Since winning over millions of hearts on season 8 of American Idol in 2009, Grammy nominated Christian singer singer/songwriter Danny Gokey has been soaking up the essence of the human condition and pouring it into various musical expressions across five studio albums, starting with his 2010 debut album, My Best Days. 

Known for the “grit” in his expressive vocals that fuse “soulful, hopeful, pop,” the one-time truck driver from Milwaukee has amassed Billboard chart success, toured the country with big band acts like Sugarland, and earned numerous awards and accolades that confirm his mainstream appeal.

For the follow-up to his 2017 acclaimed album Rise, the Capitol recording artist released Haven’t Seen It Yet, on April 12th, 2019. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top Christian & Gospel Chart.

Inspired by his father’s collection of Motown records at a young age, Gokey found his voice “when I was making my ‘Hope in Front of Me’ record in 2014.” Today, the accomplished musician stands stronger and wiser than he was when he recorded his debut album, and the heartbreak and rejection that tend to colorize the life of an artist also helps shape the experiences that “play into knowing what people like and what they don’t like” and how to translate that into songs and storytelling. 

“When you have a lot more experience, you have the ability to talk about more things from an experiential place. I think that’s what makes songs good, experience and telling stories, and I applied that to this record. Music that makes the most impact is when you are thinking about the listener, and you are thinking about how can they relate to the subject I am talking about; and all that growth has gone to the album.”

The married father of three with another baby due in August 2019 bounced back from tragedy in 2008 when his first wife died four weeks after his American Idol audition, and life after the music competition series proved quite challenging. Gokey achieved yet another milestone with his first number one single for the resonating song “Hope in Front of Me” - and it came 5 1/2 years after hitting the American Idol stage. 

“I can only credit God for making me get this far today.”

Gokey used his unwavering devotion to Christ to explore a different direction for his latest effort, which arrives in April; choosing to convey a wider array of emotions to “keep people motivated who feel like they are in a situation that’s tough.”

“Haven’t Seen It Yet is saying, hey, you are closer to the change than you think you are, so don’t give up yet. Don’t go bitter. Don’t get discouraged. There’s things happening that you can’t even see, and you are going to come out on top.”

“Fighter” is another track on the album which encourages those “going through a tough time” to keep the faith and never give up. 

This new project also explores for the first time “my love for my children, my family and my wife” which Gokey had not done on a previous album. 

“The sentiment of the record was to entertain and to bring hope.”

Gokey lends his free time to bringing “hope” to homeless families through his Better Than I Found It foundation. The organization is a “massive part of my career,” as is his eyewear line, Danny Gokey Eyewear. 

“My biggest inspiration has been life itself. Walking through circumstances and being around people who have just kept positive attitude to evolve through tough times.”

Gokey is currently on tour previewing his new material for fans while “starting to look at life from a different place because I want my children to have a good life. I want to be a good voice for people to follow when it seems pretty dark.”

Fronting the West Coast buzz band A Current Affair gave Jordan’s powerful vocals some major exposure right out of high school. The band performed on the Warped Tour and other high profile gigs before dissolving. But heavy metal was never Jordan’s passion; it was just a fun experience with his friends and a way to stretch musically. As a child, Jordan had grown up with R&B artists like Sam Cooke and Earth Wind & Fire providing the soundtrack to frequent family road trips. Artists from what his father called “the good music era.” Those were the sounds and stylings that stuck in Jordan’s musical memory and by the time he was old enough to realize that his own singing voice was a gift, it was those early groove-funk-soul singers that had shaped his personal aesthetic. If he was going to make records, those were the kind of influences he wanted to draw from. Which brings us back to that Nashville record deal he signed with Centricity Music.

Jordan Feliz’s first full-length project, The River, reinterprets the rich influence of 70’s sensibilities in a modern pop context. Intentionally constructing uncluttered tracks free of production tricks and excessive instrumentation, Jordan instead focused on arrangements that were designed to give his fine-grit-sandpapery-smooth vocals center stage. The eleven songs on The River are soul-influenced pop numbers, but the instruments present are precise and articulate in their voicings and melodies, saying only as much as they need to and no more.

Tag-team produced by Colby Wedgeworth (Lincoln Brewster, The Main, Lydia) and Josh Silverberg (Newsboys, Jon Foreman, Plumb), The River is packed with radio-friendly pop melodies that manage to hit those marks without compromising Jordan’s unique musical personality. The best example of his singular vision is the record’s powerhouse title track and first single, The River, which has already spent ten weeks on the radio charts at #1. While it sounds like a pulse-quickening mega-hit from the first listen—instantly singable and repeatedly listenable—The River actually rides on a deep current of soul-driven funk influence that serves to set it apart from other contemporary radio fare.

“I’m a big melody guy,” Jordan admits, “and musically The River is my own personal happy place. It’s a great driving groove that just feels good to sing. The song itself is an invitation to anyone who hears it—whether they’re stuck in pride and legalism or wallowing down in the mess they’ve made of their lives—it’s an invitation to take whatever we have and to run to Jesus. It’s an invitation to go down in amazing grace and to rise up being made new.”

stay strong. live on. pass on these songs.

Vixen is following