105 thoughts on “Welcome Danny Gokey Fans! 11/9 – 11/22 Discussion”

  1. We were discussing last week when radio would start to play Danny’s Christmas music…. I (and Danny) were very glad to see these tweets:

    @Melkitz56: The Morning Show at @917KBNJ is decked out in Christmas cheer! We have added @dannygokey #LiftUpYourEyes…Love love LOVE it!

    @Melkitz56: Jammin’ to the new #ChristmasSong #LiftUpYourEyes from @dannygokey …@SpiritFestCC is this weekend…will you sing this one Danny? 🙂

  4. That’s great news!

    I like the photo above. It reminds me of when Danny sang “You Are So Beautiful” on American Idol. I like this look on him.

    Have a wonderful day…

  6. Okay, Lurker… Should I have wrote “sung” or “sang?” I think I need to word my sentence differently when I use this word. ❓

  9. All this Danny Christmas music and talk has gotten me into the spirit earlier than usual!

    In addition to the end of fall season chores that I did on this beautiful day (clean out the gutters, sweep out the garage, change my car floor mats to the snow & ice variety….) I also put up the big, lighted artificial wreath that gets hung on the front of our milk house. I told a friend I wouldn’t light it up yet…. but I had to see if the timer was working properly, right?

    I might have also bought some poinsettias……

    😵 😲

  11. That seems like quite a tree-lighting event Jan with Danny, MercyMe and Jordin Sparks!

    This is an unusual way to refer to Jordin though (imo)

    Jordin has been in the entertainment world for a long time and being 25 with her new album Right Here, Right Now, that came out Spring 2015 on Louder Than Life/Sony, she’s truly living in the moment.

    .
    .
    Account from Danny’s weekend in California

    http://www.calbaptist.edu/explore-cbu/news-events/articles/christian-artist-danny-gokey-sings-of-hope-cbu-homecoming/

  12. I thought it “odd” to describe Jordin that way…. so I didn’t use it in our post 😉

    I was really surprised that they added Mercy Me, too. I think it’s the first time with two Christian artists. A few years back they featured Scotty when he came off his Idol win :O

  16. Celebrate Veteran’s Day! Go thank a veteran or a current armed forces service member. Or pay your respects to a deceased veteran.

  17. This is an unusual way to refer to Jordin though (imo)

    Also grammatically ~complicated. Even Lurker might have a little trouble parsing that syntax 😛

  18. Hi Ellen & Admin. I honored our veterans, today. I spent some time at a military cemetery.

  20. I hope I am never ThAT bad in my writing….

    Lurker, send me an email with corrections if I succumb to that level. PLEASE!

  24. Lurker.. help with my post above. I really am learning a lot from your corrections. Thank you.

  25. Cindy3,
    five veterans (plural form: more than one veteran)

    the veteran’s car (possessive form: one person owns the car)

    Your first post, the plural form, is correct.

  26. Danny and Leyicet cooking dinner and Periscoping! Their friend Katie Rose (formerly of the Wally Show) was the video photographer.

    https://www.periscope.tv/w/1zqJVwyRljYxB

    I managed to get a question in for you, Lurker. I asked about the Spanish album.

    They explained that there isn’t very many exclusively Christian radio stations in the Spanish market, so they are trying for broad distribution and it looks like Spring?

    They also said:

    1) Thinking about a baby #3, but Leyicet is not pregnant
    2) Danny will be recording some acoustic versions of his songs and putting them up on youTube
    3) Leyicet is not good with dates (anniversary, birthdays) 😉
    And a lot of other teasing going on. Fun video. I had to watch it a couple of times to catch the part about the acoustic versions of the songs (Christmas songs?) not sure…

    Watch it before it disappears!

  27. Someone always asks Danny to sing on Periscope. Danny said his voice really hurts (I think he means his vocal cords/throat?)

    Yikes. I do hope he is taking care of that gorgeous voice….

  28. I thought so, Lurker. Wanted to make sure. Thanks.

    Danny did sound a little hoarse. He’s been working hard, and will have a busy December..

    I was so worried about the flame on the stove. Danny had it turned up pretty high. 🙂

    So it was Leyicet answering your question about the Spanish album, Jan? I was watching the video, and not reading the remarks on the side.

