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I admit I haven't been the most vocal cheerleader for Danny Gokey--I still don't quite understand what all the fuss is about him on American Idol this year, or why he's such a frontrunner. But I'm not made of stone, and so my heart of course went out to him when I learned today that his grandfather just passed away. This loss comes less than a year after the sad passing of Danny's young wife, Sophia, who died from a congenital heart defect just weeks before Danny's Idol audition last year.

According to the religious website everydaychristian.com, Danny returned home to Wisconsin over the weekend for his grandfather's funeral. However, word is he will be performing on tonight's Idol show.

The death of a spouse and a close relative, on top of the immense pressure to perform for Simon Cowell and millions of Idol viewers week after week...that's definitely a lot for someone to handle in such a short timespan. So far Danny is handling himself with grace, and it will be interesting to see what song he picks tonight--maybe something that was a favorite of his grandpa's, or maybe a tune with emotional, meaningful lyrics particularly suited for this situation. The tragedy may very well bring out the best in him, vocally.

It will also be interesting to see if he broaches the topic of his grandfather's death this evening. When AmIdol season 8 started, Danny mentioned Sophia a great deal...but perhaps in light of accusations (true or not) that he was fishing for sympathy votes, to his credit he's stayed away from the subject as of late.

We shall see what happens tonight. In the meantime, please feel free to post your well-wishes and condolences on the message board below.