Danny Gokey

I didn't watch very much American Idol this year, not even the finale. But I did catch glimpses every now and then, and did get to see the top three finalists as they performed on "Regis and Kelly Live" this week.

Idol winner Kris Allen was okay, and runner-up Adam Lambert was incredible.

But the one with the most compelling story was Danny Gokey, who rounded out the top three.

I remember tuning in to the closing moments of Idol over the weeks so I could catch the beginning of "Fringe," which started on Fox immediately after. And each week, Danny caught my attention. Maybe it was his glasses and he reminded me of Elvis Costello.

Then today he told the story about how he had just one chance to audition for Idol because of his age (29).

A month before the scheduled audition in Kansas City, his wife died. Instead of shutting himself off from the world, crawling into a hole and missing the audition, he instead did what his wife had wanted him to do - he auditioned.

And the rest, as they say, is history. I wish him all the luck and success he deserves.