One thing I didn't want to believe in is that I couldn't have a family and do music at the same time.
— Danny Gokey
I've always loved glasses. Always have. I've worn glasses since I was in the fifth grade.
Being on 'American Idol,' the blessings of glasses have rained from the sky. I really would like to start a Danny line or a Gokey line of eyeglasses.
I like that in country, you can talk about what you want to talk about. You can entertain, yet you can have a spiritual side to you, also an emotional side.
When I sing songs, I love to put emotion into it. I want people to feel what I feel and just disappear for a moment.
My wife was an amazing, amazing person. Sophia's Heart is an organization that I founded in honor of my wife when she passed away. When she passed away it was a complete shock, and it was disappointment, anger. I felt all those emotions.
I would like to do a duet with Kelly Clarkson. I just think she's wonderful!
When you write about hope, don't make it sappy; make it cool, make it adaptable.
I tell people that life is like a book. Sometimes you've just got to turn the chapter. Even if you don't understand it, turn the chapter and move away from it. You don't know all the good things that are ahead of you yet.
I have a mission, and that's to help people. That's what I want my music to do.
On 'American Idol,' I felt like one of my challenges was picking songs because I've definitely been exposed to a lot of music. So when I went to pick songs, it was difficult for me to choose, but I'd always go to country because country music is so memorable.
Trusting in God is important. He knows what is best.
One of the things that I learned at a very young age is the power of a parent's words to their children.
I needed to walk through the 'Idol' door to get to the rest of my career.
I want to have a movement with my music.
I can just be a Christian who sings mainstream music instead of having to be a Christian who has to somehow just sing Christian music.
Many people don't have an internal vision to go after something, fight for something, make a plan. So the biggest thing is - until you get picked up by a major label or until something breaks, you need to plan out what your dream is going to be.
I don't live in regret land. I live in the now and in the future, and in the dreams that I have.
I tell people life is like a book being written by heavenly hands that we can't see.
Christmastime is about hope with what God did for us and with the expression of His love through the gift He gave us at Christmastime, which was Jesus... the one who heals us, who saves us, who delivers us, who is there in our darkest moments.
I started realizing how the condition of our hearts affects the way we see. If your heart is full of bitterness, anger, and resentment, you're going to look at this world as a very evil place.
I really believed music was going to be a big part of my future, and that's why I took a truck driving job, so I could maintain my singing job at night. I put about 30 hours a week just for singing, going between two churches. And in order to afford that, I had to take a full time job so I could do my passion.
Whether it's an inspiring song or whether it's an entertaining song - whatever it might be about it - I just want people to feel the emotion that I put into it because I think emotion... is everything.
I drove an 18-wheeler semi-truck, a big rig. I liked it actually.
Since I was a kid, I always felt like God had placed something inside my heart. And I always believed that God was going to do something great in my life. But I didn't know the road that I was going to take to get here. And especially losing my wife.
As everyone in the world can see, I am not a rocker.
The thing is, I'm a competitor by nature. I like to compete.
I had underwear thrown on stage that said 'Gokey' on the back... all glittery! It was grandma-underwear, too.
I've kind of walked into a realm where it's paid off for all the hard work that I've put into it, and I get to bless my family. And that's the one thing I love doing. I love giving.
There's not a person in the United States of America who doesn't love country or have some kind of tie to it.
I believe in helping people who are down.
Your future is only big enough for you to walk through, not for you and your past to walk through.
It's a dream when some people think that once you give your life to God, all of a sudden things are perfect. That's not the case. We live in a world that's broken, where there's disease, where people are selfish. The foundation of your faith helps you know how to put that in proper perspective.
When I was 12 years old, my dad got into country music. My first CD was Wynonna Judd, and I loved it.
I tried out for American Idol, I got a record deal, and now it's like my best days are ahead of me.
In our culture, I feel like everyone just wants the good life, the dream life, but I'm learning to embrace suffering because with suffering there's so much good that comes out of it.
