American Idol Season 6 has its first legitimate contender.

It was almost a decade ago that my bandmates and I learned how to play a 1960s tune called "Treat Her Right," a song made popular by blue-eyed soul singer (and Texas native) Roy Head. Well, Roy's boy decided to audition for our favorite show, and he belted the blues like somebody in Memphis should.

Sporting a big-ol' goatee, some chains, spiky hair on his head and heavy curls on his chest, Sundance Head was introduced to America on Tuesday night. The guy sang "Stormy Monday," and belted it clean out the FedEx Forum.

Simon Cowell said he'd be stunned if Sundance didn't make the finals (meaning the Top 12). You can book it; Sundance will be there. However, it won't be without some issues. Insider blogs are noting that Sundance actually had a bit of trouble in Hollywood but made the Top 24 anyway.

He's unique, and he's all blues. While the show kinda had a white-boy blues thing going with Bo Bice, he was really more about southern rock. Sundance is a big-ol boy with some meat on his bones and a Marlboro Reds voice.

It will be very interesting to see how he progresses once America's votes come into play.

Also impressive tonight was a backup singer named Melinda Doolittle. Why do I think we'll see her on some VH1 Behind the Music special remembering when she used to be called Melinda Doolittle, before she changed her name to whatever?

It struck me odd that she didn't actually have a neck -- or so it seemed -- and that her voice was so deep for a woman. Very baritone. While I didn't care for her vibrato (very sheep-ish, baa baa), there was a good amount of soul in her voice, enough to make her a probability for the Top 24.

While there were plenty of bad singers in Memphis, there was the rare combination of a very, very odd good singer. His name is Sean Michel, and he hails from just south of Little Rock, Ark.

And, he looks like Fidel Castro.

My friends here in Norman might agree; he actually looks like one of the guys in a now-defunct local band here called Bridge Road Caravan. What's odd about this cat is that he went to school, I think, at Ouachita Baptist University, and that he can sing. Reminded me of Kenny Loggins.

Good Kenny Loggins, not that Pooh stuff he sings now.

Unfortunately, for our resident Castro lookalike, I'm betting he doesn't make it too far in Hollywood. However, I'm pulling for the guy. I love it when Idol defies Hollywood convention by picking folks who look like they need to be flea-dipped.

It wouldn't be Idol without the syrupy-sweet story, and Phil Stacey, who hails originally from Shawnee, Okla., provided it. His daughter was born the morning of his Idol audition.

There is a part of me who wonders what this guy's major malfunction is that he's at an audition (personally, I could not care less that it's Idol) instead of the birth of his daughter. On the other hand, this was the last year he could do this given Idol's age limits, and success would mean significant opportunity for his family.

Let's give the boy the benefit of the doubt. Could he sing? Uh, after the first note, he was alright. However, his first notes are among the most interesting first notes in vocal history. They sound painfully orgasmic, and I don't think I mean that as a compliment.

On the other hand, there's the nice backstory, and his name is mentioned often in blogs and message boards as being a Top 24 contender. While he was originally from Shawnee, I do believe he graduated from high school in Wichita, Kan., and is going to college at Liberty University.

The combo of Kansas and Liberty University might be too much for me to handle for more than about one Hollywood episode before I start rooting for laryngitis.

However, it's quite possible we'll see Stacey, Doolittle and Head (sounds like a weird law firm) in a Top 24 show soon. If you were to force me to place a bet though, Sundance Head is a sure-thing Top 12 finalist.

I do think his name will pose a conundrum for the show's producers, who will have to eyeball every sign in the audience for ones that make obscene references, such as "Give me Head!" or "Great Head!"

Nonetheless, for those of you who continue to poo-poo the musicality of the show, it's dudes like Head who legitimize the program. We'll see if his style translates to something other than blues.

On to New York.