Danny Gokey Eliminated on American Idol
Singing Competition Down to Two Finalists: Adam Lambert & Kris Allen
May 14, 2009 Lisa Simonelli Rennie
On Tuesday night, the top three contestants sang 2 songs each - one song picked by one of the judges, and another picked by the contestant. At the end of the night, it was pretty clear that Adam was the judges’ favourite. Who would be contestant number two to join Adam in the finale?
Danny Gokey Gets Voted Off
Danny Gokey, the 29 year-old church music director and recent widower, ended up taking third place in the competition. His rendition of "You Are So Beautiful" brought tears to the eyes of judges Paula and Kara, and was described by Simon Cowell as a "vocal master class". His husky voice was consistently impressive to the judging panel.
Despite the fact that Danny had long been considered to be a front runner in the competition, he ultimately didn’t receive enough votes to take him to the finals. Host Ryan Seacrest said 88 million votes came in, but Danny’s share obviously wasn’t enough.
Shock Over the Elimination
The judges seemed authentically shocked and surprised when Danny was chosen as the next to go. Ever since the top thirteen were announced, the judges subtly hinted that the finale would show a head-to-head between Adam and Danny. Danny’s husky voice was consistently strong and virtually flawless, despite him screaming his last note in his rendition of "Dream On" last week. Adam’s original rock spin on most of his tunes continues to impress both the judges and fans.
Kris Allen’s participation in the top 13 was definitely warranted, but he wasn’t necessarily considered favoured to win. Little did the judges know that Kris would eventually become the dark horse in the competition. Kris managed to sneak himself in as a strong contender, displaying his strong singer-songwriter skills with a John Mayer vibe that America seems to really like.
Throughout the entire show, Danny was the only contestant never to be a part of the bottom three. Even long-time favourite Adam Lambert was a bottom three contestant. It just goes to show that anything can happen from week to week. This week just happened to be Danny’s time to go.
Top Two Contestants Compete Next Week in Finale
The two final performances will be broadcast on May 19th, and the exciting finale and announcement of this season’s American Idol winner will air live on May 20th. With only 1 million votes separating the top two contestants last night, next week’s show should prove to be an awesome showdown that will be tighter than anticipated. It’s anyone’s game!
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