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March 31st, 2009
08:33 PM ET
Top 9: Danny Gokey is a little rascalNashville, were you listening?  Danny Gokey was all over Rascal Flatts' "What Hurts the Most." That's the Danny we fell in love with during the auditions. All raspy-voiced emotion, wringing so much feeling out of every note without overdoing it. It was the right song, right time and right place. He needs to kiss whoever placed him in the line up after Megan. –Lisa Respers France, CNN.com writer
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Country all the way, and I love the personality- but watch out Danny, sometimes you come across as another Taylor Hicks and you don't want to be viewed as just another Las Vegas lounge singer.
Danny hasn't mentioned his wife since Hollywood week....Put yourself in his place....It was his wife that died...He should dedicate everything to her out of decency.....How bout Lil pimping out her kids....Thats ok....Poor black women with 3 kids....Protection comes to mind....Condoms
They totally just lip synced "Don't stop believing" Just watch Scott.
All I Have To Say Is Danny Will Win This Crazy Competition. No One Even Compares To Him.
Definitely think Danny will be in the finals:)
He's the best in my opinion!
Danny, I respect the gift and talent God has given you. Be encouraged and continue to carry yourself well. Don't compromise, don't buckle under the pressure. Stay true to yourself.
danny is by far the best in this competition, raw talent-wise. i rewound the DVR about 10 times to listen to his song again, and again, and again... the people on this message board saying he sounded flat should do the same – he was absolutely spot on, in my judgement. brought me to tears with the emotion in his voice, and again when i realized he had tears in his own eyes at the end of his performace. brilliance.
adam is a great performer, but his talent sometimes gets lost in the "show" of it all... he's too much for me. allison is also great, but much too young for this competition, and it shows in the immature banter and poor costume choices – she just doesn't know who she is yet, and you have to be 100% confident to sell yourself to america. kris was great last night, but his talent is nowhere near the caliber of danny and adam (and allison in another three years).
so i say again... danny, i love you, milwaukee loves you, america loves you, and i can't wait to see you as the next american idol.
Danny is the best of season eight!
Wendy; you want LESS screaming from DANNY yet you LOVE ADAM??? Are you kidding me??? Adam does nothing BUT scream....song after song....week after week and when he sticks his tongue out I almost lose my lunch!!! Danny has poise, grace, style and an unbelievable voice!!!!!!!! There is no screaming there!!!
I like Danny but not my favorite. I also think he oversang it.
I totally agree with Bob S. Why don't the judges ever tell Danny when his singing is flat?? There is nothing spectacular about his voice... It's one thing to feel sorry for all his personal losses, but this is ridiculous!
He is good, but Adam and Kris are much much better. At least their songs sound different each week. Danny is consistant. Consistantly the same each and every week. While his style might fly in church, I just dont see it going over well on the radio.
Too cocky and that stupid smile makes me cringe.
I'm with Jessica and Jamie....best BY FAR performance of the night. I don't think he's gaining anything on his personal struggles, he is a human being and has losses just like the rest of us. I can't imagine being a widower at age 28....but that aside, he was born with an amazing gift and I feel blessed to be able to have him share that with us week after week. Adam is a flash in the pan......he will fade where Danny will endure. GO DANNY!!!!
Lisa: wringing, with a "w"
While I am a Danny fan, I didn't see what the judges saw tonight. Sounded like his voice was straind a bit... Still a fan though...
For those of you t hat think he's overrated, I'm not sure we're watching the same show. He's AMAZING. His personal struggles aside, that kid can sing. His voice is so unique and it sets him apart from all of the other contestants. I could listen to him all day....
Fantastic! favorite performance of the night!
Danny is what I call mediocre. He's ok but he never gives me the goosebumps (that's just my indicator). I hate to say this, but I think he got lots of sympathy votes due to his wife's passing and his grandfather's passing will get him more votes. Not a good thing. Besides, he'll never get past Adam, Alison or Kris.
