Continued from Part 1: The Idol Journey

Part 2:  Twitter, Talk Shows and the Tour.

When it was announced right after the season 8 finale that Kris, Adam and Allison had all been signed by the AI label 19, Danny haters and bloggers all over the web predicted and gloated that 19 had passed over Danny, and that if anyone signed him at all, it would be a small or a CCM label.    Meanwhile, while the gossip flew back and forth across the internet that Danny was a has-been,  Danny had already begun his campaign to increase his fanbase and turn himself into a major player in the music world.  One way he achieved this was his use of Twitter.  He had actually begun posting on Twitter as early as March or April,  but now he was using it on a regular basis, sending tweets about his doings to his ever-increasing numbers of fans (and non-fans who for various reasons wanted to follow him),  which included establishing a very personal relationship with his fans, sometimes even sending personal thank you's to them for their gifts or kind words.

Clean-shaven Danny just before the tour.


Word got around, and by the end of August he had over 100,000 followers, more than many established stars.   People everywhere started Twitter accounts just to read what Danny had to say.  His tweets were often extremely funny and very blunt, and while this was a refreshing change for his fans, his critics and haters made fun of his tweets, saying Gokey was making a fool and an ass of himself, and he wasn't good for anything but a laugh.  But Danny didn't let the critics faze him, and he continued tweeting in his personal, gonzo style.

Danny's tweets included things such as admitting he missed three interviews because he slept late, worrying publicly that he didn't think he sang well at a particular show, and talking openly about a pimple he couldn't get rid of.   He also kept his followers up to date on everything he was doing.  There was more fun to be had with Danny's cousin Joel, whose tweets tended to be even more outrageous than Danny's, downright snarky, and sometimes off-color.  Some of Joel's tweets even poked fun at Danny, and it was never really clear whether or not he was kidding.  Following Danny and Joel on Twitter soon became one of his fans' (and haters') favorite activities, and of course for his fans, there was always the possibility they might get a DM (direct message) from Danny, and many did. 

Danny with his mom, Rhonda.


During the six or so weeks between the close of season 8 and the Idols tour, Danny was not only busy tweeting, he was also busy on the talk show circuit.   He made appearances (with the rest of the Top 10) on Larry King Live (with Ryan Seacrest filling in for King) immediately following the finale, he was interviewed and sang his signature song What Hurts the Most, on Regis and Kelly, and on Mike and Juliet, as well as making appearances on various local talk shows and giving radio station interviews.

 
Danny and Ryan on Larry King Live (with the Top 10) ); Danny leaves the LKL studios.


On Larry King Live, Danny seemed vaguely ill at ease, and more quiet than usual.   He hypothesized that Kris had won due to inheriting his own votes when he was voted off, and his many critics skewered him for his perceived "arrogance."  Kris called him a "jerk" when he said that, and this ignited gossip that Kris did not like Danny, but Kris later admitted that he loved Danny and had only been joking when he said that.  

Haters loved to accuse Danny of always sticking his foot in his mouth, and always saying the wrong thing.  They said he should get media training so he could present himself with more professionalism and tact.  But Danny didn't need media training and he seemed to learn the ropes of fame quickly, becoming much more polished and professional in his later appearances, although he never lost his tendency to be blunt and honest when he spoke.   To Danny's fans, his honesty was  a refreshing change from the overly PC, robotic manner many celebrities have when they are being interviewed.

Danny (and the idols) at NASDAQ in NYC before the tour


During these interviews, Danny talked about his work with his foundation, Sophia's Heart, and the album he was planning to do.  He wouldn't say at first whether or not he'd been signed, but he did announce that it was going to be a country album with a soulful vibe and an inspirational message, and that he was finding a way to marry his music with SHF.   Bloggers and critics still speculated that Danny had never been signed by 19, and would be lucky if anyone signed him at all.

Danny singing WHTM on Regis and Kelly.
 

Danny being interviewed on Regis and Kelly.


