Philnatics phinally meet Phil

For the record, Phil Stacey — had he made it to American Idol's Final Four — would not have sung Stayin' Alive during last week's competition. Instead, he said, he would have considered the Bee Gees-penned Islands In the Stream, made popular by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers in 1983.

And I bet if we'd asked, Phil would have given it his best shot Monday afternoon during an afternoon appearance at The St. Johns Town Center. The former Idol contestant was there to accept a proclamation by Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton and to meet, greet and say cheese for Philnatics who got the last-minute word of the event. (We only learned of the event just after noon Monday.)

Earlier Phil gave interviews to local Fox affiiliate WAWS/TV-30 and to the Times-Union's Roger Bull among other local media in his continuing post-Idol media swing that took him from L.A. to New York and places in between since his exit from the show May 2. (Look for Roger's story on the front of Tuesday's paper or at jacksonville.com.)

Phil's wife, Kendra, was there, too, just as she was all those weeks in the audience when Phil made it from the 24 contestants chosen to "go to Hollywood" all the way to the Top 6.

Phil eagerly paused to chat with his fans one-by-one, sign what looked to be some lengthy autographs, and pose for numerous photos (including two with these bloggers — Yes!). Kendra did the same for those who sought her out.

They're both anticipating their future: Phil's performing with the American Idol tour this summer (pending Navy approval) and Phil's no-doubt climb up the musical career ladder. Idol judges Randy, Paula and even Simon like Phil's chances as a country music recording artist and performer, the genre Phil indicated he'd like to pursue on the show a number of weeks ago.

That'd be a good fit for Phil, the one whom nearly everyone — including Simon — labeled as "one of the good guys."

Monday's crowd was fewer in numbers than we'd like to see for Phil's homecoming. We suspect that crowd wiill grow substantially when Phil appears with Melinda, Jordin, Blake, Sanjaya and the others when the Idol tour stops at the Veterans Memorial Arena on Sunday, July 8. (Erin, however, still insists a ticker-tape parade for our Phil. Perhaps the mayor's office could work on that. For our ideas, see A.I. Stir in Tuesday's Lifestyle section and on this blog.)