Idol Chatter & Voice Views

One of the more bizarre career twists for a top-finishing American Idol finalist came after Season 8, when Danny Gokey “went country.”

OK, he sang a couple of country tunes on the show — “I Hope You Dance,” “Jesus Take the Wheel.”

But he was known mostly as a singer of blue-eyed soul.

It’d be tough to classify the country move as a flop.

After all, his 2010 “My Best Days” album debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 and produced two singles that cracked the Top 40 on Billboard’s country chart.

Last week, Danny, now 34, released his second album since finishing third on Idol.

Let’s just say he’s back where he belongs. And where lots of Idol watchers expected him to land.

“Hope in Front of Me” is a soulful-pop Christian album released by an artist who spent part of his time since the show launching a nonprofit (Sophia’s Heart) to help the disadvantaged and named after his first wife.

Ignore two hokey Gokey attempts at dance songs — “Better than Gold” and “Take It to the Limit” — and he’s delivered a solid album, bookmarked by a pair of great tunes — the lead single/title track and the album-ending “It’s Not Over.”

That lead single was number nine on Billboard’s Christian singles chart last week, up from 11 a week before.

The album?

It topped Billboard’s Christian albums chart. It landed at number 40 on the Billboard 200.

Danny talked about that country turn in a recent interview with the Journal Sentinel of Milwaukee, expressing satisfaction that he got to write nine of the 11 songs on the new album.

“There’s more of my DNA,” he said. “My whole focus is to bring entertainment and hope together.”

Now, here’s my favorite song from that new album, “It’s Not Over.”