What's next for Danny Gokey?

The Milwaukee native, ousted from "American Idol" on Wednesday night, addressed that question and several others during a conference call with reporters this week.

Here is a transcript, courtesy of the PR staff from FOX:

Moderator: Welcome to the "American Idol" Interview call with Danny Gokey. I'd like to remind you that today's conference is being recorded. I'll now turn the conference over to Chloe Ellers for opening remarks. Please go ahead.

C. Ellers: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for calling in today to speak with Danny. As a reminder, Danny is here to talk about his experience on the show and plans moving forward. If we feel like anyone is harping on a question too much, we reserve the right to move on. With that being said, we'll take the first question.

Moderator: That will come from Matt Mitovich with TV Guide.

M. Mitovich: Hello, Danny.

D. Gokey: Hello, Matt. How are you doing?

M. Mitovich: Congratulations on making it as far as you did.

D. Gokey: Thank you. I appreciate it.

M. Mitovich: I'm just curious, as you may have gleaned, you know, at least since last night, much has been made about the scream you did at the end of "Dream On," and I'm wondering how you reflected on that performance, and if you think that might have possibly been the beginning of the end for you.

D. Gokey: You know, who knows. I mean, I guess I was actually thinking about that this morning. I was like, man, maybe that was kind of like the downfall because the week before, I had a really good performance. But, you know, I guess I just, I really wanted to have a big song that week, and so I took a risk. I never did rock and, you know, I think it could have been one of the variables, and being so late in the competition, you don't want to have a performance like that.

The thing is, everything in that performance was good up to that point, and I rehearsed that scream so much that I really hurt my vocal cords. It takes a lot to hurt them, and that one did it because I was sore on my home visit, and I'm still kind of sore this week.

M. Mitovich: Okay. Thanks.

D. Gokey: I thought it was funny, though. It was a very funny....

M. Mitovich: Yes. All right, congratulations again. Good luck going forward.

D. Gokey: Thank you.

Moderator: Next we have Lisa Steinberg with Starry Constellation magazine.

L. Steinberg: Hello, Danny. It's a pleasure to speak with you.

D. Gokey: Thank you, Lisa. How are you doing?

L. Steinberg: Good. I was wondering. What did you learn from your experience on "Idol"?

D. Gokey: You know, one of the things that I learned on this experience was, I learned a lot about myself. I learned a lot about how pressure has an effect on a person. You know, I think, for me, this whole experience I learned to overcome things in my life. You know, overcome insecurities, overcome doubt because sometimes, I mean, there were times I just didn't want to go out on that stage because I just felt maybe unprepared or I felt like, man, is anyone going to like what I'm doing, and I over-thought the process.

But, you know, when I had the real good performance was especially this past week. I was so thankful because I was like, you know, even though I kind of didn't want to go out there, I made myself do it, and I did good. Do you know what I mean? Because sometimes you can just see so much and you're wondering how people are viewing you, and that has an affect on your performance.

L. Steinberg: Best of luck with everything. I know you're going to have a bright future.

D. Gokey: Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

Moderator: We'll go next to Mike Hughes with TV America.

M. Hughes: Danny, your final performance last night was just a fantastic way to end a great ride. It was really, really good.

D. Gokey: Thank you so much, Mike.

M. Hughes: My question here, you're kind of in a position that we need because you're the best expert on the last two guys, and I'm not asking you who's the better one or who's going to win, but just to use your insight of knowing them for a while, just tell us what you find just kind of interesting about Chris and Adam as a person or as a performer, just something you find interesting about each one.

D. Gokey: Well, you know, Chris, you know, obviously he's really artistic, and Adam has a way on the show of capturing the audience. I think the thing is that people think that - here's what I think, and I'm going to say it like this. People need to vote. Don't automatically assume someone ... don't have your assumptions. If you want some person to win, you've got to vote. I'm telling you. This competition is not over yet. This is going to be a very tight. I have a feeling it's going to be a very tight race this next week.

M. Hughes: And just as far as their image onstage and off, is Chris really as quiet and shy offstage as he is on, and is Adam in total control of everything offstage as he seems to be whenever he performs?

D. Gokey: Yes, Chris actually is a very - you know, one thing I admire about Chris is that he's very mellow, and that's always one character trait I've always wanted. I'm a person who, you know, I'm an intense personality and times, and Adam, he's just an all around great guy. I really can't fault him on anything. Adam is who he is onstage and who he is offstage. He's very creative. He lives creative. He dresses creatively. He talks from that perspective. Do you know what I mean?

M. Hughes: Yes. Super. Thanks a lot, Danny.

Moderator: We'll go to Marc Wilkofsky with the Soap Opera Weekly.

M. Wilkofsky: Hello, Danny. Tremendous job this season.

D. Gokey: Thank you. Thank you.

M. Wilkofsky: Do you feel that an Idol singer now has to change up or switch up every song like you did?

D. Gokey: Say that again.

M. Wilkofsky: Do you feel that now an "Idol" singer has to change up every song?

D. Gokey: I really do. I think it's - I mean, I think you have to change up every song. You know, it's funny because there were some songs that I wanted to do that I had prepared and I had changed up that I never got to do because it just, you know - there were a few times where I picked a song, and I tried putting a different arrangement on it, and it just didn't work. It kind of stinks because, at this point, it's more than singing.

