ETA: I just posted a recap with pictures, after the jump…
Nashville Star begins at 9 pm on NBC. Here’s tonight’s lineup. I’ll have video, pictures and a recap later:
Click links for VIDEO (don’t pay attention to the labels on the videos, just trust that I have the links right!)
Taylor Swift performs
Pointy Pose Nashville Star Style!
- Pearl Heart - “Wide Open Spaces” by Dixie Chicks
- Tommy Stanley - “Walking In Memphis” by Lonestar
- Shawn Mayer - “Take Another Piece of My Heart” by Janis Joplin
- Third Town - “Elvira” by Kenny Rogers
- Coffey - “Drift Away” by Dobie Gray
- Sophie & Laura - “Stand By Your Man” by Tammy Wynette
- Gabe Garcia - “All My Exes Live In Texas” by George Strait
- Alyson Gilbert -“Suds In The Bucket” by Sara Evans
- Ashlee Hewitt - “Bubbly” by Colbie Caillat
- Charley Jenkins - “I Like It, I Love It” by Tim McGraw
- Justin Gaston - “Drops of Jupiter” by Train
- Melissa Lawson - “Something To Talk About” by Bonnie Raitt
Charley Jenkins is eliminated from Nashville Star.
There is one more spoiler from Tyson. It turns out that a contestant was removed from the competition at the last minute by the producers:
Charla Corn, a former CMT correspondent, was removed from the competition the night before the show was scheduled to tape its premiere episode. It became apparent in leading up to the premiere of the show that she could not sustain the rigorous schedule. She began to have trouble with her vocals, even losing her voice completely at times. During rehearsals for the first episode, producers realized that Third Town was better suited for the Top 12 than Charla Corn. The producers wanted to make sure that the TOP 12 acts from the nation wide search are truly represented. Her picture and bio was on the Nashville Star website up until this morning.
Drama already! I loves it! Hee.
Recap here!
The first half hour of the show zooms through the audition process. I’m not sure it was worth the effort. As boring as the Idol auditions can be, they do set the stage for the competition. By the time the Top 24 are assembled, we already know most of them a bit. Twenty minutes of highlights don’t do the trick. So, it’s a little jarring when the contestants take the stage, it’s going to take a few weeks just to warm up to them.
Taylor Swift performs, and Lordy! She sucks. I found it hilarious that John Rich would tell the assembled cast that Taylor’s gawky stage presence and weak vocals are what they should be aspiring to as artists.
I was a little confused about this, but after tonight, the public will determine who gets eliminated every week. I’m assuming the elimination will happen at the beginning of each show.
The winner of Nashville Star gets several prizes: A Warner Brothers recording contract, an AEG Live concert tour, a Toyota Tundra truck and a chance to perform at the 2008 Olympics in Bejing, China.
Billy Ray Cyrus is the host, his job is to move things a long and act as a cheerleader for the contestants. The judges, Jeff Steele, John Rich (he loves the word pitchy) and Jewell have pretty good chemistry. They tend to couch their constructive criticisms with praise–much nicer and gentler than the AI judges. But they aren’t above mixing it up on the judges panel if they disagree.
Pearl Heart - “Wide Open Spaces” by Dixie Chicks - Three sisters (Angela 21, Amy 21 and Courtney 17) who sing. The entire family packed up and moved to Nashville in order for the girls to pursue their dreams. The girls have been groomed since they were very little girls. Nice harmony, very professional, tight harmonies. The judges like them for the most part.
Tommy Stanley - “Walking In Memphis” by Lonestar -This Navy guy was featured during the audition rounds. The show held auditions on an aircraft carrier, and Navy guy Tommy was the best of the lot. Dude seemed really nervous (judges called him out on that) but I really like his voice. He’s one of my favorites so far.
Shawn Mayer - “Take Another Piece of My Heart” by Janis Joplin - Small town girl Shawn is a volunteer firefighter and works on hog farm. She says she’s country to the bone. Her performance. Her performance is pretty good, but the judges wanted a little more. Jewell suggested that she push the big notes a little more.
Third Town - “Elvira” by Kenny Rogers - These guys have great voices, great harmonies but soooo corny. They made the competition at the last minute when Charla Corn was eliminated at the last minute. Their “you made it!” clip is obviously edited to make it look like a yes when it really was a no. Kinda funny! The judges think they are corny too. John Rich thinks there needs to be a lead singer.
