Entertainment, Music - Army Times

Judges cold on singing sailor on latest ‘Idol’

After singing a song made famous by a teenage country star and being dressed down by all three celebrity judges for his “odd” choice, sailor and “American Idol” contestant Phil Stacey had nothing left to do but appeal to the voting public.

“Bring me back,” the musician third class urged viewers after Tuesday night’s penultimate performance on Fox. Stacey sang LeAnn Rimes’ “I Need You,” but from the judges’ reactions, what he really will need are calls and text messages from fans.

SEE THE VIDEO:

Sailor Phil Stacey’s ‘Idol’ performance, Feb. 28

Stacey’s fans have only a few hours after the show’s end to vote; they can text-message “vote” to 5707 or call (866) IDOLS 07 (436-5707). Only six of the eight male performers will survive Thursday night’s results show and move into AI’s top 12.

Judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson, who rarely agree, presented a unified front in commenting on the performance, and it wasn’t so nice.

“Definitely an interesting song choice,” Jackson said, and then, somewhat unconvincingly, “It was all right.” Jackson then noted a similarity to ‘80s band Journey’s Steve Perry as one of Stacey’s “plusses.” Abdul chimed in, describing the choice of song as “odd,” and breaking the news that she did not think this was Stacey’s best performance.

Cowell, while commenting, “the hat, the big eyes — it was all just insane,” affirmed it was a “strange choice of song.” But he also said, with only one performer left for the night, that the men were lacking, giving hope to the sailor’s fans that he could sing again next week.

On the Feb. 27 show, Cowell had compared Stacey, who sang John Waite’s “Missing You,” to a good karaoke singer; this week, he warned the contestant to “up the game.”

Stacey defended his song choice, saying he appreciated the criticism but “I love the song, and I’m glad I got to sing it in front of ... how ever many million people.” But when asked later by emcee Ryan Seacrest if, in hindsight, the song had been the correct choice, Stacey admitted, “obviously not.”

Tuesday night’s show began with the promise that each if the ‘Idol’ hopefuls would share a “surprising revelation.” Stacey, who wore a newsboy-style cap as he joked in the introductory video that he’s “the bald guy on ‘American Idol,’ “ revealed that he used to have long hair. A picture attested to the fact, showing Stacey with a straight, chin-length style.

Wednesday is ladies’ night, with the eight female contestants vying for a spot in the top 12 at 8 p.m. Thursday’s live results show is also at 8 on Fox.