I shouldn't stay it stinks because it's actually pretty good. It's more than singing. It's really people want to see a creative element. They want to see an old song made fresh again. I think Idol from this point on, ever since last year, you can't go on singing the same arrangement of a song. You'll get bashed.

M. Wilkofsky: Right, and how do you want to change the music industry in general?

D. Gokey: How do I want to do it?

M. Wilkofsky: Right.

D. Gokey: You know, I've thought about that a lot. I really want to put, for me, I would personally like to start a movement with my music. I want to be almost like maybe sound so big of me, maybe cocky even, but the dream that I have inside my music is to revolutionize a culture to change people's hearts. You know, that's why it's so important for me that my dream is to mix my music with my foundation, you know, Sophia's Heart Foundation. That is everything to me and, you know, I don't want - you know, for my music career, I don't want it to be necessarily all about me. I want it to be about people.

You know, when I get a vision for a concern, this is what I see. I see, you know, like opening up concerts with possibly ... all the lights ... possibly following a story of a young kid whose father was maybe killed in a gang, and his mother is a drug addict, and kind of watching his life, showing little bits and pieces of his life, how he's had to overcome this and that, and then possibly somehow how Sophia's Heart Foundation has impacted this kid. Then I would like to come out there and entertain people, and then maybe flash back to another story or another mother.

Basically what I want to do is I want to entertain people, but at the same time, I want people to be - I want them to come out of their zone for a bit, and out of their problems, and have a perspective looking at someone else's problems and watching people overcoming. So not only will I entertain people, but they'll walk away, you know, feeling good, but also it's not a temporary good. It's that they're going to want to make a change. That's what I see.

It may come off as cheesy, but that's what I want to do because my whole testimony is overcoming - overcoming the impossible in my life, and now I want to take that message and tell people, if I can do it, you can do it. That's what I see.

M. Wilkofsky: It sounds like an excellent plan. Thank you so much, and best of luck to you.

D. Gokey: Thank you.

Moderator: We'll go next to Joey Guerra with the Houston Chronicle.

J. Guerra: Hello, Danny. Thanks so much for doing the call. I'm sure you're a little bit tired today.

D. Gokey: Yes. Yes, I am. But it's all good.

J. Guerra: Yes. I wanted to ask you about something that I think happens with certain "Idol" contestants, as the season progresses. You know in the beginning, and even through the semifinals, I think for a lot of people you were a frontrunner, and I think what happens sometimes is people maybe peak too early or so much praise is give to them that it's hard to sort of match that every week. Did you feel any sort of pressure in those respects in terms of what you were doing or the way you were approaching your performances?

D. Gokey: Absolutely. I felt like I had so much on me in the beginning of the show that people -- you know, I had to outdo myself every week, and the things for me ... here's another battle for me on the show. You know, just internally, I was like, man, I'm still growing as a musician, yet people expect this to come out of me, and I felt like at times I was just wasn't there yet.

I would say this. I don't think the show really ever works out ... now I say that lightly because I've only watched really one season of the show. That was last year. That's why I wanted to try out. But since there's so much expectancy on one person, people would tend to get disappointed. But then when you see another person where there's no expectancy on them, they'll show up, and they can possibly just wow the crowd because people just weren't expecting it.

J. Guerra: Right.

D. Gokey: You know what I'm saying? When you come, and you have so much expectation for something, and it doesn't work out the way you wanted it, you tend to get disappointed. So I'm sure, maybe at times people got disappointed like, man. Dude, I thought you were better than that. I'm like, no; hold up, man. You know, like for me, at times, I was in the room, and my mentor was like, man, they just want more. What do I do? What do I do? And I try. I gave it a really good try.

You know, the thing is that I know that there's a lot of creativity, and I can't wait to express it in the way that I want to express it. And I know that there's a bright future ahead of me, and that's how I'm going to look at it.

J. Guerra: Yes, definitely. And the other thing you were talking a little bit about what you wanted to do with your music, but if we're talking just in terms of sound, what do you see yourself doing?

D. Gokey: In terms of sound, I really want to do a soulful album, but I want to mix it with - you know, here's how I look at it. I want to mix a very soulful album with nice beats, like nice R&B beats and nice, like, beats that get people's heads moving, and mix it with a very, a hint of a Latin vibe, and the reason is, I was with my wife for 12 years. She was Puerto Rican, and I'm so into, like, Salsa and Meringues and all the Spanish music, and I want to mix it all in one arena for me. That's what I want to do.

J. Guerra: Awesome. Danny, best of luck, and that sounds like it's going to be kind of exciting, so cool.

D. Gokey: Thank you so much.

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Posted by FunkyBrewster on May 17, 2009 at 9:57 a.m. (report)

Was I the only person other than tweens and soccer moms to see Danny Gokey forget the words to Billy Jean and say "I really dont know music I'm from the church" in his 5 song set live in MKE and on TV? That pretty much was like a moment for me.... He tried to leave stage when he asked the backup singers to take over singing because he didnt know the words but came back when they insisted he was "The Professional" As endearing in a way as it was I think it was more so a sad display of what has become of the music industry. Also, the first mention of Danny Gokey on here long time ago I believe I first coined Go-Go-Gokey when I posted "Go-Go-Gokey Kera-gokey!" So if there is any money involved in that. lem me know`663