Ellington

“American Idol” launches its eighth search for the next big pop star Tuesday night, and nobody knows the highs and lows of that reality TV roller-coaster ride to stardom better than Phil Stacey.

The Lee University alumnus, who was a finalist in Season 6 of Fox’s top-rated talent show, experienced each step of the process, from auditions with several thousand aspiring singers through on-air performances to post-production.

He’ll share that insider’s knowledge with Chattanooga Times Free Press readers in an online blog at timesfreepress.com.

“From my perspective, I’ve seen ‘American Idol’ in a different way. I was a big fan of the show since season one. It sounds kind of silly, but getting a gold ticket to Hollywood was almost like getting a golden ticket to Willie Wonka’s factory for me because I got to see all this fascinating stuff behind the scenes,” Mr. Stacey said during a phone interview from his Nashville home.

Upon his elimination in Season 6, the former Navy musician sailed right into a country music deal, signing with Lyric Street Records (home of country superstars Rascal Flatts). His self-titled CD was released in May, and USA Today called it “the best Nashville album from an ‘Idol’ contestant who didn’t win.”

His first single, “If You Didn’t Love Me,” cracked Billboard’s Top 30 hot country songs, and its video reached No. 18 on CMT’s Top 20 countdown.

Now he’s charting a new course for his music in the new year.

“I’ve changed labels. I’m with another major label (although he declined to give a name until the deal is finalized). I’m doing a Christian record this year. Right now I’m still in the songwriting phase. It should be out about May.”

Q What were some of the highlights of this past year as a new country singer?

A Singing at the Gospel Music Association Dove Awards with Mandisa and Chris Sligh, Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant. I sang at Michael W. Smith’s career tribute and did a Lighting of the Green at Lipscomb University with Amy Grant.

I sang at LP Field during the CMA Music Fest (formerly known as Fan Fair), opened for Kenny Chesney in a football stadium on the East Coast — that was really cool — and was grand marshal of the Nashville Christmas Parade.

Q: You made your Grand Ole Opry debut in March. Singers always talk about that feeling of being on “hallowed ground.” Did you experience that?

A: Without a doubt — and I’ve performed several times on the Opry since then, and it’s always a highlight, and that feeling never changes.

Q: What do you think about the addition of a fourth judge to “AI?”

A: I actually wonder why they didn’t do it before. Here’s what you’ve got: Randy Jackson, who is critiquing the music, the actual performance; Paula, who’s critiquing what she’s seeing; and Simon, who is doing overall marketing.

So what’s the one aspect that’s left? It’s the song. Now you’ve got a songwriter who actually knows the impact of an individual song. And song choice is probably the biggest thing about your experience on “American Idol.” If you pick the wrong one, you’re gone.

Q: What do you have planned for your blog?

: A Last year I wrote a blog for USA Today. When I would throw little inserts in on my perspective of “Idol,” I got a huge response from people. They enjoyed hearing my perspective, hearing about what contestants are feeling when Simon’s giving them a negative comment.

Last season, when Paula Abdul critiqued Jason Castro on two performances after he only sang once, I was able to clear that up for readers. I knew Paula watches two, sometimes three, dress rehearsals before the actual event. She’d already written down her notes, because once you get into the theater you can’t hear anything. I knew exactly what was happening last season.