After leaving RCA Nashville in November 2011, he gravitated his music towards an adult pop/contemporary Christian sound and subsequently made a record deal withBMG Rights Management in May 2013. He released his second studio album,Hope in Front of Me, in 2014.
Gokey started singing with his family in church, but stated he would rather record mainstream music than perform solely Christian/gospel music. He was the worship director at his church in Milwaukee, Faith Builders International Ministries, for several years.[3][4]
He is the fifth of six children. He has a brother, Charles, and four sisters: Angela, Janell, Gina, and Tracey.[5][6] Gokey has acknowledged the influence of Jeffrey and Robin Pruitt, who are the pastors of the church where he worked, and also Matthew Barnett, the founder of theLA Dream Center. He has stated that his faith is the "key to who I am".[7] Gokey was a church music director, while also driving a semi truck for a local logistics company for two years.[4]
Gokey rose to national fame with his participation in the eighth season ofAmerican Idol. Gokey'sAmerican Idol audition occurred only four weeks after his wife's death in July 2008.[8] He auditioned with his friend Jamar Rogers, who also made it through to Hollywood but was eliminated before the live shows.[citation needed]
During Rock Week (Top 4 week), Gokey's take onAerosmith's "Dream On" was planned for the extended scream with which he finished the song.[9] Gokey was the only contestant in that season who was never in the bottom two or three, but he was eliminated in third place on May 13, 2009, after his performance ofJoe Cocker's "You Are So Beautiful".[10]
During the season 8 finale on May 20, 2009, Gokey performed a duet withrhythm and blues singer-songwriterLionel Richie. The performance opened with Gokey singing a true-to-the-original soulful ballad solo of Richie's "Hello," and then Richie joined Gokey for a duet of his hits "Just Go" and "All Night Long".[11]
Gokey was nominated in his home state of Wisconsin in the WAMI (Wisconsin Area Music Industry) Awards for Best Christian/Gospel Artist of the Year.[12] In September 2009, Gokey finished his tour with the other idols on theAmerican Idols Live! Tour 2009, and he worked on his foundation, Sophia's Heart Foundation, which was set up to help disadvantaged children.[13]
Gokey, known for his many pairs ofeyeglasses that he often wore on the show, had stated he might start an eyewear line to help raise funds for his foundation and Match Eyewear teamed with him for the Danny Gokey Eyewear collection.[14][15] Launched in March 2012, the collection has exceeded sales projections with over 1.7 million in net retail sales.[16]
On September 1, 2009, Gokey signed with19 Recordings/RCA Nashville, becoming the first third-place finisher to record with 19 and the first maleIdol to be signed to a major country label.[17] On November 19, 2009, 19 Recordings and RCA Records announced the release of the debut single "My Best Days Are Ahead of Me".[18] He released his debut album,My Best Days, on March 2, 2010.[19] It debuted on theBillboard charts at number four, and it netted him the best opening-week sales by a debut country male in 18 years and the highest debut of digital downloads sold by any new country artist ever.[20] In support of the album, Gokey was the opening act onSugarland'sIncredible Machine tour which began in April.[21] He also performed at country singerDarryl Worley's ninth annual Tennessee River Run festival in Savannah, Tennessee along with other artists such asJoe Diffie andLee Brice.[22] The event helped raise $200,000 for the Darryl Worley Foundation.[22]
On October 18, 2010, Gokey earned a nomination for Best New/Breakthrough Artist at the first annualAmerican Country Awards.[23] On November 21, 2010, Gokey was a part of ABC's pre-show event at theAmerican Music Awards.[24]
Gokey released the single "Second Hand Heart", written byCary Barlowe, Shane Stevens andJosh Kear, in 2011.[25] He was one of opening acts onTaylor Swift'sSpeak Now World Tour.[26] He also made an appearance in a TV movie withCandace Cameron Bure calledTruth Be Told.[27][28][29] Subsequently, he left RCA Nashville in November of the same year.[30] In 2012, he released hisEP,Love Again.[31] It was self-released limitedly via his official website only as physical CD format. His memoir,Hope in Front of Me: Find Purpose in Your Darkest Moments, was published on October 1, 2013.[32]
