Early favorite Gokey is in a tough position on 'Idol'

Danny Gokey is an early favorite to win this season's "American Idol," which is a tough position to be in.

Just ask David Archuleta.

Gokey is a favorite not just for his vocal talents but for his personal story. And, believe it or not, he's already getting criticism in some quarters for "using" his personal story to advance his career.

Gokey, 28, lost his 27-year-old wife, Sophia, last July. (She died during surgery intended to correct a congenital heart defect.)

Four weeks later, he auditioned for "Idol" in Kansas City. And the show's producers, knowing a good story when they hear one, made a big deal out of Gokey and his personal tragedy.

"Honestly, I do feel like that I was highlighted. There's no getting around that," Gokey said in a conference call with TV critics.

But he didn't ask them to highlight him any more than he could have prevented them from doing so.

Gokey said he's "grateful" for the exposure he got during the audition round and Hollywood week, but, "I have no control over it. I know everyone's not going to like me.?That goes without saying.

"But it's a bummer when people are just real mad about it.?I had nothing to do with it, and I hope people can see past that and just see that I genuinely just love to sing and that's what I want to do."

In a show that's nominally about singing talent but is just as much (if not more) a popularity contest, it certainly doesn't hurt to have people feel sympathy for you.

But there's a certain balancing act that Gokey is going to be forced to perform — as ridiculous as it might sound, he has to be careful not to play the grieving-widower card too much for fear that he'll be seen as trying to benefit from his own tragedy.

"It's only been seven months since she's passed," he said. "This is who I am.?It's not that I throw it in people's faces, but I get asked about it all the time."

The fact is that in this interview, Gokey didn't raise the issue of his late wife, it was raised by journalists.

And he's quick to point out that he would much rather be on "American Idol" with his wife there to cheer him on.

"This is a sob story I don't want," Gokey said. "I don't want this story, but it is shaping my life. … I apologize to everybody if they feel like it's shoved down their face, but it's so fresh in my mind."

And he doesn't intend to play the tragic figure as "American Idol" spins out this season.

"I don't have to portray myself as anybody, but as far as being me, but there's a fun side to me that's going to come out," he said.

The Hollywood week auditions — when the field of hopefuls was narrowed from 147 to 36 — was "very, very tough for me. I put on this face, but I was miserable on the inside."

But, two months after that was taped, Gokey is feeling "more emotionally stable."