Danny Gokey News & Discussion- March 2019

Danny Gokey photo by Tiffany Cuthrell at Winter Jam

Photos from Winter Jam 2019

We thank Tiffany Cuthrell Photography and Phoenixx Music Magazine for sharing photos of Danny Gokey performing in Ypsilanti for Winter Jam 2019.  There’s only a month left on the tour.  You can check out the remaining tour dates HERE.

We are excited that we will soon be treated to new music from Danny with a CD release on April 12th. A second song, “New Day” will be available for download on March 8th.  You can pre-order Danny’s new album “Haven’t Seen It Yet”, HERE.

UPDATE 3/21 — A third new song from Danny’s upcoming project has just released on March 22nd. You can find it HERE. It’s called WANTED, from the track list we previously posted.

Danny Gokey performs with Kevin Gatzke at Winter Jam

From the Phoenixx Music Magazine Review:  “After Mandisa was the sharp-dressed Danny Gokey. With his rock-vibed set, Danny had an impressive horn section that swayed along. Danny got the crowd dancing, and impressed all with soulful, heartfelt vocals. Toward the end of his set, Danny performed a track with just an acoustic guitarist, and piano playing throughout. Phone flashlights danced and illuminated the audience as they sang along. He closed out the evening with “The Comeback”.”

Danny Gokey Band photo by Tiffany Cuthrell

join the discussion (350x102)

74 thoughts on “Danny Gokey News & Discussion- March 2019”

  1. I am a long time fan of Danny’s and have pre-ordered his upcoming cd. I am so looking forward to some new music and his newest song is a great indication of things to come.

  2. Hi Sherry! We are excited for new Danny Gokey music, too! Its so great to see all of the success Danny has achieved since “Hope in Front of Me” was released. He’s worked hard, but the increase in support is so wonderful.

    His recent video of “Haven’t Seen It Yet” has has 1,267,943 views in just FOUR weeks! And another 772,996 views for song. Wow!

  3. I don’t see a source for this, but very interesting if true. Especially the second named guest-artist for Danny’s upcoming album.

    http://www.crossrhythms.co.uk/articles/news/See_It_Soon/64895/p1/

    ‘Haven’t Seen It Yet’ album by Danny Gokey out in April See It Soon
    GUEST artists Mandisa and Michael W Smith are on CCM star Danny Gokey’s first album release for Sparrow Records. ‘Haven’t Seen It Yet’ is to be released on 12th April. The title track of the project is already a major hit on US Christian radio.

  4. I like that Danny has a duet with Mandisa, and MWSmith is huge in the CCM world. Interesting. Very interesting.

  5. Having Mandisa appear on Danny’s new album makes perfect sense. Aren’t they on the same label? They have toured together, including singing together on tour. They appear to like and respect each other. And of course, they are both American Idol alums.

    I continue to believe that Mandisa’s success in the Christian music world paved the way for later American Idol contestants like Danny and Lauren Daigle. I don’t know whether Mandisa was the first to try the genre, but I’m pretty sure she was the first to make a real, sustained impact. (Other artists have dipped their toes in the waters, incuding Chris Sligh, Scott MacIntyre, and someone else, I think.)

    Although not in the league of Danny, Mandisa, or Lauren D., Hollyn (Holly Marie Miller) is another American Idol alum who is starting to make an impact in Christian music.

  6. Michael W. Smith is a cornerstone of Christian music and has been around forever. Nice get, if true. (I see no reason why the article wouldn’t be correct.)

  7. I may be imaging things, but did I see a thread or comment somewhere on this site that had some information about how well Danny’s music has sold? Do we know anything about that?

    I think we do at least have some information on video views, correct?

  8. Hi Ellen, you did see the sales info here:

    They report that has had three #1 singles at radio, and career sales of over 780k units (SEA).

