From the moment Danny Gokey auditioned for American Idol, he has inspired so many people with his voice and story. Danny said it best as he was riding down the street in his hometown visit parade, that he was able to turn "tragedy into triumph." The morning after his elimination, Danny Gokey opened up about his time on American Idol, his future plans, and the scream heard around the world.

After Danny's performances this week, he had a feeling all day Wednesday that he may be headed home. Although he describes himself as competitive, Danny said he's mainly proud of his accomplishments. Going from losing his wife just 10 months ago, to becoming a top 3 finalist on American Idol, he was able to see a strength in himself that he didn't know he had.

Danny was known for being the soulful singer on this season of American Idol, and everyone was wondering what he was going to do with Rock Week. Danny performed Aerosmith's "Dream On" and was daring enough to try out Steven Tyler's scream, but he thinks that performance might have been the beginning of the end for him. His performance during Rat Pack week just 7 days earlier was nearly flawless. Danny isn't one to live with regrets though, and is happy that he picked a big song and took a risk. What the public didn't know is that he rehearsed the scream so much that he hurt his vocal chords, and he's still sore this week. Having a good sense of humor about it all, Danny said he thinks the scream is hilarious and that it should be used in horror movies.

Danny has spent a great deal of time with Adam Lambert and Kris Allen over the course of the competition, and he shed some light on both of these competitors. He said Kris is really artistic and Adam is able to capture the audience with each performance. Danny went on to say that he admires that Kris is so mellow, because it's hard to be anything but up-tight in this competition. He said that Adam is an all-around great guy and is the same person off the stage as he is on the stage- very creative in all walks of life. The only thing Danny can predict is that it's going to be a tight race. He encourages everyone to vote.

When Ryan would read off Danny's voting number, he would often hold his hands up in the shape of a heart. Danny busts the rumors that this is to support an eyeglass company. In fact, the symbol is on his charity website, http://www.sophiasheart.org/, and has been there months before it was the theme of a glasses commercial. The heart symbol became a way that Danny would communicate with his fans, and he hopes that symbol will represent his music.

From the very start of the competition, Danny was considered a front runner. Although this is a positive thing, it can backfire. Danny felt like each week he had to do better than the week before in order to show growth, so it became an internal battle for Danny to outdo himself week after week.

Danny is setting some large post-show goals for himself. His ultimate goal is to revolutionize the music industry, which he plans to do by making music that touches the heart. His dream is to mix music with his foundation, Sophia's Heart Foundation. Danny also plans to campaign to keep music in schools, since that's something that is becoming few and far between these days. When asked what kind of album he plans to put out, Danny said, "I want to mix a very soulful album with nice R&B beats and beats that get people's heads moving, and mix it with a hint of a Latin vibe." This season, Danny got a lot of attention over the amount of glasses he wore on the show. Danny said, in addition to music, he would love to be an eyeglass model and start his own glasses line. His goal is to make glasses cool again for kids.

Looking forward to the tour this summer, Danny said he's excited to let his guard down and be himself. He can be who he is without worrying about votes.

Danny thanks his fans for supporting him throughout this experience. "What affirms me as an artist is them because week after week they voted...and that shows me they believe in me and that they see something inside of me," Danny said. "I want to tell them I love them, and I think that they're the best out there." Danny continues, "I was a nobody, and this show turned me into a somebody, and I'll always be thankful for the roots that I came out of because I do believe that the best is yet to come for me, that this is not the end of the road. I'm just very grateful. I'm so thankful my life has turned around, and I can't say it enough."

Watch footage from Danny Gokey's hometown visit.