Gary Is Online

Well, I’ll be honest. I happily thought American Idol contestant Danny Gokey would make it all the way to the end. But now after having some time to think, maybe it was very predictable after all. So here is my Monday morning quaterbacking.

You can never fault Danny for his singing. He is awesome! And compared to others on the show, except Adam, he has performed flawlessly. Well, except for one unfortunate…scream…or screech more like. But I don’t think that hurt him much. He was able to laugh about it, and his fans had a forgive and forget attitude.

If I could talk to Danny during the competition I would have told him to show more teeth. It seems on television that a normal gentle grin, such as Danny’s, doesn’t come off nearly as genuine as a full face-distorting, open-mouthed smile. Adam Lambert is a smiler…and we have for sure seen way too much of the inside of his mouth.

The other thing that may have hurt Danny is that he’s never been in the bottom three. Without a scare there was never a call to rally the troops to save him. My wife and I thought he was a ‘fer sure’ deal, but of course we were still dialing like maniacs Tuesday night.

There might be more clues found in who had left prior to Danny. The votes of Matt Giraud may have fallen over to Kris Allen, and those of Allison Iraheta may have gone to fellow rocker Adam.

Danny has also been the target of some ridicule and myths during his Idol presence. One of which was using the unfortunate loss of his wife Sophia in July 2008 to pull at the heart strings of the voters. Another was for making a heart shape gesture with his hands. This normally wouldn’t have been a problem except that with Danny’s many pairs of stylish glasses, it was pretty coincidental that it matched the timing and gesture of an advertising campaign launched by Lens Crafters.

The truth however, may lie in the fact that his wife died from heart complications and his gesture may have been in reference to her, his fans and his foundation, Sophia’s Heart.

I have no doubt that Danny will be picked up by a label soon after the Idol tour. It’s probably best that he is allowed to use the momentum from his Idol experience without being tied into a compromising contract.

My fear though, is that he will be lured in by the 800 million dollar Contemporary Christian Music niche and will become another “Insider Christian Club Sell-Out” pimpin’ the Gospel to “Insider Christian Club Members” in Christian CD’s, Christian Concerts, Christian Motivational Seminars and annual Christian Christmas albums.

I am hoping he will instead go the way of singer artist that happens to be a Born Again Christian refusing to compromise thus reaching out way past “The Club Snobs” all the way to the masses.

Be careful though, Danny. The Club already thinks they own you. They will eat you alive and spit you out if you don’t say, do, eat and wear what they wish. Run! Go Ye Therefore! Save Yourself! Save the World!