    In this post https://dannygokeynews.com/2019/02/26/track-list-havent-seen-it-yet/

    I almost commented about the article about top 25 Successful AI alumni… And the fact that Danny wasn’t included at another site, but it is just one writer’s opinion and Christian artists aren’t likely to get much notice at a site that is geared towards pop music.

    When they ranked Haley Reinhart as #24 (and skipped Danny) I know it was a biased ranking. Here is what they said about Haley:

    The singer placed third on Season 10 of Idol and followed up her stint on the reality series with a 2012 release of her debut album, “Listen Up!” She has performed at Lollapalooza, toured with Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox, and will release her fourth studio album, “Lo-Fi Soul,” in 2019.

    Danny’s debut album sold way more than here album, he’s on his 5 album (if you count Christmas albums) had a Grammy nomination, Dove Award, genre awards/nominations, and been touring practically non-stop for the last three years.

  9. Yup. I did comment, but only after someone else suggested that Danny and Lauren Alaina belonged on the list. I don’t necessarily quibble about Haley; she’s got her fingers in a lot of pies. But for several that were listed, all that was said was that the person released several albums.

    I couldn’t remember Danny’s sales figures, and I’m not sure I would have mentioned them anyway, so as not to wake the sleeping anti-Danny giant. And understatement works better anyway. I think saying that his albums “have sold decently” is accurate and makes the point. Plus, there’s the Grammy nom (not to mention the Dove & K-Love awards and the #1s), which point to a certain level of acceptance and recognition in his genre.

    You may not not the answer, but is the 780,000 units just for the 2 CCM albums + the Christmas album, or does it also include his country album? The latter initially sold 65,000, with lifetime sales around the 200,000 mark, I think.

    No matter which way you slice it, not too shabby.

    Oh, another question. I assume “units” = albums? Are there figures for singles sales? My guess would be that TYHTBA is his biggest seller as an individual song.

    I was happy to see that my comment did not receive pushback, and several people agreed. I think several posters had it right when they called the article “clickbait.”

  10. I had to look it up, but albums in SEA units include streaming and video plays. From wikipedia article–

    United States
    Beginning with the December 13, 2014 issue, the Billboard 200 albums chart revised its ranking methodology with album-equivalent unit instead of pure album sales. With this overhaul, the Billboard 200 includes on-demand streaming and digital track sales (as measured by Nielsen SoundScan) by way of a new algorithm, utilizing data from all of the major on-demand audio subscription services including Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play, YouTube and Xbox Music. Known as TEA (track equivalent album) and SEA (streaming equivalent album) when originally implemented, 10 song sales or 1,500 song streams from an album were treated as equivalent to one purchase of the album. Billboard continues to publish a pure album sales chart, called Top Album Sales, that maintains the traditional Billboard 200 methodology, based exclusively on Nielsen SoundScan’s sales data.[2] Taylor Swift’s 1989 was the first album to top the chart with this methodology, generating 339,000 album-equivalent units (281,000 units came from pure album sales).[1][8] On the February 8, 2015 issue, Now That’s What I Call Music! 53 became the first album in history to miss the top position of the Billboard 200 despite being the best-selling album of the week.[9]

    In July 2018, Billboard and Nielsen revised the ratios used for streaming equivalent album units to account for the relative value of streams on paid music services like Apple Music or Amazon Music Unlimited versus ad-supported music and video platforms such as Spotify’s free tier and YouTube. Under the updated album equivalent ratios, 1,250 premium audio streams, 3,750 ad-supported streams, or 3,750 video streams are equal to one album unit.[10]

    Similarly the Recording Industry Association of America, which had previously certified albums based on units sold to retail stores, began factoring streaming for their certifications in February 2016.[11]

  11. Thank for the info, Admin2. I generally don’t stream, so I’d forgotten about that. The rules apply to everyone, and it takes a lot of streams to equal a sale. So I still think Danny’s numbers are decent.

