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.”

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So how did it all happen for a kid from Checotah, Okla., who once thought she’d spend her entire life in that small town? And more to the point, how does she keep the sudden fame, fortune and full-on fantasy existence from going straight to her head?

According to Carrie Underwood, it may well come down to the company she keeps. “I’ve just been really lucky and I’ve had really, really great people working around me and making everything happen,” says the singer.

Despite the fact that Carrie was reared in a family without an ounce of showbiz in its blood (her dad was a paper mill worker and her mom an elementary school teacher), her amazing voice proceeded to wow America and American Idol’s team of judges — even surly Simon Cowell. “Simon was pretty good to me,” she insists. “He is notorious for speaking his mind. I think that’s just what he does, and fortunately for me, he didn’t have too many bad things to say!” But even though she might be understating the role that talent and hard work have played in her success, Carrie will concede that it wasn’t all about luck.

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Like most American Idol contestants, Carrie Underwood’s style improved week-by-week on the show, as fashion experts had their way with her dresses and tresses, trading her sweet girl-next-door duds for haute couture frocks.

“I think Carrie’s really grown into her style wonderfully,” says Libby Callaway, fashion columnist for the Nashville City Paper. “Much like Faith Hill, she has the body and the self-confidence to pull off fashion-forward shapes like the short, graphic dresses she’s been wearing a lot.”

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