He managed to survive rock week last week despite a much-criticized scream at the end of "Dream On," but third-place finisher Danny Gokey thinks it's that off-putting wail that might have done him in.
"I really wanted to have a big song that week, and so I took a risk," explains Danny. "I never did rock. I think it could've been one of the variables [in getting eliminated], and so late in the competition you don't want to have a performance like that. Everything in that performance was good up to that point. I rehearsed that scream so much that I really hurt my vocal cords. I'm still kind of sore this week. I had fun with it, though. It was a very fun scream."
It wasn't just the scream, though, that Danny attributes to his elimination. He says his musical vision and what the show wants in a winner didn't exactly match up. "I didn't get into this thing for the money," he says. "My goal is so different that maybe it didn't line up with the goals of what they see as a pop star. I'm OK with that because I want to have a movement in my music. My vision is a little different, so it's OK with me."
So, just what is Danny's vision? How does he size up the two finalists, Adam Lambert and Kris Allen? And just what was that ruckus between Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell Tuesday night? Read on for the scoop...
Danny's Music "Movement": "I would like to start a movement with my music. My dream is to mix my music with my foundation [Sophia's Heart Foundation, formed in honor of his deceased wife]. For my music career, I don't want it to be necessarily all about me. I want it to be about people. When I get a vision for a concert, this is what I see...A young kid whose father is maybe killed in a gang, his mother is a drug addict. And, kind of watching his life, how he had to overcome this and that, and then possibly somehow how Sophia's Heart Foundation has impacted this kid. And then I would like to come out there and entertain people and then maybe flash back to another story."
Sizing Up Adam & Kris: "Kris, obviously, he's really artistic, and Adam has a way on this show of capturing the audience. Kris is very mellow. And that's always one character trait I've always wanted. Adam is who he is onstage as he is offstage. He's very creative. He lives creative. He dresses creatively. He talks from that perspective. This competition is not over yet. I think it's going to be a very tight race."
Paula and Simon's Ruckus: "He was like suffocating her...She was on the ground and he had his hand over her mouth. I talked to her after the show and she was like, 'I couldn't breathe.' It was the funniest thing. They were kind of like wrestling."
Going Latin R&B? "I really want to do a soulful album. I want to mix a very soulful album with nice beats, like nice R&B beats to get people's heads moving and mix it with a hint of a Latin vibe...I was with my wife for 12 years and she was Puerto Rican, and I'm so into sounds from that area and all the Spanish music."
Do you think it was Danny's time to go? Did his "Dream On" scream seal his fate? What do you make of his musical vision?