  12. The math of it all must be very complicated these days. I hadn’t realized streaming may now be counted in the records for “gold” albums and such, so that may be part of the TYHTBA recognition in addition to track sales…

    But it seems that a million YT plays equates to less than 300 “album sales.” So it must all take a lot to accumulate even with the streaming.

    If Danny’s being credited with 780,000 album-equivalents sold, and we assume some <250K of those were MBD, that’s still half a million sold/streamed-equivalent, when his CCM album initial week sales were on the order of $10K/each.

    It reminds me of something people used to say with Mandisa years back. That the sales weren’t necessarily spectacular in initial numbers but could be very steady and build over time.

    If his new label has more connections to promote the streaming side, hopefully Danny will see benefits with the new album and its singles.

  13. I think HIFOM (with his biggest hit, TYHTBA on it) is likely his 2nd biggest selling album. Behind MBD?

    Rise didn’t stay up on the sales charts as HIFOM.

    I hope this new one is BIG for Danny. Although album sales are quite depressing….

  14. I suppose part of it, a big part? is being profitable regardless of the numbers. Danny’s been pretty specific in several interviews about his BMG albums “recouping” nicely. Probably a combination of sales/equivalent consumption, and cost-sensitive production. Still good.

  15. HSIY by DG

    Christian Airplay: #16, (lw 18) 6 wks on the chart
    Christian Digital Songs: #12 (lw 13) 7 wks
    Hot Christian Songs: #13 (lw #1`4) 7 weeks

    youTube views:

    Official video: 1,555,742 views
    Audio: 749,000

  16. A bit more about the charity television show, the new record and more. Plus a nice gallery of photos.

    In this interview Danny says he can’t share who the duets are for the new music, but we know believe its Mandisa and Michael W Smith.

    I wonder what network they are negotiating with… did he say a “new” network?

    I’m also looking forward to seeing those new family photos, too.

  18. This brain teaser was in a letter sent out by my credit union. The letters are boring. They put things like this in them to make them more interesting.

    Brain teaser: “There is a nine-letter word starting with S and ending with G, and you can selectively remove one letter at a time from this word and still have a word in the English language, from nine letters right down to a single letter. What is this nine-letter word?”

  19. I solved the brain teaser and have an answer. If I have a mistake, I don’t see it. I don’t know if it is the same answer as the credit union. (I could phone the number they give to check, but I won’t.)

    I’ll give my answer later.

    I can give a hint about my approach if anyone wishes.

  21. Thanks for adding the brain teaser, Lurker. I love when others add subject matter (even if off topic) here!

    Hopefully Admin2 or others are working on it!

    I’ve got my own form of brain teaser I’m working on. I’m in the midst of writing content for my (our) new business’ website. And we have some BIG family news brewing.

    Hopefully I can share more soon. 😉

  23. I’m really not very good at that type of brainteaser. Look forward to hearing the answer.

    Do you remove the letters anywhere in the word to make it word, or from the start or back only?

  26. I’ll have to try tomorrow to think more on the brainteaser. All I’ve got tonight is spaghetti which doesn’t fit the rules, and may say more about my appetite than the word puzzle 🙂

  27. Brainteaser hint: My approach:

    First, I tried to find a nine-letter word starting with S and ending with G. My first guesses didn’t work. I could think of words starting with S easily, but they ended with D or some other wrong letter (or had eight letters). Then I wrote an S, 7 blanks and a G and worked to find a word that fit. I found one (only one).
    Next, I started trying to remove one letter at a time. I had no luck with that at all. After a few attempts, I started to discard the whole mess. Then the thought occurred to me that it would be easier to go the other direction. Instead of removing one letter each time, I looked at my nine-letter word for one letter that formed a word. Then, I added one letter to that to get a two-letter word and kept adding one letter at a time until I had nine words. The ninth word was the one I had started with.

    I will go to bed now. I love the end of the day when there is nothing left to do but let go of effort and let the night be still and quiet around me.

