Phil Stacey was a standout during season six of American Idol, both for his vocal chops and his distinctive look — starting with his clean-shaven head. Since leaving the show, recording his self-titled album for Lyric Street (due April 29), and traveling to promote the record, a lot has changed for the former Top 10 finalist, but not his fuzz-free dome.

“I started shaving my hair probably around 2002, and it’s basically been shaved ever since,” says Stacey. “I don’t like having ‘normal’ hair. Before I got into college, I had long, curly hair. I got into a Christian singing group, and they made me cut my hair. I hated having hair that just looked normal. So when I was through with college, instead of growing my hair back out, I just shaved it, and I loved the way it felt.”

A stint in the Navy reinforced Stacey’s shaving habit. “I ended up being in the military, and of course I couldn’t have long hair there, so I figured it would just be easier to keep it shaved,” he explains. “And then God started helping me shave my head — how great is that?”

Stacey says fans are not shy about offering opinions on his look. “I get positive and negative reactions,” he says. “I get a lot of people who want me to wear a hat. And then I get people who want me to grow my hair back out. And there are others who are like, ‘Yeah, I like it, it looks different.’

“I like it because it’s different, and I like being different. It’s just me.”