Danny Gokey: My Best Days

Danny Gokey's new album, "My Best Days," is being released today. And it's a great album.

Last night, we enjoyed sitting up close to Danny as he sang a handful of songs from the new album and took time to greet a boatload of fans. And, yes, his voice is just as amazing in person as you remember it from American Idol. The guy is loaded with talent.

Hearing Danny was kind of a surprise adventure for us. It was my day off and I was pondering what we might do to have some fun. I remembered that Danny's album was being released soon, so I figured I'd check the date. Perhaps we could pick up a copy while running through town or something. Then I saw that Danny was actually performing live and releasing the album about an hour from our home. So we drove over, grabbed front row seats (about 10 feet from Danny), and enjoyed the mini-concert. Cool stuff!

Having listened to the album a couple of times now, I'm really impressed not only with the music but also with the spirit and the content of the songs. There is an distinctively optimistic tone throughout the album which was born from Danny's story.

Just a month before Danny Gokey auditioned for American Idol season 8, his wife Sophia died unexpectedly after what should have been routine heart surgery. The two had been high school sweethearts, and Danny was devestated. Music and faith became Danny's refuge, and he decided to audition for American Idol anyways because his wife had encouraged him to give it a shot. That journey took Danny all the way to third place and launched his career. As Danny shared with us last night, before American Idol Danny really didn't want to live anymore. His grief was so deep that he just wanted to check out. But the experience on Idol became a season of growing hope once more, and now he realizes that there is so much to live for.

His season of grief is captured on the album in his powerfully emotional song "I Will Not Say Goodbye."

    Sometimes the road just ends
    Changes everything you've been
    And all that's left to be
    Is empty, brokey, lonely, hoping
    I'm supposed to be strong
    I'm supposed to find a way to carry on
    I don't want to feel better
    I don't want to not remember
    I will always see your face
    In the shadows of this haunted place
    I will laugh, I will cry, shake my fist at the sky
    I will not say goodbye

But that outpouring of love and grief is contrasted with the joy of the title track, "My Best Days Are Ahead of Me."

    Age ain't nothing but a number
    Sometimes I have to wonder what does it really mean
    Hey, I'm still putting it together
    I keep getting better, if I keep getting better
    I can be whatever I wanna be
    My best days are ahead of me
    I've got sunsets to witness, dreams to dance with
    Beaches to walk and lovers to kiss
    There's a whole lot of world out there
        That I can't wait to see
    My best days are ahead of me

And all of these great lyrics are served up with a classic urban-country style that showcases Danny's incredible voice, tinged with a bit of a "gravel" sound and blessed with the smoothest falsetto transition I've ever heard. It's great toe-tapping stuff that lingers in your mind long after the album has finished playing.

Here's hoping this is just the first of many more albums from Danny in the years ahead. I look forward to seeing where his career and life's adventure carries him.