  29. It’s definitely a fun video, and I see the “aging” effect that was in the HSIT single cover is picked up in this video along with the yellow. I’m not recalling, were those visuals also in the HSIY videos?

    Interesting as this song lyrically is one of the most mainstream, almost secular songs I can recall in Danny’s CCM era. All I pick up is the non-specific mention of “mercies” and the theme of new day which can have a Christian sense but also could mean any number of mainstream things.

    I don’t know if that means they want to do more cross-genre promoting, but it seems at least the new label isn’t being very restrictive about the songs chosen and being supported for the new album project.

  30. Brainteaser answer:
    shoveling

    I
    in
    sin
    sing or sign
    singe
    single
    shingle
    shelving
    shoveling

  31. That looks like a perfect solution!

    I wasn’t thinking you could re-arrange the letters. But I still would have failed had I known

  32. “I wasn’t thinking you could re-arrange the letters.”

    I don’t know that I can. The teaser I typed didn’t make that clear. When I started trying to find words though, that was a pattern I found. I thought perhaps if I could select where I removed letters, maybe it was intended that I could select where I placed letters.
    I don’t know if I got the answer they did.
    I finally thought of another nine-letter word–showering. I don’t think I can make nine words out of it
    –haven’t tried.

  33. i
    in
    sin
    sins
    sings
    slings
    slicings
    splicings

    Is slicings a real word?

    I’ve seen New Day move up on iTunes from 54 to 34. I’m not sure if that is a lot of song sales. I’m guessing not.

  35. I’m terrible at this :O

    Not even trying to be consistent on removing a letter each time —

    showering
    show-ring (cheating!)
    whoring ( 😳 )
    wrings (cheating again)
    wring
    wing
    win
    in
    i

  36. Yes, Jan,
    Slicings is a word. I looked it up.

    Admin2,
    Your list helped me find nine words from showering. Showring is a word. I looked it up. Both showring and show ring were used for terms for rings to show animals. I do like your seven letter word better than mine. Mine is boring. Yours wasn’t.

    showering

    I
    in
    win
    wing
    wings
    sowing
    showing
    showring
    showering

    Thanks for playing. 🙂

  39. a
    as
    ass
    lass
    lassy
    classy

    and then I get stuck!

    iTunes Christian songs:

    HSIY #14
    New Day #31
    TYHTBA #111
    Rise #186
    Comback #186

    Soo… I was looking into the new album tracks and HSIY has a remix version by Asher Postman. He is youTube star producer that is 21 years old?

    Here is one version of how he remixes:

    Danny is definitely not afraid of working outside the converntional….

  40. Remember Matt Giraud from Danny’s season of Idol? He instagramed (and Danny shared it)about seeing Danny perform at the Bridgestone Arena.

    Matt will be performing in the Sinatra Legacy show at the Franklin Theater next weekend.

  42. If “seate” isn’t a word in mr bing’s answer, how about “tease” ?

    And I must say, I’m glad Lurker only uses her powers for good, and is playing on our side 🙂

    How about slashy vs. classy in Jan’s puzzle?

  43. That’s a very attractive plaque for TYHTBA. I wonder if in time it may go Platinum.

  44. Its a cool photo on the plaque. I don’t think I’ve seen it used in any promo for Danny. That was a very good photographer.

    Shallow comments below:

    Not sure I’m loving these new promo pics. In the one they are using for his autographs he is hunched forward. Also wearing a bulky outfit. And he’s not manicuring his beard as much.

  45. Which promo pic are you referring to, Jan?

    I hate the hunched-over look. Danny, pay attention to your posture or you’ll regret it when you are an old man! Trust me!

  47. He looks very “serious” though. Perhaps they are going for a more mature look as he’s easing well past 35 now?

    The plaque looks like it must be from the photo series for HIFOM, I suppose they must take many many photos that aren’t used for any given situation and can be pulled for new requirements.