In 2014, Gokey released "Hope in Front of Me" as a single, under the record labelBMG Rights Management.[33] Subsequently, his second studio album,Hope in Front of Me, was released.[34] The album debuted at number one on theBillboardChristian Albums chart.[35] In late August, "Hope in Front of Me" topped both theChristian Airplay chart (lasted 3 weeks) andMediabase Christian Adult Contemporary chart.[36][37] For the week ending of September 20, it also topped theChristian AC Songs chart.[38] "Hope in Front of Me" was nominated for Song of the Year atK-LOVE Fan Awards 2015, held on May 31, and one of award-winning songs at 2015BMI Christian Awards, held on June 23.[39][40] In July, "More Than You Think I Am" peaked at number 6 on the Christian Airplay chart.[41] In August, Gokey earned nominations for New Artist of the Year and Song of the Year for "Hope in Front of Me" at46th GMA Dove Awards.[42]
In the spring of 2015, Gokey joinedNatalie Grant's Burn Bright Tour as a special guest, followed by The Bible Tour 2015 withSteven Curtis Chapman,Brandon Heath andFrancesca Battistelli.[43] In September of the same year, Gokey released the lead single "Lift Up Your Eyes" from his holiday album,Christmas Is Here, which was released on October 16.[44] In October, Gokey joinedNewSong's Beating Hearts Tour withMandisa.[45] In December, Gokey joined the 2015K-LOVE Christmas Tour as a special guest.[46]
In 2017, his fifth studio album,Rise, was released.[47] The album performed well commercially on the charts and on the success for some of its songs.[48] It received multiple award nominations, including in the60th Annual Grammy Awards.[49][50]
Gokey released "Haven't Seen It Yet" as a single, which has been a huge commercial success, peaking at the top three on theBillboard Christian charts and at number four inCross Rhythms.[51][52] His sixth album,Haven't Seen It Yet, was released on April 19, 2019.[53] The album peaked at number two on the Billboard Top Christian Albums chart and number one at Christian Airplay chart.[54][55] The releases were nominated for two categories at the62nd Annual Grammy Awards and the song was the winner of a Dove Award for Short Form Music Video of the Year.[56][57] He also released radio and Spanish versions of some of the songs on the album in 2020.[58][59][60]
In 2021, Gokey's eighth album,Jesus People, was released on August 20, 2022, which he experimented with singing with various genres, such asLatin pop,classical music anddance-pop.[61][62] The album peaked at number one on theBillboard Top Christian Albums chart and at number 99 on theBillboard 200 chart.[63][64] The album consists of five singles that achieved commercial success, which were "We All Need Jesus",[65] "Stand in Faith",[66] "He Believes in You",[67] "Agradecido"[68] and "Do for Love".[69] In August, he released the "Stand in Faith" and "Do for Love" music videos.[70] He also embarked on many concert tours and appeared in Stand Together Tour withMac Powell andNewsboys.[71][72][73][74] Subsequently, he released "Live Up to Your Name" and his second EP,Brave, where he expresses his patriotic feeling for the United States from a religious perspective.[75][76]
Gokey is a Christian.[78] He married his high school sweetheart, Sophia Martinez, on May 15, 2004.[79] The two had been together since 1997.
On July 9, 2008, four weeks before he auditioned forAmerican Idol, Gokey's wife died from complications during her third surgery to treat hercongenital heart disease.[80][81][82] The couple had been together for 12 years, and Gokey credited her for his success.[83] Sophia was a fan ofAmerican Idol and encouraged Gokey to be a contestant, and Danny started a foundation in her name, Sophia's Heart Foundation, with some of her family members who are also musicians.[81][84][85] With branches inMilwaukee,Nashville, andSacramento, the organization's goals are to provide hope and help to homeless families, provide scholarships to deserving students and operate a thriving inner-city music and arts program.[85]
In 2011, Gokey began dating Leyicet Peralta.[86] The two announced their engagement on December 25, 2011, on the Sophia's Heart website.[87] They were married on January 29, 2012.[88] On their thirteenth anniversary, Gokey revealed they were actually wed on November 30, 2011, before going on a private honeymoon.[89] Their son was born on January 20, 2013.[90] Their daughter was born on November 28, 2014.[91] Their second son was born on August 29, 2017.[92] On August 16, 2019, their fourth child was born on the birthday of Gokey's first wife.[93]
^Due to the judges using their one save to saveMatt Giraud, the Top 7 remained intact for another week.
^It was only announced thatAllison Iraheta received the lowest number of votes this week. The other member(s) of the bottom two or three were never revealed.
^Indicates the year of ceremony. Each year is linked to the article about the awards held that year, wherever possible.
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