Season eight "American Idol" finalist Danny Gokey kicked off his first string of shows in New York City last night, and Breathecast was in attendance as the pop crooner serenaded the folks at his record company, BMG.

During the performance Gokey announced that his new single "Hope in Front of Me" is currently getting its highest numbers in sales this week and he could not be more excited. The Milwaukee native kept everyone engaged as he performed in an office space that was converted into a performance platform. At the start of the intimate performance those in attendance, BMG label representatives, album distributors and some press, were shown a video clip of his philanthropic work with his foundation Sofia's Heart.

The 34 year-old tragically lost his first wife Sofia just a month before he first auditioned for "American Idol." Gokey founded an organization in 2008 in honor of his late wife and has now provided hope and help to homeless families in Milwaukee, Nashville and Sacramento. Sofia's Heart provides scholarships to deserving students and has a thriving inner city Music & Arts program.

After the video presentation, Gokey performed some of his new songs "Better Than Gold," "Take it To The Limit," and "Hope in Front of Me," each song with a unique sound and diverse style. The charming singer full of life and joy claimed he was a bit fatigued from all the traveling but not a hint of that showed as he belted out his songs.

Gokey's upcoming album is set to release on June 23 and the performance marked one of many coming in the near future. His 11 track album features productions from award winning producers Bernie Herms (Natalie Grant, Ruben Studdard, Barbara Streisand and Andrea Bocelli) Keith Thomas (Amy Grant, BeBe and CeCe Winans) and Josh Crosby (Cher, Owl City, Adam Lambert, Britt Nicole and Mat Kearney).

Gokey's second album Hope in Front of Me is available now on iTunes for preorder, including the instant download of his new single and another featured track.

Click the video below to view of clip of Gokey's performance OF "Hope in Front of Me" at the BMG office in Manhattan:

To learn more about Gokey's organization and how you can help, visit sophiasheart.org