Exclusive: Ace's Girl?

(Mar. 2, 8:00PM ET) -- TMZ has heard from contestants on 'American Idol' that Ace Young has a girlfriend. They said her name is Essence Atkins, an actress who's a regular on the UPN series 'Half & Half." We went right to the source and asked Essence if Ace was a good kisser. Take a look.

And get this -- after dating for a year, Ace appeared last October on 'Half & Half' with Essence and even sang on the episode.