ‘get ready’ was the fifth on his list, which meant that his song choice was not exactly ‘his’ song choice.
I just want to say that Danny is a warrior and all of Danny’s fans are strong!! We have been fighting the whole season and i have confidence in Danny’s future!
We can make anything happen!
Thanks for the pep talk, Joanna! I needed it!
Joanna & Deb- You both said some things that I never thought of. I’m like Shirl, I needed that pep talk.. I really wish things would have turned out differently for DANNY, but I know he’ll do great things with his music and his foundation. All of his many fans will see to it. I’m looking so forward to his C.D., I hope he gets it out real soon! I’ve been listening to “You Are So Beautiful” tonight. I just can’t help it, He is so darn HOT!!
Joanna I totally agree with you too! thanks you are rallying the team!! Go Danny!!!! Give us a D what does that spell?
And I really believe you are right once the negative stuff started about saying he was pimping for votes or whatever it really was the beginning of the downfall people blasted him everywhere and still do about it! Can you believe that now its about that he talks about it in interviews..As I said haters will always lose and WINNERS will never QUIT!!! And Daniel J Gokey is a winner. He may have not have won the show but he won all of our hearts and will win many more for sure before this tour is over and in the days ahead!!! And he will never quit. HE did say that that Benson guy who said to him he would never succeed he should not say things like that and I love what Danny said I will succeed I will work hard I am just so new at this like he said he has never had to be judged for his singing before..Look out world here he comes- and the Winner is- Danny Gokey!!!=)
Oh Deb, you make so much sense!! Danny is already a winner.. He’s not going to let all these petty remarks and petty people stop him.. He is going to succeed! With all his many fans rooting and cheering him on how could he not!!!
I truly believe that Danny was the target for so many haters from the beginning because they recognized his talent and really saw him as a threat to Adam. The media machine started focusing on every word, every movement, everything he did. When he was deemed a “frontrunner” I think that did him in, look at what happened to Susan Boyle. We as his fans need to continue to support him and that is with our $$$$, buy his albums, cd’s, whatever!!! Show Howard Benson he doesn’t have a clue what America likes in music! Not everyone wants to be a rocker like Daughtry, we need diversity in Music and uplifting music that makes us feel good – that’s DANNY GOKEY!!!!!
Beautiful, Michelle! You guys are all SO good with helping to keep up my morale when I see things about Danny that upset me. Of all the websites around, I feel really comfortable in here because y’all are just so nice
I also like the format of this forum, thanks to Amy!
I need to keep in mind that he has many many fans out there…else how did he get to third place runner-up on AI?!
I voted my fingers off, donated to SHF, follow him on Twitter, and put in my order for his debut album on Amazon. Unfortunately, the Idol Tour isn’t coming to the Giant Center in PA this year (sob!) so I won’t get to see him on tour. But I will do whatever else it takes and whatever else I can do to support him from the get-go!
I love you guys….you’re such a great support team and like a second family!
Shirl, I’m like you, I just can’t go to other sites because when I hear hateful things about D. it just upsets me so.. I just don’t understand why people do and say such mean things… I try to think they are just jealous because D. is so talented.. and was a threat to all the other contestents. I’m trying to get my Twitter acct. set up, but Twitter is having some trouble with new accts. What do I see on Twitter, a woman said that Danny was sitting in front of her on the airplane, she said why couldn’t have that have been Adam? T thought to myself, if that had been me I couldn’t have keep my hands off him!!
I realize that not everybody is going to like Danny because of different styles, but why do they have to be so mean about it? Anyway, I think what is wrong with all of us, is that Danny is back in Mil. and nothing is going on.. We need for Danny to be in the”spotlight” all the time… Well, I think I’ll go watch his duet with Lionel!!
karen, can you please send me the link to the video of Danny singing HELLO, and his duet with Lionel???
Shirl, It’s on this site- Just scroll back aways- Danny G. and Lionel R. perform Live @AIS 8 Finals.. Oh, I love this performance.
Karen: THANK YOU!!!! Lots of pages with lots of videos and photos! I think I died and went to heaven! Bookmarked it of course! Thanks again, Karen!
Shirl, the first song that Lionel and Danny sang “Just Go” is Lionel’s new single and the title of his new C.D> How did you like it??hS h
I finally had a chance to watch this interview in it’s entirety tonight and was it ever worth the wait!!! It was so great to see some different insight into his thoughts and feelings. It only made me love him more.
Karen, I like Lionel’s new single well enough…haven’t really listened to it all that much yet.
