Be sure to pick up your copy in stores now!   (http://www.countryweekly.com/where2buy)

Thanks Shellie!

During the recent auditions for American Idol, 26-year-old Chicago native Chris Medina wowed audiences with his rendition of “Break Even” by The Scripts, and stole their hearts with the emotional story of his fiancée, Juliana Ramos, who suffered a severe brain injury in a car wreck shortly before they were to be married. The story also brought detractors and critics who viewed Chris andAmerican Idol as emotionally manipulative, and someone who was exploiting his fiancée.

Danny Gokey, who placed third on American Idol’s eighth season, can relate to the criticism. Danny auditioned for American Idol four weeks after his wife, Sophia, died of complications from congenital heart disease surgery, and critics accused him of exploiting his wife’s story to gain sympathy votes during the contest. During a fundraising event for Sophia’s Heart Foundation, a new Nashville organization that Danny is founding to help homeless families, he took a moment to give his opinion of his critics.

Read the full article: http://www.countryweekly.com/danny_gokey_chris_medina_american_idol/news/5441?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

When it came to sales debuts, this year’s American Idol winner and runner-up couldn’t beat the third-place finisher from 2009. And the winner of the show’s third season made the biggest Idol splash of the year, sales-wise.

[...] Season 8′s Danny Gokey had the biggest opening week of any debut Idol act, his 65,000 copies of My Best Days easily surpassing releases from Lee DeWyze (39,000) and Crystal Bowersox (58,000). Danny has sold nearly 200,000 copies of the album, which came out in January. [sic]

[iheartdannygokey.com note: My Best Days officially came out on March 2, 2010.]

Read the full article: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/idolchatter/post/2010/12/fantasia-danny-gokey-have-2010s-top-idol-debuts/1

It’s Only

I Will Not Say Goodbye

Life On Ya

Thanks to trianaparks!

After his concert at the House Of Blues Las Vegas on December 10th to promote the new IGT American Idol Slots at Mandalay Bay Casino, Danny tried his luck on one of them and won some money for Sophia’s Heart Foundation.

Thanks to Darla and Elaine for the videos!

By Marco R. della Cava, Bill Keveney and Brian Mansfield, USA TODAY

For Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler, the job is simple: Keep the contestant known as American Idol squarely in TV’s fickle spotlight.

Once a dizzyingly dominant small-screen force, Fox’s American Idol has been shedding viewers in recent years — some 9% last season alone, many of them in the advertiser-coveted 18-to-49 demographic.

The much-predicted announcement Wednesday that actress/singer J. Lo and Aerosmith frontman Tyler would join holdover Randy Jackson on judges’ row for Season 10 is aimed at both rekindling viewers’ interest and refocusing the contest on the show’s hopefuls.

[...] At least two ex-Idols will stick by the show that made their music dreams come true.

“Heck, I’ll be tuning in just to watch J. Lo — she’s quite the woman,” says Season 8 third-place finisher Danny Gokey, who sang Aerosmith’s Dream On during his Idol run. (He’s currently touring in support of his country album, My Best Days.) “But mostly I want to hear what Tyler has to say. He’s a true rock star, and they’re their own breed.”

Read the full article: http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2010-09-23-idol23_CV_N.htm

We don’t agree with all the comments in this (we love “I Hope You Dance” and really hope to see Danny cover it again someday!).  But it’s interesting reading, and does recognize many of Danny’s best moments while offering a few criticisms. Check out their thoughts below on Danny’s audition and final competitive performance for American Idol, and read more at their site.

As the “Idol” veteran and his glasses make their way to Queen Creek for a Saturday, Aug. 14, concert, here’s a look back at key moments on the road to Gokey’s “Best Days.” [..]

First impressions

When they first rolled video on Danny’s story – how his wife had died just four weeks earlier – my first thought was, “Awesome, a sympathy finalist.” Not to diminish his pain. But you know how producers like to jerk those tears for fun and profit. Then, he took that broken heart and poured it into Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” sounding more like Otis Redding than he had a right to.

[..]

‘Beautiful’ Loser

Having somehow made it to the Top 3 after “Dream On,” Danny nailed “You Are So Beautiful,” bringing the soul with real authority until he left you wondering if that’s the way composer Billy Preston planned it, never mind Joe Cocker. Even Al Green’s recent cover didn’t take the song to church and testify like Gokey did.

Read the full article at http://www.azcentral.com/thingstodo/music/articles/2010/08/06/20100806danny-gokey-american-idol-phoenix-concert.html

MILWAUKEE – It’s Season 10 of Fox’s American Idol and auditions went all day Wednesday at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.
Wednesday’s auditions were considered “Round One” of three for those auditioning. Everyone who stood in line was allowed into the Bradley Center to see Ryan Seacrest, Finalists Danny Gokey, and Matt Giraud. The Idol hopefuls will appear before producers, then in a couple of weeks, they’ll go before executive producers and then onto the celebrity judges. Of course, that’s all assuming they make it through Wednesday’s cuts.
[...] Contestants got a special treat: a chance to see Danny Gokey up close. He’s a Milwaukee native and partly responsible for the show producers choosing to hold auditions there.
“There’s so much talent here,” said Gokey. “And we hit it and we’re gonna start seeing those gems come out. It’s really neat.” He got his shot last year driving to Kansas City to audition. He came in third place overall and just released an album.
“I’ve always been proud of the city,” Gokey said with a smile. He hung out with Matt Giraud from Michigan, a success story from Idol Season #8. “My whole life has changed,” said Giraud of his Idol experience. “I’m doing a single with Jim Brickman coming out in a week, called ‘Thank you.’” He added those auditioning Wednesday shouldn’t worry about strategies to get ahead just yet.
“They’re looking for someone who’s original, not trying too hard,” said Giraud.”

Read the full article: http://www.fox21online.com/news/northlanders-gear-meet-judges-american-idol

Thanks to icollin757!

Pics via AINow.org!

Ryan was on location Wednesday in Milwaukee, Wisconsin at the Bradley Center where over 10,000 Idol hopefuls lined up for a shot at stardom. In the video above, Ryan takes us behind the scenes of shooting the intros, auditioning the talent, and shooting E! News right inside the stadium.

Danny Gokey appears, with Matt Giraud, in the video introducing Ryan Seacrest inside the Bradley Center, and later posing with Ryan.

via http://www.ryanseacrest.com/blog/whats-happening/behind-the-scenes-of-american-idol-milwaukee-auditions-video/

Picture gallery HERE.

via: http://www.jsonline.com/multimedia/video/?bcpid=13960334001&bctid=194002917001

Ryan Seacrest talks about Idol’s visit to Milwaukee