Idol 50 - Danny Gokey

50. Danny Gokey

Season 8, 3rd Place

Yes, the "douche bag"!

Frankly, Danny thinks he's better than he actually is. I don't care what anyone says, but it's true. He always acted like he was the best and the judges always fed him more and more undeserving praise week after week. In a way, I kind of feel sorry for him.

I've always wished there was more than one "brutally honest" judge on the panel, and that he or she didn't always agree with Simon on everything. Maybe then, Danny would've heard some actual constructive criticism over his worst performances instead of A+ for effort! when he performed his awful version of Dream On. But no, instead he got Kara, Paula, and Randy drooling over everything he did. Heck, Kara even said that Danny was NEVER pitchy. Really Kara?

From the beginning, I knew Danny Gokey was going to be someone who I recognized their talent, but I wasn't going to be crazy about. It started from his audition. I didn't buy into the hype very much - for me, his voice was good and soulful, but nothing I could love, and it wasn't long before I'd forgotten about it. Then I thought he ruined I Hope You Dance in Hollywood, so my liking for him went down. His semifinals performance of Hero was pretty good, but once again, it wasn't anything exciting.

Now, when the Finals started, and he didn't play the game right. He picked songs that had been done before on Idol every week except for What Hurts the Most. He didn't grow as an artist at all or take risks, so he became very karaoke.

I actually blame the judges for this, because they always treated him like he could do no wrong, so naturally Danny became complacent. His dancing skills also needed serious refinement. This went on for weeks, and throughout this course of the show, he developed a reputation for being arrogant. Do I think he was? A little, perhaps. However, I blame the judges once again, because if I were treated like I walk on water every single week, I might let it go to my head, too.

Then, at Top 4 night, Dream On happened, and it was a trainwreck - no, actually it sounded like a dying cat crushed by garbage bags in a stinky dumpster. Haha. That time, I was past ready for him to go, but he survived over Allison Iraheta. Really. I don't have a vendetta against him - or maybe I have - but I just think he's average as a singer and a performer. Oh well, everyone hated Gokey's gut. So, whatever. Haha.

Favorite Performance(s): P.Y.T was probably one of his better performances. There were certain things that worked to his favor during Michael Jackson week, one was that he didn’t mention his dead wife, the vocals were spectacular, and he entertained me! But of course, I couldn't let go of his Scream On because that was just EPIC! If you disagree you're wrong. Haha.

P.Y.T

Scream On

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