Phillip Phillips eased his way into American Idol’s Top 24 with a soulful and shocking version of Usher’s “Nice and Slow.” At the surface he’s not just a talented performer, but a true genuine southern gentleman. If voted into the top 12 here’s five things you can expect from the Georgia native.

1. A loyal friend. During Hollywood Week Heejun Han and Philip became close friends as members of MIT. Neither have family in Las Vegas or Hollywood with them, but they are at each other’s side for support. No one will ever forget the joyful hug they shared after Heejun made it through.

2. A talented performer. Though we’ve only seen Phillip playing a guitar so far, he also knows how ot play bass, piano and drums.

3. A confident performer. Philip is only 20, but he’s been gigging since he turned 14. He’s completely comfortable in the artist he is and on stage. The only difference with American Idol and his normal gigs is that he use to perform with his sister or brother-in-law around Georgia.

4. A relaxed, chill guy. His influences include Dave Matthews Band and it’s basically a rule that you have to truly just enjoy life to listen to DMB. On the “Phillip Phillip’s Music” page he described his music pairing with his brother-in-law as, “just two guys doing what we do and have a blast doing it.”

5. Surprises! He also wrote on the Facebook account, “We don’t limit ourselves to certain genres.” No statement could be truer for Phillip so far on American Idol. Though he has a distinct style of playing, no song is left unturned!

Follow Phillip on Twitter for the latest updates.