{"id":2700,"date":"2024-07-12T17:13:51","date_gmt":"2024-07-12T21:13:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/?p=2700"},"modified":"2024-07-12T17:13:51","modified_gmt":"2024-07-12T21:13:51","slug":"danny-gokey-talks-new-album-returning-to-american-idol-honoring-mandisa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/latestnews\/2024\/07\/12\/danny-gokey-talks-new-album-returning-to-american-idol-honoring-mandisa\/","title":{"rendered":"Danny Gokey Talks New Album, Returning to ‘American Idol,’ Honoring Mandisa"},"content":{"rendered":"

Christian artist Danny Gokey, who first gained national attention as the third-place finalist on \u201cAmerican Idol\u201d Season Eight, recently returned to the show to pay tribute to his friend and fellow AI Alum Mandisa, who passed away in April. Gokey, who is gearing up for his new release later this month, said he was honored to go back and pay tribute to his friend.<\/p>\n

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Danny Gokey image courtesy of The M Collective.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI loved going back to honor Mandisa,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was a tragedy, but she’s in heaven. She’s happier than ever. We miss her here on Earth, though.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the sixteen years since his Idol moment, Gokey has released four studios albums, multiple GRAMMY nominations, K-Love Male Vocalist of the Year awards and eight Gospel Music Dove awards that have established him as a go-to artist in contemporary Christian music. \u00a0While he credits the show for giving him national attention, he believes the glory belongs solely to God.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way I look at it is that American Idol was a platform that got my name to a household space,\u201d he said. \u201cBut the dichotomy of that is I lost my record deal right after \u2018Idol.\u2019 I ended up resigning five years after \u2018Idol,\u2019 that’s when I had my first number one single my first break. So it kind of goes hand in hand. God used \u2018American Idol\u2019 to share my story, to bring hope when I was in a pretty hopeless situation, but God doesn’t want \u2018American Idol\u2019 to get all the glory.\u201d<\/p>\n

On July 26, the singer will deliver his newest collection of songs, \u201cSound of Heaven.\u201d Three tracks, \u201cWannabe,\u201d \u201cTodo El Mundo,\u201d \u201cOpen Up the Gates,\u201d \u201cI Got You\u201d have already released, with \u201cI Got You\u201d climbing the charts and earning 4.5M global streams. Gokey said the album, both thematically and sonically, is intentionally diverse, showing not only different sides of himself but a glimpse of what heaven will be like.<\/p>\n