    I agree.. fun video.

  29. Yup, that was my question, Cindy. I had to ask it 3 times. Danny would start to answer it and then get distracted. The last time I threw in the “stay focused”, LOL.

    I thought the video was very Danny/Leyicet “real”. They are highly entertaining together 🙂

    Good news on the radio front! KBNJ in Corpus Christ is playing “Lift Up Your Eyes” and is Danny’s first monitored starter for the song! Danny will be performing at two Spirit Fests this weekend. One is near CC.

    KBNJ LUYE

  30. “I managed to get a question in for you, Lurker. I asked about the Spanish album. ” 🙂

  31. I worry a little about Danny making fun of accents. “You know what I mean?” He does accents well, but…

  32. Lurker, I was thinking the same thing. I feel sad that in this day and age we all have to be careful of what we say, and how we say it. I laugh at some of the things Danny says… and then, I think.. should I? Just because I laugh doesn’t mean I think one way or another.. or, do I?? You see, I’ve become paranoid in this “world” we live in today. Sad. But, I also believe in freedom of speech. I will continue to enjoy Danny’s expression of humor, and if I become offended… I will turn the other way. My choice.

    Now I will post this.. and then, I will probably worry that I shouldn’t have.

  33. Danny did another periscope. Leyicet didn’t look happy, and then she did something really cute. They are quite a pair..

    Danny and choir sounded nice.

  35. Hey, Cindy. Unless Danny has a special phone, I am guessing you saw my comment on the Periscope video Danny did today with the SH Kid Choir! Not actually me….

    I think spending a couple of days in Nashville must be very exciting for the kids. (Especially recording with Danny?) But as a former mom of teenagers, I would have been a bit concerned about taking them out of 3 days of school! And i sure hope they are being strictly chaperoned!! Good luck to the adults that are managing ~15 Milwaukee kids on this trip!

    Cindy, I agree that Leyicet turning the camera on herself is very cute when someone asked who was recording the periscope 🙂

  37. Lurker, I hope I didn’t offend you. I have been thinking of what you said for a while…

  39. Good morning. It sounds like it was a great time in Nashville for the 2nd Annual SHF Gala last night. And they revealed the big news of the next campus for SHF-Nashville. 59 acres in Antioch (a part of Nashville). Wow! Danny has BIG visions! And in a way, he gets the farm he’s often talked about 🙂

    You can watch the video shown last night through this post.

    http://dannygokeynews.com/2015/11/13/danny-gokey-reveals-the-new-home-of-sophias-heart-in-nashville/

  42. From article linked above:

    “Gokey said he plans to launch a YouTube series in December about his life with his second wife and kids…”

  43. Lurker,
    Almost like a “reality” show, but on YouTube. ❓ I don’t know… 🙂

    My heart goes out to Paris. ♥

  44. “Almost like a “reality” show, but on YouTube”

    Yes. Some people make lots of money from YouTube–if they become hugely popular and have tons of views of their commercials.

  45. My husband and I submitted a video from Sara Bareilles a few years ago. She did a great job singing “Stoney End.” The problem was that my husband taped off our old TV. The sound is good, but the picture isn’t very good. We have almost 75,000 views. They took many videos off because they had commercials, and were profiting off HBO. We didn’t make the video for money. We did it for fun. No commercials. So, people watch ours since they took so many of the “good videos” off. 🙂

    Do you think it’s a good idea for Danny and Leyicet?

  46. Trying to wrap my mind around the terrorist events in Paris, France — and utterly failing. Unfathomable.

  47. I had heard from another fan that Danny mentioned the show to her at the Gala, but she didn’t follow how he was going to do it….. he told her that they didn’t have a name for it, yet.

    I really can’t imagine how he is going to fit that into his schedule with the 16 K-Love Christmas shows, too!!

  49. Yikes. It’s hailing. That’s not what I dropped by to say, but . . .

    At least it’s not big hail (so far). Still, glad I now have a garage and that is where my car is right now.

  50. Ellen.. that’s so funny. I’m looking out the window and hail is falling up here. Hopefully, it will turn into snow soon..

