Photo GalleryMeet American Idol's Top 20!

The first cuts have been made: Now get to know Melinda Doolittle, Chris Richardson and the rest of the Idol Class of 2007

8 of 21

PHIL STACEY, 29

Jacksonville, Fla.
Stacey was at his Memphis audition when he got the call that he'd missed his daughter's birth. "He heard McKayla crying in the background, and it just tore him up," says his father, Gary Stacey. An active-duty officer in the Navy, Stacey (who's also dad to 3-year-old Chloe with wife Kendra) is now on temporary assignment in California so he can compete on Idol.

Next Photo