AceShowbiz -

Congratulations are in order for Danny Gokey. The third-place finalist on the eighth season of "American Idol" is over the moon as his wife Leyicet Peralta has just given birth to their first child, a son they named Daniel Emanuel Gokey.

The baby was born on January 20, weighing in at 8 lbs. 11 oz. at 9:52 P.M. EST. "Leyicet and I are overjoyed to welcome the new member of our family. I'm ecstatic to be a first time dad and to have a new little buddy to hang out with," the singer tells PEOPLE.

"Thankfully, because of what I do, it will also allow me the flexibility to spend a lot of quality time with him. I have so many exciting projects ahead this year but a brand new baby is an amazing way to get the new year started. We feel really blessed!" he continued gushing.

On Twitter Friday, January 18, the 32-year-old singer jokingly tweeted about his unborn baby, "My son is already like me and I haven't even met him yet....Late!!!!!! I'm always late for appointment, he's late for his delivery!! Smh." On Sunday, he added, "Its Official, I'm a daddy!!! :)."

Danny and Leyicet got married in January 2012 after a year of engagement. He was previously married to his high school sweetheart, Sophia Martinez, who died from complications after a routine surgery for congenital heart disease. In her honor, he founded Sophia's Heart Foundation to help homeless families.