  51. And it was a beautiful sunny day in Wisco! But my Packers lost their third game in a row 🙁

  52. This is only very indirectly related to Danny, but . . .

    Here is a short (OK, not so short) LITTLE BIG TOWN CONCERT RECAP:

    I went to see Little Big Town in concert last night. The Danny connection is easy. He led me to country music. I had heard of Little Big Town (knew they existed) but had never heard their music. Anyway, some years ago, when Danny was still doing country music, I mentioned to a local friend that I had started listening to country music. My friend bought me LBT’s CD “A Place to Land” as a birthday gift and told me I would love it. She was so right! It has country, folk, rock, & bluegrass all mixed together. One of those “I would take it on a desert island” CDs. I had had NO idea that my friend loved country music!

    Fast forward a few years. When I heard that Little Big Town would be headlining a concert in Portland, I knew I wanted to go. Originally I had other ideas. Then I broached my friend (the one who had introduced me to Little Big Town’s music) and asked if she might be interested in attending the concert with me. Her response? “Uh, YEAH!” I have no idea why I had been so anxious and uncertain about asking her.

    Anyway, by then the best tickets were sold. But I saw they had VIP meet and greet packages still available. So an idea was born. I called back and asked my friend if she would mind if I got the meet and greet packages. (She must have thought I was nuts. But I was worried because it would mean leaving earlier to get to the venue earlier.) I told her this would be my early birthday present to her. (We share the same birthday — a few months from now — except that she is a few years younger than I am.)

    Here is what Little Big Town’s Meet & Greet Package included:

    One reserved ticket located in the first 5 rows
    VIP early entry into the venue
    Exclusive meet & greet with Little Big Town
    Personal photo with Little Big Town
    Q&A session with the band
    Limited edition vinyl copy of LBT’s new album “Pain Killer” autographed by the band
    Specially designed ‘Pain Killer’ tote bag
    Exclusive Little Big Town merchandise item
    Official meet & greet laminate
    Onsite VIP host
    Limited availability
    VIP fans will be entered to win a Fender acoustic guitar autographed by the band

    We arrived in Portland early, thinking we would walk around the venue to find a restaurant and have dinner before the show. Big mistake! There is a nice restaurant (Morton’s) next to the Keller Auditorium, but it is reservations-only. And we hadn’t made any. We ended up a restaurant at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Portland. It is the same hotel where LuLu and I stayed (and JosieFromSeattle & her hubby, and Darla too, I think) when we all attended the Boo Cruise that Danny headlined some years ago. We got there for Happy Hour so the food was inexpensive. But a glass of wine . . . yikes!

    I thought the meet and greet was well organized. I thanked the host, Jennifer, at the end, and she was surprised I had thought the event was well-organized. “We were late!,” she blurted. True. But I don’t think anyone minded. We were in a separate room seated on comfortable chairs. Everyone was a fan, so we chatted. The couple near us flew up from San Diego — (they originally had had tickets for a San Diego LBT concert that had to be cancelled when Jimi Westbrook had vocal cord surgery) — and the woman won the Fender guitar. There was security at the meet and greet, but it was unobtrusive and low key. Not heavy-handed at all. Everyone was very friendly. They had peeps to watch your coats and bags while they took your pic (and they had professional lighting and equipment for the photo op).

    The question and answer session went a bit like the one at the Milwaukee radio station that did the debut of “Win Me Over,” the song that was supposed to be the second single from Danny’s second country CD that never was. Clearly a lot of the peeps in the audience were rabid LBT fans, and they tended to ask irrelevant questions, like the folks who had asked about Danny’s dog instead of his music. My favorite questions were about what is is like to raise a family on a tour bus (all LBT members have young children), and whether LBT would ever consider putting out a CD of à capella music.

    I asked LBT about the status of the Christmas CD that I heard they were recording. The group responded that they had been all set to go into the studio when Jimi required vocal cord surgery. I suspect they’ll eventually put out a Christmas CD, and I expect it will be excellent. (They’ve said they want to make a “classic” album.) Given that Danny put out his Christmas album this year, I don’t mind the delay . . .

    I like every member of Little Big Town, but I have to say that having met them, Kimberly Schlapman (the one with curly blonde hair) is the one that stood out to me. She just radiates joy, and it is energizing to be in her presence. Although I am not a fashionista by any means, I have to comment on the women’s wardrobe. They both looked fabulous! Kimberly, again, made an impression there too. She was wearing eye makeup of a type I’ve never seen before. It looked like a cross between silver glitter and silver sequins that followed the curve of her eyelid. Weird and amazing!