Danny has completely rocked my world since Day 1!! He sings from his heart and soul and really tells a story when he sings. He was unbelievable last night, best performance BY FAR. I will be the first in line to buy his CD. Danny, stay true to yourself and keep sharing your incredible gift with the world. I can't wait to hear you again next week!
I think everyone thought he was so fabulous because he come right on the heels of the travesty that is Megan Joy. He was off-key in a few places, and if I can hear it when someone is off, they are REALLY REALLY off.
To ChrisinFlorida: If you can't hear talent coming from Danny, maybe that is why you are a "former" vocal coach!! Oh, and who are some of the "notables" that you coached?? EXACTLY!!! Most of the guys this year are great singers/performers and the girls are okay, but the best girl got voted off way too soon. She had such a powerful voice and was always in tune, but like most of them this year... poor song selection!! It is such a shame that the rest of the people voting could not see that!!
I also agree that the producers have their top 2-4 picked out way before the season really kicks off!! AMERICAN IDOL and any show like that where the winner is selected by viewer votes, is a RIP OFF!!! Why? Well for one, a single person can vote up to as many times as they can get through to the vote line. Now, how fair and accurate is that??? Then they say they had 30-40 million "people" voting, which is not accurate either. What they fail to say is that while they may have had that many votes, what they don't say is that one person could have voted 100 or more times. In order to make it at least seem like the winner is ACCURATELY selected by the votes, they need to set up their voting equipment so that only one vote can be placed per telephone number. And given technology today, I'm sure that can be done. Oh, but wait, then that would be like actually admitting that they really don't have that many viewers!! Like I stated, THEY DO NOT HAVE ACCURATE VOTING POLLS!!!
THE WORST PART IS, ALL YOU POOR FOOLS ACTUALLY BELIEVE YOUR VOTES ARE WHAT IS SELECTING THE NEXT "AI". AND THAT'S WHAT THEY WANT YOU TO BELIEVE BECAUSE IT'S GREAT FOR RATINGS!!!
so many stupid people keep saying " screams a litle too much for me" Do any of you know the difference between screaming and strong singing. The biggest problem I see hear is that some of you people don't realize that you can't compair voices on this show because each of the contestants voice is different. You have to compare performing and the individual performance.
I love Danny and April if he only sell one record that one would be mine, boo
I call him Danny Dopey. He seems fantasticly insincere, and I don't get his vocals. Not a very good range, and screams a little too much. I despise Adam, but Adam is about 4 to 5 steps up from Danny. Looking at American Idols like Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood, this season seems to just be lacking. Singing is lacking, stage presence non-existent, and very little entertainment value.
HE MAY BE ALL OF THE ABOVE. BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, HE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SELL ANY RECORDS. QUOTE ME LATER.
I love Danny, he can really, really sing. His performance moved me. I think the top three should be Danny, Adam and Kris. Great Job Danny!!! Ignore, the haters
Definitely top two! Love the glasses. Awsome voice. I can almost hear it on the radio already!
I think he is awesome... He's gonna make it till the end...
I really like Danny but I'd like to see something different, maybe less screaming! He's an awesome singer and I'm thinking maybe he'll place #2. No one can beat Adam!
Danny rocks! Not his best performance last night but still real good. I just don't understand all the haters...wow, some of you are just mean. I think he, Allison, and Adam are some of the best talent ever to grace the Idol stage. The voters don't always get it right...can you say Daughtry, Jennifer Hudson, etc, etc.
Another raw talent they had was Kelly Clarkson...green and great.
he is ok ,but not great,i dont think that anyone of them will sell records
adam lambert has got to go if someone is full of himself its him , lets
face it he cant sing country and if he does not know a song he screams his way throught it
It may have been good for idol but he's not Rascal Flatts... or Cascada... it wasn't THAT great.
