He's gone country. The only remaining top 4 finalist of season 8 of American Idol finally has a record contract. After lots of debate over which musical direction Danny Gokey would embark on, he sealed the speculation by signing with RCA Nashville. He will still be under the umbrella of 19 Recordings like fellow finalists Kris Allen, Adam Lambert and Allison Iraheta.

While a producer has yet to attach himself to the Gokey project, he is expected to stake out the recording studio in Nashville as soon as the Idol tour wraps on September 15. Unfortunately, Gokey won't be able to participate in the land grab this fall as an onslaught of Idol alumni rush to become stocking stuffers. Carrie Underwood, Kris Allen, Adam Lambert, Jason Castro and Allison Iraheta all are expected to drop their respective musical releases. Given the timetable, the earliest we could expect Gokey to release his effort is early spring.

The 29-year-old Wisconsin native was perhaps best known for his gospel, soulful edge on Idol which made him a hard peg to fit into the recording industry and could have explained why he was one of the last finalists to sign a record contract. Gokey did show off his country chops by pulling out numbers by Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts and Lee Ann Womack during his AI competition.