Danny Gokey: 16 minutes and counting?

Last night’s “homecoming event” at Riverside Theater won’t be the last big local appearance for Danny Gokey—he’ll be at the Bradley Center in August for the American Idols Live tour—but it still feels like the end of something. And by “something” we mean “his career as a mainstream pop star and the city’s biggest reality show celebrity.” Tim Cuprisin of the Journal Sentinel reports that only FOX 6 bothered to cover the Riverside event, which was intended to promote Gokey’s Sophia's Heart Foundation, named after his late wife. (Worse, the free event only drew about a third of the theater's capacity.)

It makes sense that Milwaukee TV stations would bail on Gokey at this point, since local media has been more interested in him as a cuddly national mascot for the city than as an actual news story. Otherwise more reporters might have questioned why downtown Milwaukee was essentially handed over to American Idol producers for an entire day a few weeks ago for a three-minute photo op. Or maybe J-S columnist Jim Stingl might have interviewed Gokey himself yesterday rather than hand off his journalistic duties to “two random 12-year-old girls.” (Though, to be fair, it’s unlikely Stingl would have asked a more penetrating question than "Who do you think you'll keep in contact with after you're done touring?")

What’s gone largely unreported in local media is that Gokey is regarded outside of Milwaukee as a ham-fisted cheeseball and “Vote For The Worst” candidate with little chance of going on to a successful recording career. Howard Benson, a record producer who’s worked with Idol alumni Kelly Clarkson and Chris Daughtry, told MTV News yesterday that “it would be very tough to make a record” with Gokey, and that “he dresses like some guy that's in a bar somewhere.”

That seems a little harsh, especially for a guy that’s always seemed better suited for the Christian rock market than mainstream pop. Still, Gokey might end up sticking with reality shows, as he’s expressed interest in doing Dancing With The Stars. No word yet on which star Gokey would be dancing with.