He's in my bottom three this week. His song sounded almost exactly like the Rascal Flatts version to me. overrated!!
At first I really liked Danny, but I think I have figured out what happened, they give me his sad story and pull at the heart strings, part of me still wants to say that I like him, but the truth is I don't. It is nice to see that others feel the same way, he is boring, the same thing every week, what is driving me crazy is that the judges are giving him NO negative feedback, he will continue to be boring until someone says something.
This guy, the Black chick and "Freddie Mercury" are the 3 BEST SINGERS on the show. Period.
Danny is by far the best...everytime he sings it is breathtaking....GO DANNY!!!!
I really can hardly wait until this guy Danny gets booted off. I'm b-o-r-e-d when he takes the stage.
Can't s-i-n-g – can only s-h-o-u-t and that ain't p-e-r-f-o-r-m-i-n-g.
not a fan at all....same ol taylor hicks...not idol material.
Loved Danny last night. He has so much passion.....but needs to be careful and don't use it as a prop. I agree with Fitzwille56, would love to hear him do something of Joe Crocker's.
We love Danny!
OMG, He was screaming through the song. I had to MUTE the TV. I feel he is arrogant too... with all smiles and behaving like he cares. He is playing it as a game which does let the real personality show. Really guys, he was screaming crazy.... like a malfunctioning music instrument. Anoop was better, his song was boring but at least he sings well, crisp voice... I thought even Megan was better than danny... Cant stand him at all, very fake.
I would love to hear Danny sing Angel by Jon Secada.
Danny has already won, as soon as Paula started praising him, I knew he had won the entire competition. I heard on the radio former Idol winner Fantasia Barrino said she thought he was going to win, so that's a plus.
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK DANNY GOKEY!!
He was my 1st pick of the males. Lately?? Even though I want him to stay until the end, I know he won't win it.
DANNY IS THE NEXT AMERICAN IDOL. HE IS SO GOOD WORDS CAN NOT EXPRESS HOW GOOD HE IS. ADAM SCREAMS ALL THE TIME HE IS NOT AS GOOD AS PEOPLE THINK.
I love Danny, but I didn't get all the raves from the judges. It was kind of boring for me.
He's good. VERY GOOD. I'm an Adam fan though. Hope Danny's the runner-up! 🙂
Great Job! But I do think you are going to have to get a little more daring. You too are to talented. You need to start changing things up just a little more than you are. More like Adam. Don't lose that soul you have. Stay true to who you are, confinent in yourself & your ability.
Gokey has a great voice hands down. Top two. For those of you who don't like him, I'm sure it's because you have a "tin ear" and wouldn't know a good singer if you heard one. This guy will sell a lot of cd's.
Danny isn't a bad singer (except for the screaming) but he is way overrated. I am not sure why the judges are pushing him but they should stop because he won’t go anywhere when the show is over.
His performance last night sucked!
I think he's sincere, has a nice quality to his voice, seems like an upbeat person for having just lost his wife and now his grandfather. Must be tough for him. I think his performance suffered for me last night because I didn't know the song. Maybe thats a fault of my age at 53, so all I can say is that he seemed to execute the song he chose reasonably well. But that said, his performance didn't WOW me. I would have liked to hear him do something with a Joe Cocker song and exploit that raspiness in his voice or do something daring like Adam does every week, or something soulful like Kris has done for two weeks running. I think he needs to "step it up" (gawd I'm sounding like Randy or Paula now) if he wants to stay in the top three.
It's a two man race between Danny and Adam right now.
This guy is just boring. I have no idea why American Idol pimps him every week. Oh, that's right, his wife died. Tell you what American Idol, he won't sell records because his wife died.
Danny's a vocal powerhouse! However this week's performance didn't do anything for me....in fact it left me kind of cold. Strangely the judges loved it and everyone seem to love it – I must be missing something or my "Science project" of a dinner (Egg-plant sandwhich) didn't sit too well. I still like Danny though BUT Melinda Doolittle is still the ALL TIME vocal powerhouse!