Danny's hair had grown out a bit by the time he appeared on Regis and Kelly, giving it a flattering, full look.  He also lost his luggage during his flight to New York from LA, and was forced to purchase a last minute outfit which consisted of a plain white tee shirt, jeans and a vest; this turned out to be one of Danny's better looks.   He performed What Hurts the Most on this and several other talk shows, and did an excellent job, seeming much more relaxed than he did on the show, even though it was evident his voices was strained from overuse and he had a little difficulty belting the high notes. 


Danny Gokey, official Idols tour photo; Danny page from the Idols tour program.  
   

The tour commenced in early July, and Danny was given a new look by the Idol stylists that probably wasn't his most flattering:  a shorter haircut reminiscent of a buzz cut with longer hair on top resembling a faux hawk, a shiny red button down shirt that did nothing to hide the sweat that always seemed to pour off him onstage, and unlaced clunky combat boots with jeans stuffed inside, that made his long legs look much shorter than they really were.  But the ubiquitous chains stayed on his jeans, and along with his designer glasses, they became a kind of Danny Gokey signature (even though he's far from the first popular singer to wear them).    On his own, Danny shaved his scruff just before the tour, which gave him an entirely different, much younger look,   But when the tour started he let the scruff grow back, much to the relief of his fans. 

Danny making the heart hands at an event;  Danny gives one of his famous bear hugs.
 
 

Danny also seemed to be working out.   His well-shaped arms were becoming massive and extremely muscular, and the sleeves of his red shirt looked tight to enough to burst apart.  His chest was also filling out, and the slightly pudgy baby-belly he had on the show all but disappeared.    Danny was suddenly exuding sexuality, and people everywhere--not just his fans--were taking notice.   

 
For most of season 8, Danny wasn't considered particularly sexy.  It wasn't until his performance of Come Rain or Come Shine or even later that Danny began to bring any sexuality to his performances.   Paula's comment to Danny about his voice being sexy may have infused him with confidence, because it was after she said this that Danny seemed to become more confident and outwardly sexual onstage, without ever being over the top about it or seeming to work at it.  Unlike Adam, whose onstage sexuality was theatrical, exaggerated, and possibly rehearsed, Danny didn't seem to actually "do" anything to bring this change about.   Most people would be hard pressed to describe exactly what changed in Danny.  He just seemed to begin to project a more sexual aura in his performances, and seemed more comfortable in his body onstage.  This may have been the reason why he seemed to suddenly start caring more about his appearance and getting himself in shape.  He also confessed that he loved being treated to the facials, manicures and pedicures he was receiving as a member of the tour.  





The change became very obvious when the tour began.  The blogosphere and haters had been speculating that Danny would not be well received on tour, be booed off the stage, and that people would take bathroom breaks when he came on, but none of this came about.   He sang four songs on the tour (more than the three songs normally given to third place finalists)-- PYT,  the Latin-infused Maria Maria by Santana, What Hurts the Most, and another Rascal Flatts cover, My Wish.  In between WHTM and My Wish,  Danny gave a short inspirational speech that his haters described as a "sermon" even though no mention was ever made of God or religion. The message of the speech was simply to follow your dreams, and not let tragedy define you.  What Hurts the Most  was symbolic of the tragedy, My WIsh the hope, and one segued perfectly into the other.   Those were probably the two most popular songs he sang on tour, moved many people to tears, and in short notice he converted many haters into fans.   People who didn't like Danny on Idol said that on tour he was much more professional, sang better, was more relaxed, and they found themselves really getting into his performances, being moved by them, or suddenly finding Danny very attractive and sexy.

 

It was obvious Danny loved being onstage, and he loved his audience.   He was able to engage them in a way he never was able to on the show, and he made an intense emotional connection when he sang and performed.  During his two uptempo songs, PYT and Maria Maria, he strutted, growled, belted, shimmied, rubbed against the mic stand in a subtly (never aggressive) suggestive way,  his pocket chains swinging up and down against his thigh.  He threw off his jacket, and flirted with women in the front row, at times singing directly to certain people or touching their hands as they reached out to him.    Sweat poured off his body and face while he sang and danced, staining his red shirt, but this didn't seem to faze him one iota.  He obviously was enjoying himself immensely, and he fed off the enthusiastic applause, which seemed to give him even more energy and confidence.  In addition, his dancing, which at times had seemed awkward or distracting on the show, became much smoother and more sensual, and no longer detracted from his vocals.

