My Best Days

My Best Days is the debut album from American Idol season eight finalist Danny Gokey. The album was released on March 2, 2010, by RCA Records Nashville.[1] The track "It's Only" was originally scheduled to be the first single,[2] but it was withdrawn and replaced with "My Best Days Are Ahead of Me." Both it and the album's second single, "I Will Not Say Goodbye," have made Top 40 on Hot Country Songs.

My Best Days
Studio album by
Danny Gokey
ReleasedMarch 2, 2010 (2010-03-02)
Recorded2009
Nashville, Tennessee
(Starstruck Studios)
GenreCountry
LabelRCA Nashville, 19
ProducerMark Bright
Danny Gokey chronology
My Best Days
(2010)		 Hope in Front of Me
(2014)
Singles from My Best Days
  1. "My Best Days Are Ahead of Me"
    Released: December 26, 2009
  2. "I Will Not Say Goodbye"
    Released: June 28, 2010

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[3]
Entertainment Weekly(B-)[4]
Roughstock[5]

Matt Bjorke of Roughstock gave a positive review, saying that its sound recalled country pop and contemporary Christian music, but also saying that it, "sure feels like Danny Gokey has gotten himself a strong set of songs that find him in strong voice."[5] Allmusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album two stars out of five, calling it "pristine adult contemporary pop, all soft and glittering."[3] Brian Mansfield of USA Today gave it a positive review saying, "All in all, My Best Days continues in the vein of the three earlier albums from the four top finishers of Season 8, in that it plays exceptionally well to the strengths of the performers and the expectations their existing fans have for them."[6]

Jessica Phillips of Country Weekly magazine gave three-and-a-half stars out of five, with her review saying, "it is refreshing to find a new artist with a solid message and genuineness to match."[7] Deborah Evans Price of Billboard praised Gokey's vocal performance and said "Working with producer Mark Bright, Gokey crafted a contemporary country album that showcases his soulful vocals."[8]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."My Best Days Are Ahead of Me"Marv Green, Kent Blazy3:07
2."Like That's a Bad Thing"Tony Martin, Neil Thrasher, Wendell Mobley3:28
3."I Still Believe"Kara DioGuardi, Busbee4:06
4."Tiny Life"Jeffrey Steele, Green3:50
5."Get Away"Ron Hemby, Billy Simon, Jimmie Lee Sloas4:04
6."It's Only"Dave Haywood, Charles Kelley, Tom Douglas4:55
7."Life on Ya"Steele, Tom Hambridge, Chuck Jones3:15
8."Crazy Not To"Green, Mobley, David Lee Murphy3:55
9."Be Somebody"Greg Barnhill, Joanna Cotten, Adam Hood4:02
10."I Will Not Say Goodbye"Chuck Cannon, Lari White, Vicky McGehee3:52
iTunes Store pre-order
No.TitleLength
11."The Coach" 

Personnel

Compiled from liner notes.[9]

  • Tom Bukovac — electric guitar
  • Lisa Cochran — background vocals
  • Eric Darken — percussion
  • Aubrey Haynie — fiddle
  • Chris McHugh — drums
  • Mike Johnson — steel guitar
  • Charles Judge — keyboard, synthesizer, strings
  • Gordon Mote — keyboard, synthesizer, piano
  • Jimmie Lee Sloas — bass guitar
  • Ilya Toshinsky — acoustic guitar, mandolin
  • Jonathan Yudkin — fiddle

Chart performance

Album

The album debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 for the chart week of March 9, 2010, selling 65,000 copies in its first week. My Best Days is the best debut for a male country solo artist since Billy Ray Cyrus' Some Gave All album debuted with 90,000 copies in June 1992. My Best Days sold 19,000 digital albums its first week, giving it the highest first week digital album sales ever for a new Country artist.[10] As of December 29, 2010, the album has sold 201,000 copies in the U.S.[11]

Chart (2010) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[12] 4
US Top Country Albums (Billboard)[13] 3

Year end charts
Chart (2010) Position
US Billboard Top Country Albums[14] 35

Singles
Year Single Peak positions
US Country US
2009 "My Best Days Are Ahead of Me" 24 82
2010 "I Will Not Say Goodbye" 32 —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart
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References
  1. Herrera, Monica (2009-09-02). "Idol finalist Danny Gokey signs record deal". Billboard. Retrieved 2010-01-24.
  2. Bjorke, Matt (2009-11-17). "Danny Gokey - "It's Only"". Roughstock. Archived from the original on 2009-11-10. Retrieved 2010-01-24.
  3. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "My Best Days review". Allmusic. Retrieved 6 March 2010.
  4. "Extended Play, Country Edition: Danny Gokey, Blake Shelton, Easton Corbin". 2 March 2010. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
  5. Matt Bjorke (1 March 2010). "My Best Days review". Roughstock. Archived from the original on 10 March 2010. Retrieved 2 March 2010.
  6. Mansfield, Brian (2010-03-02). "Danny Gokey's 'My Best Days': Track-by-track". USA Today. Retrieved 2010-05-19.
  7. Phillips, Jessica (March 29, 2010). "Reviews". Country Weekly. 17 (13): 52. ISSN 1074-3235.
  8. "Danny Gokey: I Want To Do Country 'For The Rest Of My Life'". Billboard.com. 2010-03-22. Retrieved 2012-03-02.
  9. My Best Days (CD booklet). Danny Gokey. RCA Records. 2010. 88697.CS1 maint: others (link)
  10. Jessen, Wade (2010-03-10). "Danny Gokey's Days Starts Strong". Billboard. Retrieved 2010-03-10.
  11. Mansfield, Brian (2011-01-05). "Crystal Bowersox passes Lee DeWyze, 100K sales mark". USA Today.
  12. "Danny Gokey Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  13. "Danny Gokey Chart History (Top Country Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  14. "Best of 2010 - Top Country Albums". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 2010-12-31.
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