Ugh! This was just ok....I don't get all the judges raving.
First off ALL of the contestants first few notes were off. I do not understand the comment about Danny being so FULL of himself? If being HUMBLE is being full of ones self then I am confused. I think your problem is you do not know how to be humble yourself so you confuse it with being full of ones self. The whole sympathy argument too is pissing me off. That is the ONLY reason why the blind guy is in it. He appeals more to my parents age group (50's) then a young audience. Dude can sing but will be on the bingo/piano lounge circuit before he becomes an American Idol. I like Danny, I like the unique sound to his voice. I actully think he could do well. With or with out winning Idol. He is a genuine guy. I think when someone who is a decent, moral, humble, everyday good guy. Not like a lot of the pompous, self absorbed pop artists you see today. People can't seem to see that talented people can be GOOD people too. Out of the norm and people can not relate.
I really liked him. I am a country fan, and that song is one of my favorites...and I think that he rocked it!
I have liked Danny since auditions. I hope that he goes all the way to the end. He is definitely someone to watch and listen to
I loved the comment about tfrom former vocal coach's comments. they were funny to the fact that FORMER VOCAL COACH was listed. i hope that this person can open there eyes and see that this guy is a hit!!!!
i hope that he/she has another good job. (maybe at Mcdonalds)
Really. I have never seen so much hate over somebody who has suffered significant lose in his family. People don't like him because they pity him. They like him because he has an awesome voice and he moves people. Give it a rest already. Just hatin.
I also love Danny! He seems genuine to me.He has a great voice,even if the vocals weren't 100% this time.I think he'll be in the top four.
I love Danny. What else can I say. He is original down to earth and moving. Fake? For real. Where is that coming from? Just can't see it.
Chris in Florida, I can see why you are a "former" vocal coach. The kid has it. He sings with emotion and is a true vocalist, not just a singer. If you want some lessons, let me know and maybe we can get you back into coaching.
I agree he was awesome tonite and please no he isn't another Taylor Hicks. He really has talent.
I really liked his performance. I think he is very talented and very grateful for this opportunity.
Whether Danny sings on pitch all the time or not, he is very refreshing. I hope he goes to at least the top 3.
It is so obvious that the Fox producers want him to succeed. You can tell by how the Judges ooh and aah. I found all his performances very karaoke and boring. He has no real range, only about 5 notes and I think he should be singing for the Christian network and get off Fox.
He's got some talent. Not bad. The hype is a bit much around this guy.
I loved it best when he sang Seal. Tonight wasn't that great.
But if we're talking about his personality, not his musical talent, then I have to admit that I don't like him as a person. I feel like he pimped the memory of his lost wife too much for extra votes. That rubbed me the wrong way. David Cook had a lot of trouble, too, and didn't talk about it on the show or gave very short answers when asked.
I just can't get over that. I'd like him much more if I'd missed the audition feature and Holleywood week stuff.
love you much.....song choice was not as strong as usual....but still a good performance. LAST WEEK....the dance steps at the end ....BLEW ME AWAY......I am from that era so I recognize the artistry. Remenber--each week has got to top the previous........GO FOR IT!
Danny is the best singer on this show this season..he gives me goosebumps!!!!
GOD..when are viewers going to get rid of that Adam...yuck!!!!!!!!
I love Danny I hope he goes to the top 2 I do think Adam will win it but i think Danny will go very far in this line of work......
Danny is amazing!!
Gokey is dorky. He needs a Clay Aiken make over to win
Why waste another week on a country song? We've passed that already thank God. Come on Dan, figure it out. You're going to be there till the end so quit wasting my time with boring country songs. Do something worth listening to. Red neck week of goat ropin' music has passed.
