Third place finalist on the eighth season of American Idol, 30-year-old Danny Gokey made a lot of new fans during his thoroughly entertaining wine country debut last week at the Napa Town and Country Fair.Although he’s signed to RCA Nashville/19 Recordings and billed as a country artist, his niche may well be adult contemporary, judging from the 17-song repertoire he shared with fairgoers the other night.No matter how we label the personable young singer, no one can dispute the fact that his first single, “My Best Days Are Ahead of Me” and the album’s next single, “I Will Not Say Goodbye,” have made Top 40 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs list.His first album, “My Best Days,” debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 for the chart week of March 9, selling 65,000 copies in its first week. “My Best Days” is the best debut for a male country solo artist since Billy Ray Cyrus’ “Some Gave All” album debuted with 90,000 copies in June 1992. “My Best Days” sold 19,000 digital albums its first week, giving it the highest first week digital album sales ever for a new country artist, the folks at Billboard point out.
Don’t miss the full-length concert report via Idol finalist Gokey inspires big fair crowd in upbeat wine country debut.