 

But it was his two Rascal Flatts ballads that seemed to be the most popular, and have the strongest impact on the audience--and on Danny himself.   Danny was always an expressive singer who sang from his heart, but during almost the entire season, he seemed to be holding back. Until You Are So Beautiful, his ballads had seemed rather guarded or disconnected in some way from what he was really feeling.  Perhaps enough time had passed for him to be able to confront and express the depth of his pain over losing his wife while he was onstage, or perhaps it was simply that he had more confidence and was less worried what his critics would say, but the floodgates seemed to burst open and from the very beginning of the tour. 

   

Both his ballads, in particular What Hurts the Most, became a kind of conduit through which passed all that intense emotion, and he sang them fiercely and passionately, sometimes to the point of shedding tears onstage.  I described this same phenomenon in my blog about David Cook's journey, and never expected to see this emotional intensity again in any Idol, especially not so soon.    But here it was again, in Danny Gokey, and it was awesome and magnificent.   He seemed to be at his most emotional toward the end of the tour, several times actually crying before he was even finished with his set.  But even though his voice became thick with tears (again, like Cook, adding to the impact of his vocals rather than detracting from it),  he never went off key and only once or twice actually had to stop singing for a moment, while he turned his back to wipe away the tears (and probably the sweat, as well).  Needless to say, his voice had never sounded better, and he was using it much more efficiently than before, and as a result he was able to hit notes he never had on the show, sending them into the stratosphere, and sending goosebumps down my spine that literally made me shiver. 



Besides the intense emotion he projected through his voice, he also projected it in his stage demeanor and his movements.  While the charade-like pantomiming (pointing to his face, clothing, etc.) he used during WHTM never really disappeared, his hand movements became much more subtle by the end of the tour,  and he began to use his body in a more natural, visceral way--keeping time with one knee, stroking his hands gently along the mic stand at times, holding a hand to his heart when he hit a glory note.  His arms were massive, and his muscles glistened under the lights with sweat.  Toward the end of the tour, he was using his entire body to express strong emotion,  squatting down at the very edge of the stage and getting in the faces of people in the front row as he belted "...soooo close!", practically causing the lucky recipients to swoon in ecstasy.  

 

Danny also proved that he was much more original a performer than he seemed capable of on the show.  Each time he sang his four songs was like the first time, and none were ever the same twice.  Danny kept them fresh and new, always adding new riffs, runs, melodic twists, growls and falsettos, so the audience never quite knew what to expect, but were never left disappointed.

 

Not only were Danny's haters dead wrong that people would dislike or be bored with his set,  he became the second most popular act on the tour.  Only Adam received more enthusiastic applause.  The response   Danny got from the audience was deafening, and only became more so by the end of the tour.  Several times he got arena-wide standing ovations.  

Besides the enthusiastic reception, Danny also received more gifts than anyone else on the tour.  Adam may have received more, but seemed to dislike interacting with his fans, and often stayed inside the bus.  Danny, in contrast, was very outgoing and adored meeting his fans, often being the last to leave, and spending more time talking to them, signing autographs, and taking pictures with them than anyone else in season 8.   Even Danny haters began to grudgingly admit that he was very nice, and acommodating to his fans.  Some admitted they found it was hard to keep hating such a nice, sweet, funny guy.  Some even became his fans once they met him.



In addition, Danny was receiving great reviews from the press, including three hard-to-please New York newspapers,  New York Newsday,  The Village Voice and The New York Times.  The Times compared him with rocker Henry Rollins, saying his voice was "the most muscular voice that has been on Idol in years."   That's probably the highest honor any Idol can receive, especially since the New York press tends to shun anything American Idol-related anyway.  Kris, in contrast, was getting lukewarm reviews in the press, and even though he was the winner, the audience response for him didn't seem that enthusiastic.   He seemed somehow out of his element singing in a large arena.



As Danny's detractors saw what was happening, the hate began to quiet down.  Either they were being converted or they were keeping their mouths shut.   Their last best hope--that Danny would not be signed by a major label--was about to be shattered, shutting them up for good.    




Continued in Part 3, Gokey Goes Country...