Danny Gokey

“Trusting in God is important. He knows what is best.”

“I tell people life is like a book being written by heavenly hands that we can't see.”

“One thing I didn't want to believe in is that I couldn't have a family and do music at the same time.”

“When I was 12 years old, my dad got into country music. My first CD was Wynonna Judd, and I loved it.”

“I've always loved glasses. Always have. I've worn glasses since I was in the fifth grade.”

“My wife was an amazing, amazing person. Sophia's Heart is an organization that I founded in honor of my wife when she passed away. When she passed away it was a complete shock, and it was disappointment, anger. I felt all those emotions.”

“I started realizing how the condition of our hearts affects the way we see. If your heart is full of bitterness, anger, and resentment, you're going to look at this world as a very evil place.”

“On 'American Idol,' I felt like one of my challenges was picking songs because I've definitely been exposed to a lot of music. So when I went to pick songs, it was difficult for me to choose, but I'd always go to country because country music is so memorable.”

“I would like to do a duet with Kelly Clarkson. I just think she's wonderful!”

“I believe in helping people who are down.”

“Since I was a kid, I always felt like God had placed something inside my heart. And I always believed that God was going to do something great in my life. But I didn't know the road that I was going to take to get here. And especially losing my wife.”

“Being on 'American Idol,' the blessings of glasses have rained from the sky. I really would like to start a Danny line or a Gokey line of eyeglasses.”

“I've kind of walked into a realm where it's paid off for all the hard work that I've put into it, and I get to bless my family. And that's the one thing I love doing. I love giving.”

“I like that in country, you can talk about what you want to talk about. You can entertain, yet you can have a spiritual side to you, also an emotional side.”

“In our culture, I feel like everyone just wants the good life, the dream life, but I'm learning to embrace suffering because with suffering there's so much good that comes out of it.”

“One of the things that I learned at a very young age is the power of a parent's words to their children.”

“When you write about hope, don't make it sappy; make it cool, make it adaptable.”

“It's a dream when some people think that once you give your life to God, all of a sudden things are perfect. That's not the case. We live in a world that's broken, where there's disease, where people are selfish. The foundation of your faith helps you know how to put that in proper perspective.”

“There's not a person in the United States of America who doesn't love country or have some kind of tie to it.”

“I needed to walk through the 'Idol' door to get to the rest of my career.”