AMERICAN IDOL SEASON SIX FINALIST PHIL STACEY TO MAKE GRAND OLE OPRY DEBUT THIS WEEKEND

DEBUT CD IN STORES ON APRIL 29TH

Nashville, TN– American Idol Season 6 finalist Phil Stacey, about whom AI Judge Randy Jackson raved, “You are going to have a career in country music!” and whom Tony Bennett called “One of the better singers I’ve heard, not just today, but in a long time,” has confirmed his Grand Ole Opry debut for this Saturday, March 29th. Phil, who plays both piano and guitar, will perform his first single, “If You Didn’t Love Me,” which jumped into Billboard‘s Top 35 this week, reaching an audience of more than 600,000 listeners. He will also use his time on the legendary stage to premiere material from his new CD, set for release next month. Phil will perform on both the 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. shows, both broadcast live on WSM-AM radio. Phil is set to release his debut CD on April 29^th. The self-titled disc, released on Disney’s Lyric Street Records, home of Rascal Flatts and former American Idol finalists Josh Gracin and Bucky Covington, features “If You Didn’t Love Me” (co-written by Rascal Flatts frontman Gary LeVox), which is already generating huge fan response and making a rapid climb up the country radio charts. The CD pairs Phil with producer Wayne Kirkpatrick, the legendary songwriter best known for material recorded by Garth Brooks, Faith Hill, Babyface, Joe Cocker, Bonnie Raitt and Eric Clapton, whose version of Kirkpatrick’s “Change the World” won a Grammy award for Song of The Year. Phil’s eleven-song album includes the contemporary lead single, as well as and songs by several of Nashville’s top tunesmiths, including Kirkpatrick, Wendell Mobley (“There Goes My Life,” “Take Me There”), Neil Thrasher (“I Melt,” “How Forever Feels”) and Rivers Rutherford (“Ain’t Nothing ‘Bout You,” “When I Get Where I’m Going”).

Phil’s Opry debut comes on one of his increasingly rare nights in Nashville . Just last weekend he played for a sold-out crowd of 20,000 fans at Knoxville, Tenn.’s Winterfest, and his schedule has been incredibly full since leaving the Idol stage last year–he spent three months playing for capacity crowds in 55 cities on the road with the American Idol tour, and has since been visiting radio and TV stations across the country in support of his debut CD.

In addition to his more than 671 million TV audience impressions from American Idol, Phil has appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Live with Regis & Kelly, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and the Today show. Phil chronicles his busy schedule and day-to-day experiences each Monday in his USA Today blog, found at:

http://blogs.usatoday.com/idolchatter/2008/03/phils-pages-c-3.html

To hear music from Phil Stacey, log on to http://myspace.com/philstaceymusic

Hey there, everyone, hope you had a great Easter weekend. I was able to come off the road for a couple days and spend it with Kendra and the girls. We went to my dad’s church in Hendersonville, Tenn., and spent the afternoon with my folks, which was terribly boring. It was just what I needed! And I was only kidding about that boring part, Mom …

During our afternoon visit with my parents, the conversation shifted towards American Idol. We talked about how great all the Idol hopefuls did this past week. I couldn’t help but noticed that in-ear monitors are now available for the contestants! I can only hope I played a small role in making that happen. Many will remember that I pointed out the inconvenience of not having them last season right here on this blog a couple weeks back. I like to imagine that Nigel and Ken, the executive producers of the show, have nothing better to do on Monday mornings than to browse the Idol Chatter blog at Usatoday.com to see what I have to say. If that is the case, hi, guys!

Speaking of the fine folks from American Idol, one of my good friends from the production team, Norm, came to Nashville this past weekend. He was here to film a segment about a few of the past Idol contestants that have decided to make Nashville home. If I am not mistaken, the segment features Bucky Covington, Bo Bice, and myself. It should air April 2, on the same week that Dolly Parton will be a mentor. Had I known that Dolly was going to be there when I filmed it, I would have told her on my video that I actually took Kendra to Dollywood for our honeymoon! That’s right… Dollywood. If there was anyone out there doubting my hillbilly roots, let all questions be laid to rest. I’m a proud country boy! And I love me some Dolly! Be sure and tune in to find out what’s happening with Bo, Bucky, and me. Plus that, you’ll get a chance to see how big my little girls have grown.

In the meantime, my radio tour continues this week, “carrying me home to see my kin!” I’ll be making trips to two of my past hometowns, Wichita, Kan., and Oklahoma City. I’m pretty excited about it. I’ll also be in Kansas City, which is where pretty much everyone from my high school ended up. It will be nice to see some familiar faces. So if you’re in the area, be sure and listen to your local country radio stations to find out where I’ll be. And if you want, feel free to call and ask them to play that Phil Stacey song, If You Didn’t Love Me, on the radio! Until then, be blessed.

USA Today: Idol Chatter- Phil’s Pages: Chapter 9

Thanks to Nikki @ IDF for our new forum banner! She did a great job!