Joel Philip Stacey (born January 21, 1978) is an American singer who first gained national attention on

season 6 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pola ...

of the television

talent show A talent show is an event in which participants perform the arts of singing, dancing, lip-syncing, acting, martial arts, playing an instrument, poetry, comedy or other activities to showcase skills. Many talent shows are performances rather t ...

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

''. After being eliminated from the competition on May 2, 2007, he was signed to a recording contract with

Lyric Street Records Lyric Street Records was an American country music record label. It was owned by the Disney Music Group and founded in 1997 by Randy Goodman. The label had its first successes in 1998 with singles by Lari White and Aaron Tippin, both formerly of ...

. His debut single, "If You Didn't Love Me", was released to radio in early 2008 as the lead-off to his self-titled debut album, which was issued April 29, 2008, on Lyric Street. Stacey's second album, '' Into the Light'', was released on August 25, 2009, via

Reunion Records Reunion Records is a contemporary Christian record label based in Brentwood, Tennessee, that operates under the Provident Label Group. The label was founded in 1982, by Dan Harrell and Mike Blanton. History The label was formed by Amy Grant's ...

Life and career

Stacey was born in

Harlan County, Kentucky Harlan County is a county located in southeastern Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 26,831. Its county seat is Harlan. It is classified as a moist countya county in which alcohol sales are prohibited (a dry county), but conta ...

. His mother, Adrell Horn, was born in

Madison County, Kentucky Madison County is a county located in the central part of the U.S. state of Kentucky. At the 2020 census, its population was 92,701. Its county seat is Richmond. The county is named for Virginia statesman James Madison, who later became the ...

and works as a nurse in

Smyrna, Tennessee Smyrna is a town in Rutherford County, Tennessee. Smyrna's population was 53,070 at the 2020 census. In 2007, '' U.S. News & World Report'' listed Smyrna as one of the best places in the United States to retire. Smyrna is part of the Nashville ...

. His father, Gary Stacey, is a

Church of God (Cleveland) The Church of God, with headquarters in Cleveland, Tennessee, United States, is a Holiness Pentecostal Christian denomination. The Church of God's publishing house is Pathway Press. History Origins (1886–1902) R. G. Spurling (1857–1935), ...

minister who

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and A ...

s a church. Both of Stacey's grandfathers, Carlie Horn and E.T. Stacey, were also Church of God pastors. Stacey grew up in

Fairfield, Ohio Fairfield is a suburban city located in both Butler and Hamilton counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. Fairfield is located approximately 25 miles north of Cincinnati and is situated on the east bank of the Great Miami River. The population was ...

and began singing in

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

. In 2001, he joined in the U.S. Navy, and was the lead vocalist for the Navy Band Southeast. In 2006, he served as the music minister for First Coast Christian Center in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the c ...

. He currently resides in

Overland Park, Kansas Overland Park ( ) is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas. Located in Johnson County, Kansas, it is one of four principal cities in the Kansas City metropolitan area and the most populous suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. As o ...

with his wife Kendra and their two daughters, Chloe and McKayla. Phil Stacey American Idol finalist

Stacey graduated from Wichita Northwest High School in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had a population of 647,610 in 2020. It is located in ...

in 1997. He attended

Lee University Lee University is a private Christian university in Cleveland, Tennessee. It was originally the Church of God Bible Training School, a small Bible institute founded in 1918 with twelve students and one teacher, Nora I. Chambers. The school gre ...

Cleveland, Tennessee Cleveland is the county seat of and largest city in Bradley County, Tennessee, Bradley County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 47,356 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Cleveland metropolit ...

. He holds a degree in vocal performance from Lee, where he was a member of one of its auditioned choirs, Lee Singers, and part of that choir's internally selected traveling ensemble, Second Edition. He was eliminated from ''American Idol'' along with

Chris Richardson Christopher Michael Richardson (born February 19, 1984) is an American singer-songwriter who was the fifth-place finalist on the sixth season of ''American Idol''. Personal life Richardson was born in Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe ...

in the top six results episode; no one had been eliminated the week before.

Albums

In late 2007, Stacey signed to a recording contract with

. His first single "If You Didn't Love Me" was released to country radio on January 7, 2008, and peaked at number 28 on the U.S. '' Billboard'' Hot Country Songs charts. It was written by Jason Sellers,

Wendell Mobley Wendell Lee Mobley (born in Celina, Ohio) is an American country music songwriter. He has written No. 1 hits for Rascal Flatts and Kenny Chesney. He began playing in local bands before moving to Nashville, Tennessee, where he found a job playin ...

, and

Rascal Flatts Rascal Flatts is an American country music band founded in 1999. The band members were Gary LeVox (lead vocals), Jay DeMarcus (bass guitar, background vocals), and Joe Don Rooney (lead guitar, background vocals). DeMarcus is LeVox's second cousi ...

' lead vocalist

Gary LeVox Gary LeVox (born Gary Wayne Vernon Jr., July 10, 1970) is an American singer and songwriter. He is known for being the lead vocalist of the contemporary country music band Rascal Flatts, and his stage name was taken from the studio-console label ...

. His self-titled debut album was released in April 2008. Stacey also released a promotional single entitled "Old Glory" in July, and parted ways with Lyric Street soon afterward. On January 28, 2009, Stacey signed to

, a

Christian music Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely around ...

label. His first album for the label, ''Into the Light'', was released on August 25. It has sold 18,000 copies so far. In 2011, Stacey partnered with Market America to launch Conquer Entertainment as a tool for independent artists to reach more fans through networking. Together, they released the album, ''Faith'', as a means to promote the program and reach more artists.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

Other charted songs

Music videos

American Idol performances

* Stacey was saved first from elimination. * When

Ryan Seacrest Ryan John Seacrest (born December 24, 1974) is an American media personality and producer. He is the co-host of '' Live with Kelly and Ryan'', as well as the host of multiple media shows including ''American Idol'', ''American Top 40'', and ' ...

announced the results in the particular night, Stacey was among in the bottom three but declared safe second when Haley Scarnato was eliminated. * Due to the

Idol Gives Back ''Idol Gives Back'' was the name of a charitable campaign that spanned two episodes of ''American Idol'' during its sixth season. A second ''Idol Gives Back'' concert and fundraiser occurred on April 9, 2008, during the seventh season of the s ...

performance, the Top 6 remained intact for another week.

References

External links

Official Phil Stacey Website
*
Phil Stacey Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stacey, Phil 1978 births 21st-century American singers American country singer-songwriters American Idol participants American male singer-songwriters Living people United States Navy sailors American performers of Christian music Lyric Street Records artists People from Fairfield, Ohio Country musicians from Kentucky Singer-songwriters from Kentucky People from Harlan County, Kentucky People from Richmond, Kentucky Singer-songwriters from Ohio Country musicians from Ohio 21st-century American male singers United States military musicians