  48. ps – I’ve wondered occasionally if they are trying to position Danny going into the future as one of the more “senior” CCM artists, similar to TobyMac or others who are out there and remain active. The duet with Michael W. Smith and appearing at his Nashville event for example. Or Danny trying to move into headlining his own tours.

  50. OK, Jan, the promo pic is not as bad as I feared based on your reaction, but it’s not good, either. It has the same photo-shopped (in a bad way) look that the pic for “Tennessee Christmas” did (just not quite as bad). It looks like someone pasted a head shot of Danny on a separate photo of Danny’s body.

    I think the idea was a photo that gives a sense of urgency (and it does successfully convey that), which likely goes along with one or more themes in Danny’s music. But it makes Danny look like he doesn’t have a neck. And yeah, that hunched look — not attractive. I much prefer the artwork that Renee did — that soft, ethereal look, but based on real action shots. Not for everything, but just . . . not this. All of the photos for Danny’s last two albums for BMG — three, counting the Christmas one — have been well-done. I expect better from Capitol, and so far, I really don’t think I’ve liked any of the artwork — font/typeface, colors, or photos.

  51. And what is with the chintzy curtains behind Danny? It looks like it was snapped in an office waiting room….

    Well, hopefully better photos will be rolling out… I don’t mind the photo with the lead single, but still not as good as it could be.

    For old time’s sake, I’ve posted a poll on best CCM artists. Its not like getting a Grammy or Dove Award, but what the heck….

    https://dannygokeynews.com/2019/03/15/vote-favorite-ccm-artists/

  53. “Or Danny trying to move into headlining his own tours” I think connecting Danny with solid CCM acts like TobyMac, MWSmith, Matthew West, is trying to cement his place in the genre — and perhaps push him further up the chain?

    He’s doing great and I think this new label may have some good surprises for us. Only 4 weeks until album drop! I’d like to see HSIY get a really good push the next few weeks. Its fighting up the chart, but its pretty hard to get to top 10. I think For King and Country’s new song has enough momentum to pass it soon.

    Also, I figured out why Danny was in Phoenix on the 12th – He is working that radio tour HARD!

  54. I wondered why that show had eluded Jan, after I looked at the calendar. But I didn’t look at all of the calendar 🙂

  55. So, what do we think Danny will be doing during CD release week???

    I hope he gets some good promo, appearances…. and I wouldn’t mind a CD release party back in Milwaukee…. but I’m afraid those might be a thing of the pass.

    This is the first time he is coming to the big Christian music festival, Lifest, an hour north of Milwaukee in July. I’ve never been to Lifest. Not super excited about it since it is a mass of people. Although I like Summerfest, Bratfest and Taste of Madison…

  56. I figured out how I had the wrong day for the Arkansas concert. iTickets has it wrong:

    https://www.itickets.com/events/419832

    Christian Youth Day
    Danny Gokey
    Sat, Apr 6, 2019 at 11:00 am
    Timberwood Amphitheater @ Magic Springs
    1701 East Grand Avenue
    Hot Springs, AR 71901 US

    and I just click and add it to our calendar….

  57. “Christian celebrities Jennifer Hudson, Colton Dixon, Mandisa and Danny Gokey all appeared on the show.”
    Read more at https://www.beliefnet.com/columnists/idolchatter/2019/03/american-idol-wins-christian-friendly-show-television.html#xKTJSrIhQK0hySyc.99 I find it surprising Scott M gets a solo mention….

    https://www.beliefnet.com/columnists/idolchatter/2019/03/american-idol-wins-christian-friendly-show-television.html

    I shared this nice video of Mandisa and Danny together. They clearly have a close friendship:

  58. Not sure but I have the impression Scott McIntire (sp?) has done a good job keeping his name out there in circles that will support him. I haven’t kept up at all, but at least back some years, wasn’t he doing speaking appearances as well as any music activities.
    .

    I see the DGN twitter is active tonight. Since it’s not (and hardly ever) me, I will guess Jan is out at a concert. Have a great time!