Danny, my wife and three kids love ya. I like ya, but Matt and Mr. Lambert and taking the day. Awesome song tonight, but you were pitchy. Could have been emotion, but didn't ring well... I live in Southlake Texas(a sub o f Dallas) and we know country. It was good but not your normal awesome! Still even though I want Matt to win, I wanted you to know in case you read these, that my wife and three kids love you above all else on the show.
The best performance of the night.
I love Danny!
I love Danny – and can't understand why people compare him to Taylor Hicks – I actually hated Taylor Hicks on his season and I love Danny – Gokey to the end
wow, he has some talent. I cant see him losing...but Adam is good too. I really think Danny is really good and should at least be runner up!
rock on danny
p.s. hope his family is doing ok poor grandpa!!
I like Danny and think he is genuine, but even the first few notes he sang were out of tune. Even my 13-year old noticed it, and she likes him a lot, and so do I, but I honestly didn't think it was good.
I just dont get why people like this guy. Speaking as a former vocal coach I thought he cracked a lot and was waaay too breathy. It just bugged me, and I was kind of confused as to why the judges loved it so much...
This guy is probably the best raw talent the show has ever had. He absolutely killed it tonight...and I'm NOT a country fan, don't know anything about Rascal Flats (I know who they are is about all), and don't care for country music. Being an alternative rock drummer for well over 20 years now, I'm just not into that type of music. But, I really like that song and I really love this dudes voice. I'll be downloading the song he sang tonight for sure.
If he doesn't win this year...the show is rigged and I'll be done watching or following it. There's just no one close to him...and probably from ANY of the other seasons. Carrie Underwood was the only other real, raw talent that the show has ever had...and she is a country singer too. I'm seriously not partial...but I do know talent.
Rock on, Danny!
There is just something about this guy that gives me the creeps. He seems very fake and insincere.
sucked
Why am I not impressed with him??
Truly one of the top talents this year. Don't feel bad if you aren't hearing it. Pop radio proves most people don't have the ears for good singing.
Sorry, but the whole "I have a different pair of glasses for every day of the week" thing is completely pretentious and annoying.
Then again, it's most likely the producers who are supplying the glasses. After all, Gokey is one of the already-determined-by-the-producers final four contestants, so they want to make sure he looks good.
Oh, you didn't know the producers already have the final four contestants picked out? You were really thinking the phone votes determine who goes? That's just silly 🙂
Danny was very good.
It wasn't that great-hate to break it to you guys. If you replay it you will see. You're distracted by his story and his talent to see his performance. I agree he is great, but he did NOT do well on RF.
I'm not a fan – I think he is FULL of himself – however I thought his performance this week was better than the last three. I hate that the judges are pimping him so much.
Um, Lisa, he wasn't ringing every note unless he was part of one of those bell choir groups. He was "wringing" like what happens when you twist a wet washcloth. I hope you and your editor give yourselves a slap on the wrist.
I have to agree with Bob s. I just dont think there is anything about this guy that sets him apart as a recording artist. Personally I just thought this song was not bad, but just boring.
Ugh I do not get the raving over this guy, he sounds strained and he totally oversang that song, as he usually does. Enough with the sympathy, he is not all that as a singer.
I like the guy, but I agree with Bob S. Same-o same-o
I agree with Bob. He did a couple of different things with his voice, but totally boring. Don't get the huge hype behind this guy. I like him as a person, but as an artist...meh.
He's my future husband.
No seriously – I love liking him. He's got a good-guy demeanor, a hot-boy swagger and a nerdy disposition that has me actually texting in my vote...something I don't do but I can't help myself! Must see Gokey over and over and over again!
Umm...are the judges paying you to agree with them. He sounded so flat!
OK, Gokey fans are gonna hate me, but, I just don't get this guy. He screams, sounds the same every week and yet the audience goes wild. I still think he's the second coming of Taylor Hicks. Nothing has convinced me otherwise.
That was great! He could record this song tomorrow!
Loved it! His granpa died this week... so much sadness for one person.