QUESTION: Can anyone tell me where the video can be found with Danny talking to someone on the TV Guide channel about wanting to have an album out by January 2010???
Shirl, just posted it
You guys are awesome! So encouraging to know Danny has many people who love him. I enjoyed the Michael Slezak interview, but the comments following it were unbelievable. I seriously don’t understand why so many people hate him. Not only that, they have no compassion for all he has been through. Maybe that is why they hate him. We need to pray hard for Danny.
I hope Slezak has a different perspective now. Danny has explained himself well. I said from day one that he was very into the music, he was all caught up in it, and where some said he was snooty, I think he was trying to be focused. I have a friend who met him on the street in LA who said he is the nicest person. I’m glad he learned to let the negativity roll off.
I think that the people over at Idolatry should be investigated and sued. We need to uncover the real reason that they are jumping through hoops trying to discredit Danny and ruin any chances of a career in Music for him. I would hate to see what was left on the cutting room floor for this interview. Slezak knew that the interview that was left would not be especially flattering, and he also knew that his staff would then post multi messages, under assumed id’s, slamming Danny and making him look like as bad as they possibly can..
Matter of fact, I can prove that tha, seemingly innocuous, little question about the producer Howard Benson, which was asked to throw Danny off, and also influence the kids that go to the Popwatch site to think that people in the know know that Danny is not a good singer. It was referenced to an article that they wrote that spoke of this. What viewers won’t know, is that prior to this article being referenced, there was a comments section on it. In those posts, were the usual internally generated posts to discredit Danny, but then there were some outside posters who not only rose to his defense, but gave some pretty insightful looks at AI and what is going on.
Wouldn’t you know that around the 11,000th viewer of that page, or so, that all comments were removed, and the abiity to comment was taken away. I am not saying that a comment here and there that was considered against policy was removed, I am saying that ALL comments were removed. They didn’t want anyone that might follow the reference in the 5 part video to see the truth that some of the posters talked about, which might have encouraged viewers to think for themselves, when it comes to Danny, his motives, his talent, etc.
Go over to their website and do a search on Danny, and you will see article after article that has the very same elements to either discredit Danny, or to purposely leave him out of their praise of everyone else, and make him a non entity.
Right now the Kriss Allen interview has these posts from inside idolatry that allude to the fact that Kris and the other AI contestents hate Danny, and that Danny did ‘this’ or ‘that’ to them.
These people at idolatry are the lowest form of life it seems, and someone should call them out about this.
Are Adam and Kris too afraid to piss them off, that they don’t set the record straight?
I think that anyone who knows Kris Allen, or Adam Lambert should ask them if the comments in that section are true or not.
It seems that the staffers at idolatry file their tongues all day to use as weapons for Danny, and they are out for blood.
How do they sleep at night?
Is there no one in the industry that can look at what is going on at that site and take them to task?
Just what the heck is really going on here? and why is no one doing anything about this?
Hello Bets,
Thank you for bringing this to my attention.
I just went over to that site and looked around.
You are absolutely right.
The most interesting part of this is, that had I not been looking at the site because of Danny, I would never know about those people at all. Looks like he always seems to be doing some good for someone, even those that are out to do the opposit to him.
I am going to talk to the people at my Church on Sunday, and see if we can’t get some interest in spreading the word to NOT buy American Idol Tour Tickets, and writing a letter to American Idol, telling them that we will not buy any tickets until they get the people responsible for all of this at Idolatry, to apologize !!! If the people who have the money to get Clay Aikens to apologize, than why not do that here, since in this case ‘we’ are the ones that are paying.
Bets, not for one moment do I doubt one word of what you are saying, and I’m curious to go read some of those nasty comments posted on Idolatry about Danny. However, it just upsets me too much. I’ve heard and read so many negative comments made about Danny not only from fans but in the media, and ESPECIALLY from that sleazebag Slezak and his crew, that I just can’t take it anymore. It hurts too much.
I also don’t think any of their comments would deter any record label from wanting to sign Danny. His voice and his talent speak for themselves. I may be wrong but I seriously doubt if anyone connected with the record (CD) business would pay any attention to or even take the time to read such crap.
Bottom line here is that Danny came in THIRD behind Adam and Kris. That alone proves that he has fans and he has a strong following.
It was awesome to see Danny in the idolatry interviews. I just love his lisp, don’t you? I never noticed it so much until then. And I like how he just pretended to not know what Sleazak was getting at when he brought up the so called cultere war issue. I think that was the way to go because he didn’t want to have to answer questions about homos to a homo after all.
I’m so glad I found this!