Idol's Michael Johns' Romantic Play

It was pretty impossible to get any work done when ousted American Idol competitor Michael Johns dropped by our office yesterday. The 6’1 gorgeous Aussie stopped gals (and a few guys!) in their tracks, then made hearts swoon as he revealed how he celebrated his wife Stacey’s birthday a few years back. The 29-year-old singer sent her on a treasure hunt throughout Hollywood!

“I gave her a little clue and sent her off,” Michael told me, his eyes devilishly crinkling. “I knew it would take her about an hour. The end of it was where we met, at The Standard Hotel. I had a red rose and two tickets to a U2 concert, which is her favorite band. I felt pretty smooth that day.”

Of course he did! Even Madonna, whose former record label Maverick first signed Michael in 2001, couldn’t resist the soul-rocker’s charms. “I was in the office and they were saying, 'Madonna’s coming.' I walked straight out into the hallway and we almost bumped into each other! I was like, 'Hello Madonna,' and she was like 'Hello' and kept walking,” he laughed.

Michael and wife Stacey, who he affectionately calls his “Senorita Margarita,” tied the knot on Cinco de Mayo last year in Las Vegas. “It was totally on a whim, and it was awesome,” he declared. “It kind of annoyed our families because they couldn’t be there for the party, but we just wanted to do it for ourselves.” The couple plan to throw a celebration next January in Hawaii, “because it’s halfway between Texas and Australia,” Michael revealed, adding he’d love to get his post-Idol album off the ground first.

Catch American Idol, the elimination round, Wednesday, April 16 at 9 p.m. on Fox.