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Entertainment behind the scenes
“Idol” finalist Danny Gokey gets countrified with record deal
Competing this year on “American Idol,” contestant Danny Gokey often sought to cut an image in viewers’ minds as an R&B singer, but now that a record label tied to the TV program has flashed a contract in front of him, the Wisconsin native has decided he’s a country singer.
Gokey has signed to 19 Recordings/RCA Records Nashville and plans to release a country album next year, the label said on Wednesday. In a statement, Gokey said, “I didn’t realize the ‘Idol’ experience would give me a musical direction, but it did.”
The deal marks the first time 19 Recordings, the company run by “American Idol” creator Simon Fuller, has signed the top four finalists. But it comes a long time after the other three got their record contracts. Seventeen year-old phenom Allison Iraheta signed with 19 Recordings back in June, despite finishing fourth on the show. “Idol” champion Kris Allen was guaranteed a record contract from 19, and runner-up Adam Lambert quickly landed with the label after his upset defeat.
During his run on “Idol,” Gokey performed well during the Country Week portion of the show, when he sang “Idol” alumna Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus Take the Wheel.” But when given free reign to pick a song, he often tended toward R&B or soul, such as his choice of the Mariah Carey song “Hero” and the Diana Ross/Lionel RIchie number “Endless Love.”
Jessica Simpson’s country foray is over
Nashville is saying “No” to Jessica Simpson, the tabloid starlet who evinced a few snickers by releasing a country album last year.
“Do You Know” sold just 178,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan, lower than the pop singer’s previous release, the 2006 disappointment “A Public Affair,” which stalled at 300,000 copies.
