Miami Herald Interview with Danny Gokey

Q: How did you feel when your friend Jamar got cut surprisingly during Hollywood rounds?

Danny: As you can see from the show that aired it, I was mad. I had a pretty upset look on my face because I expected him to go through. I don’t know-- If you pay attention carefully to the tapes, I even said, “I’ll see you in the top 36” after I made it through and we were talking. I mean I was just so confident that he showed his ability and what it takes to get there. And so, disappointment was completely in my mind and heart, but the thing is he received such recognition. I know it’s not the end of the world for him. He has a bright future ahead of him and it doesn’t stop here. It only gets better from here.

Q: How much of your wife's passing is being played to draw sympathy votes?

Danny: People coming in from an outside view probably won’t think it’s too much, but it’s only been seven months since she’s passed. This is who I am. It’s not that I throw it in people’s faces, but I get asked about it all the time, especially like right now. wI’m talking about it at this point. In a previous interview that I did today, everybody wants to hear what I have to say. It weighs on my mind a lot though because honestly, this is a sob story I don’t want. I don’t want this story, but it is shaping my life and it’s causing hope for a lot of people knowing that it’s causing hope for my life. I didn’t want to live any more after she passed. So now, I have my mission set in stone of what I want to portray myself as and just who I am. I don’t have to portray myself as anybody, but as far as being me, but there’s a fun side to me that’s going to come out. And so, people have to stay tuned in. I apologize to everybody if they feel like it’s shoved down their face, but it’s so fresh in my mind.

Q: Musical background, influence?

Danny: Well, I come from a musical family. I have four sisters and a brother. And so, including my parents, there’s eight of us. We would all sing together as kids and we started going to this one church and we’d go up, all eight of us, as a family. My dad would play guitar and we would sing songs in front of the church. So, that’s really where I got started. I didn’t really take it too serious though. It got really serious when I started going to the church I attend now and I was 20-years-old. So, 20-years-old was pivotal in my music career.

Q: Some think you looked calm and collected, maybe too much so, standing next to emotional Tatiana at show's end. Thoughts?

Danny: With Tatiana, you expect the unexpected. She really is a great person. I mean she wants it so bad and you see the desire and the passion in her and I think at times, that’s maybe her image on TV. But yes, I maybe looked calm and cool, but I wasn’t on the inside. I have family members say that I looked that way, but I have to be honest, man. On the inside, I feel kind of like a wreck I really try to keep the look. I just hope it doesn’t come off the wrong way to the American public or the voters, I should say. I’m not the president, but anyone who’s watching the show. It’s just that my whole thought process at that time was-- I was preparing myself to go home. I really was because I just said “Anything can happen. Anything’s possible.” Tatiana showed up that night when she sang and I think she had the surprise element. So, I said, “No matter what, I got my message across that I wanted to get across to people.” I wanted to go out gracefully.