    Because of the meet and greet started late, we missed the first opener, Lucie Silvas. So I can’t say anything about her, one way or the other. But we did get to our seats in time to watch the middle opener, The Shires — a female and male duo all the from the United Kingdom! They are the first UK country act to chart in the Top 10 Official Album Charts (I assume that is an British chart). They also are the first ever English country act to be signed to a major Nashville label. If they’d had any music at the merch table, I would have bought it.

    I guess country music is starting to take off in the UK. I remember a few decades ago (*ouch* that sounds bad), I was on vacation in the UK with a friend, and we went to dinner in London at this place called “Texas Lone Star Bar & Grill.” It was surreal to hear the song “Take Me Home Country Roads” as we ate. Well, it was surreal not when the guy was singing but afterward when he talked — and out came (hello? we’re in London!) the British accent!

    The LBT concert itself was fabulous and high energy. A highlight for me was when LBT did an à capella version of “Jolene.” LBT has a new producer, Jay Joyce, and their new, rockier and rollicking sound, is more suited to crack the current country radio charts. (“Girl Crush” is a nice, quiet exception.) But I tend to prefer (with exceptions!) the LBT that emphasizes harmonies and a mix of country with folk and bluegrass. In any event, an enjoyable concert experience! As a bonus, we got to hear “Girl Crush” three times — once as part of the concert and twice at the end of the concert, when the song was being recorded for Fox TV. Apparently it will air on Fox in a vehicle called American Country Countdown’s Top 10 Stories of 2015, at 7 p.m. Thursday, December 17, 2015. (FYI: The American Country Awards, which aired on Fox in December the past few years, has been replaced by the American Country Countdown Awards, which this year will air in the spring. Danny was nominated for best new artist at the inaugural American Country Awards, but Easton Corbin won that award.) I don’t know which version of “Girl Crush” Fox will use — I thought the third version was best — but the Portland audience made their approval of the song loud and clear. Hope Fox keeps in the reaction of the Portland audience when they edit the song.

    Portland pretty clearly loves Little Big Town!

    THE END

  53. Thanks for the recap, Ellen! I always enjoy your writing.

    Glad you went for the VIP. I like to say, “If not now, when?” 😉

  55. Little Big Town are classy, so it was nice to meet them. We had fourth row tickets, just left of center. It didn’t do us any good. Everyone stood from the first song. And my friend is even shorter than I am. I had been hoping that because Keller Auditorium is a classy venue with theater seating that that wouldn’t happen — or at least that the audience would wait towards the end to stand. *sigh* But that is a rant for another day.

    The only good seats are front row seats — and sometimes not even then, if you end up too close to the speakers, which distorts the sound. 🙁

  56. Considering you were probably view was obstructed, your pictures are very good, Ellen. You must have stuck your camera up at the right moment 🙂

  59. “this is the lowest rating I think I have seen”

    But all the words were 5’s! Very positive article. 🙂 Nothing negative said.

  60. I know, Lurker, odd isn’t it? I looked at other reviews, there were 4’s and even a 5. I’m thinking Danny may have had too many secular songs (not enough JPM?) in the album? “Christmas is Here”, “What Christmas Means to Me” and “This Christmas” are jubilant/fun and NOT holy enough? 😉

    That’s ok. I’d rather I liked it than CCM Magazine getting their expectations met…… Although they really liked “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”. I like it, but certainly not my favorite.

    (See? We can say all kinds of things here….)

  61. ” I’m thinking Danny may have had too many secular songs”

    I don’t think they objected to that. “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” seems (to me) to be more secular than holy, and it was their favorite (one of my favorites too because Danny does it so well–it sounds traditional, one of the things I’ve read that people like about Christmas songs).

    I think they loved the album and thought they were giving a high rating. Maybe they save their highest ratings for established stars? Anyway, their words were good. If I were writing a report about their review, I would say they wrote a rave review–that they really loved the album. I would quote some of the praise, but leave out the rating and just say nothing about it.