  59. I wish I was at a concert…. I just found a really nice little video to share from Instagram and Christian Music Moments 😍

  61. Danny is coming back to Milwaukee on April 26th. But it is a fundraiser for Wisconsin Lutheran College. I’m going to have to pass on the $300 tickets to honor the founder of Hobby Lobby and see a 45 minute concert by Danny…

    http://www.wlc.edu/2019-DSA/

  62. From press release:

    Nashville, TN (March 20, 2019)
    Grammy® nominee and Dove Award winner Danny Gokey, announced that his fifth studio album Haven’t Seen It Yet, will be available for purchase at all major retail stores and digital retailers on Friday, April 12th, 2019. The second digital single “New Day” has been released as part of the album launch campaign, and the accompanying high-energy lyric video is also available. Two more album tracks will release prior to the album’s release.

    Lifted from his upcoming fifth studio album, is the albums lead single and title track, “Haven’t See It Yet.” The single is currently sitting in the top 15 on the Christian Airplay Billboard Chart. The lead single’s accompanying music video has received over 2 million+ views on Danny’s official YouTube page, continuing to solidify Gokey as a staple in Christian Contemporary Music.

    Currently fans can continue to catch him on the Winter Jam Tour. Additionally, Gokey’s extensive promotional tour for Haven’t Seen It Yet, will include stops at Good Day Dallas, Sirius XM, Good Day New York and more.

  63. I would have to imagine Danny will try to hit the biggies in Christian music: WAY FM, K-LOVE, Air1etc

    Its interesting that the FOX “Good Day” shows are still Idol friendly. I’d love to see him get some secular opportunities, too. But I’d imagine it has to sell really well for that to happen.

    I’ve been a bit frustrated with Mediabase CAC. Only 42 of the 55 monitored stations are playing HSIY. I was hoping it would be in Top 5 or Top 10 by the week of album release. Its at #16 with just a bit over 3 weeks to go…

  64. Amazon Prime is offering the movie “I Can Only Imagine” this month. The story of Bart Millard of Mercy Me. I really enjoyed it. Please let me know if you have caught it, too.

  66. I haven’t seen the “I Can Only Imagine” movie but I’ll probably check it out.

    We believe Danny’s latest track from the HSIT album will be out at midnight. I found an entry for it and have added the link into our post above. Please check it out and let us know what you think of the song once it’s available!!

    The song name seems to be “Undertow.” Is that one Jan found songwriting credits for, or is it totally new to us?

  68. BMI doesn’t list writing credits for Undertow for Danny —- but it could still show up. Only 6 of his new songs are listed so far. Also, he has a new publishing company :

    BETTER THAN I FOUND IT PUBLISHING
    There are 6 Work Titles

    Work Title BMI Work

    1. CRAZIEST THING 28126415
    2. FINISH STRONG 27861707
    3. HAVEN T SEEN IT YET 28812900
    4. LOVE GOD LOVE PEOPLE 28511037
    5. MORE THAN I COULD BE 29675227
    6. NEW DAY 28812901

  69. Thanks Jan.

    Hmm. Well, so far we’ve had the mid-tempo debut single, and the up-tempo second track. I’m ready for the flowy ballad that wasn’t quite there in the RISE album, at least from my viewpoint.

  70. Well, embarrassing. I had that wrong. The newly available song is Wanted, not Undertow. I’m updating the links above.

    But…. it is a ballad, it seems 🙂

  72. I’m undecided on the flowy part, what does everyone else think?

    But yes, ballad.

    TYHTBA is epitome of flowy ballad for Danny so far (CCM-wise) imo, highlighting vocals in relatable song.

  73. ps – at first I was thinking this might be the song Danny said is on the album relating to his children.

    But it seems to be coming more from the perspective we saw before in More Than You Think I Am.

  74. My first thought was it was for his kids, but now I think its a message that all God’s children are “wanted”.

Leave a Reply