We watched American Idol last night and probably thought that nothing was up—it was a pretty blah week performance-wise, not as challenging as the previous weeks, and the numbers weren’t really everybody’s best. It was, beyond that, quite ordinary.
But after the show, I got word that Danny Gokey—who performed Rascal Flatts’ “What Hurts the Most”—apparently went through yet another family tragedy over the weekend. It was not mentioned on Idol, neither from Danny or the judges or Ryan, which is a little surprise considering the preference towards more personal stories as of late—he, after all, auditioned weeks after the death of his wife. An online trawl confirms the news: Danny’s grandfather died last week, and he flew back to his hometown over the weekend to attend his funeral.
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People magazine reported that Gokey, 28, flew back to Wisconsin to attend the funeral. The day before, he also returned to Milwaukee, where he attended services held at his church, Faith Builders International Ministries, where he worked as a music director.
From a viewer’s standpoint, it’s a little unusual seeing nothing of this being mentioned. I don’t see a hint of the loss in Danny’s face while he was performing, although everything, most probably, went to the song—one that the judges applauded as his best performance yet. In hindsight, you can say it’s reflected in the song he performed, and probably in his suited get-up last night. Now it all falls into place.
Maybe this would be mentioned in passing tonight, maybe when Ryan talks to Danny before his status on the show is revealed—I’ll bet he’s safe—and maybe we’ll have people cooing over his strength at this time, coming less than a year after his wife’s passing.
A mark of a true artist? You can say that. No wonder so many, from fans to the judges themselves, are proudly predicting that he’ll be in the American Idol finale in a few weeks’ time.
-Henrik Batallones, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: People Magazine
(Image courtesy of Fox)
Staff Writer, BuddyTV