    I would choose to see just the positive in the review. I can do that if I want. 😉

  62. That’s exactly what I will be doing when I add their review to the album review post, Lurker 😉

    In being a moderator here, my posts can leave out the less than impressive. Like small crowds, low ratings, things I don’t like…. 😉

  63. For reviewers overall, a 3½ star rating is generally good — say, for example, People Magazine or Country Weekly. But if CCM Magazine generally gives out a lot of 4 and 5 star ratings, then it is only an average rating. And that is unfortunate, because with few brick and mortar stores carrying CDs, how does a CD find an audience beyond an artist’s existing fanbase? Readers of CCM Magazine might be expected to buy Christmas CDs, so it might have helped more if Danny had gotten 4 or 5 stars. But it isn’t a bad rating.

  65. Ok, I didn’t lose the comment. It just didn’t display. I had to click on a “newer comments” button. What’s up with that?

  66. For the Wisconsinites among you . . .

    I got an email from my auto insurer saying that Oregon is likely to receive severe winter weather this season. So under “Get Tips,” they included recommendations from the Wisconsin Emergency Management agency on what to keep in your vehicle. Hmm. So you guys are the experts, huh? 😉

  67. ” I had to click on a “newer comments” button. What’s up with that?”

    Not sure about this but think when the new site was being developed that Admin2 asked if we wanted page views (maybe 60 comments per page then a new page).

  68. Ellen, we are pretty darn experienced with not freezing to death if we slide off the road…. I have a special (folding) snow shovel I put in my car, along with other essentials 🙂

  70. Not sure about this but think when the new site was being developed that Admin2 asked if we wanted page views (maybe 60 comments per page then a new page).

    yes!

  71. Sorry to hear your weather predictions, Ellen. Wisconsin winter driving can be difficult at times with white outs, snow or ice covered roads, and heavy drifting. We keep a shovel in our car and a device my husband uses under the tires to improve traction when stuck in snow. A little sand doesn’t hurt either. Water, snack foods, warm clothing, boots and a blankets or two for sure. Oh, I hate thinking about it. I heard the Almanac said milder than normal weather for us this year. I Hope so!

  72. Carianne, I’m not worried (yet). I just thought it was funny that my insurer was providing tips from Wisconsin!

    Normally we get very little snow here in the valley. But we need snow up in the mountains to recharge our water supply. Oregon has been in drought, and we’ve had two vicious back-to-back fire seasons.

    I grew up on the East Coast and lived in the Midwest for many years, so I am familiar with snow. (Although I’ve lived in Oregon long enough to become a “weather wimp.”) I live on a hill now and have a steep driveway, so it should be interesting.

    I need to see if I can buy an ergonomic shovel here in Oregon. The one I have is from the Midwest and it’s pretty beat up by now. (It makes shoveling so much easier!)

  73. So Danny tweeted about some Tennessee show? And it looks like there will be a couple of country artists on the bill? Although I think it’s Christmas music?

  75. New station spinning LUYE:

    Station /MarketFormat/TW/lw/Move/ovn/am/mid/pm/eve/Aud

    KDUV-FM Visalia-Tulare/Christian AC/ 4/ 4/ 2/ 1 /1 /0.006

  77. Yeah, Jan. That was it. I think Collin Raye and Rhonda Vincent are both country (although I think Rhonda does bluegrass, a subgenre of country).

  78. This was such a nice interview, I wish I could embed it here…. maybe they will add it to Soundcloud.

    It includes them talking with Danny about his songs HIFOM, MTYTIA, MBDAAM, ISB, MDYK and LUYE! Almost an hour long! Danny is in Batavia, NY for a concert for on Saturday night. WDCX-FM. And they say they will be playing Danny’s Christmas music the day after Thanksgiving 🙂

    http://www.wdcxradio.com/2015/09/11/lifeline-audio-blog/

  79. I got another surprise when checking the CAC chart on Allaccess this morning:
    61 50 Up this week DANNY GOKEY Tell Your Heart To Beat… 44 38 6 0.246 –

    Baltimore has played TYHTBA 44 times in one week!!! They love that song.

  80. “CCM Magazine ‏@ccmmagazine · 2h2 hours ago
    “Gokey’s vocals are always in season!” – #CCMmag on @dannygokey new #Christmas album http://bit.ly/CCM-DGrev ”

    CCM Magazine had a nice tweet and a link to their review. 😉

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