Coffey - “Drift Away” by Dobie Gray - This single dad once tried out for American Idol, I hear. Not a remarkable voice. Actually, he’s sort of awful, but the single daddy to a little girl will probably get him some votes. John Rich thinks he’s the best thing he’s seen so far. Well OK then. Jewell and John argue about whether he’s pitchy or not. And what’s with Jewell’s fake southern accent?
Sophie & Laura - “Stand By Your Man” by Tammy Wynette - These girls are Best! Friends! Who! Sing!. They perform the uber-retro “Stand by Your Man” and I kept waiting for them to break out in giggles at any moment. While the judges loved their vocals (both girls are good singers) they suggest the duo invite the audience to the PJ party.
Gabe Garcia - “All My Exes Live In Texas” by George Strait - Gabe says there are lots of Hispanic country music fans, but no Hispanic stars, so he’s here to represent. He’s got a cool throw back vibe. Great vocals. I like this guy. John Rich says his voice is pure, pure, pure country music.
Alyson Gilbert -“Suds In The Bucket” by Sara Evans - She’s married and studying Animal science. She makes a bunch of really wierd bug eyed faces when she sings. The judges call it “pageant” I call it skeery. But, if you listen without watching, she’s acutally pretty good. While Jeff likes her, John and Jewell seem to actively hate her. John gives her the “I’m worried for you” speech. She probably won’t last long.
Ashlee Hewitt - “Bubbly” by Colbie Caillat -Ashlee, sister to 12 siblings lives on a ranch. And her dad is deployed to Iraq. She’s very pretty and has a unique voice, although some of her phrasing is a little precious. The judges liked her sincere, heartfelt performance. Jewell thinks she should pick songs that showcase her voice.
Charley Jenkins - “I Like It, I Love It” by Tim McGraw - Charley feels like a real cowboy. He nursed dad as he struggled with cancer. He eventualy passed away. The judges hated him. His Vegasy performance did kinda suck, but he wasn’t the worst. That would be…
Justin Gaston - “Drops of Jupiter” by Train - Male model Justin–hot guy crappy voice. The judges pretty much concur. The beefcake will probably keep him in for awhile.
Melissa Lawson - “Something To Talk About” by Bonnie Raitt - Melissa Lawson is a married mom and hands down, the best vocalist of the night. Sassy and brassy, she lights up the stage. If this were AI, plus-sized Melissa would not have made it passed Hollywood. Nashville Star is embracing her, and I say way to go! The judges pretty much anoint her as the one to beat. We shall see if she can keep up the momentum.
There is an elimination tonight, picked by the judges. Jeff picks Charley Jenkins. John picks Alyson Gilbert. Jewel breaks the tie-she picks Charly. Charley Jenkins is sent home. He was pretty bad, but I thought Justin Gaston was worse. Too soon to lose the pretty is the thinking there, I’m sure.
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I tried watching this show tonight just because I’m having Idol withdrawals but let me tell you, 2 hours of country music is hard to take! Not to mention almost all of them were pretty awful
I’ve got to agree- afriend called me and told me to watch. I made three attempts and didn’t last through each song. I thought they were terrible. Admittedly I am not a country music fan although some stuff that passes as country today is really not so I thought I’d give it a try.
I’d rather watch Two And A Half Men reruns.
Can You Duet is definitely much better.
Anyone else get a kick out of when John Rich told Jewel she has pitch problems too and she said if you could hit half the notes I could…LOL, I thought there was going to be a throwdown. I was all set to get my popcorn. I much prefer these 3 judges to the Idol ones. Not to say that they don’t have faults, but most of their critiques had some substance and were meant to help the performers.
I think Melissa Lawson blew all the other contestants out of the water. Like Jewel said, she had the attitude and the voice to back it up. I also think that Shawn Mayer and Ashlee Hewitt might have more talent than they showed last night. Maybe it was nerves but I saw potential there. Garcia seemed to have a good voice but I sorta tuned him out a few verses in, I’m not a fan of George Strait. None of the rest really had a memorable first showing for me. To quote Randy, it was just okay for me ;) I did like Tommy Stanley’s energy but he doesn’t have the voice to back it up but I suspect he’ll last a bit longer than he deserves by the way they were working that military card last night.
As for Crazy Eyes…did anyone else think she was going to go for the judges jugular if she was picked off? Man, she really did have crazy eyes.
Oh, and Justin Gaston…he’s quite pretty. I’d like to keep him around for decorative purposes, lol. Hell if it works for Taylor…
Only caught the last two contestants.
Justin Gaston was pretty but awful.
Melissa Lawson rocks.
That is all.
The problem with NOT having an audition round, is that it skips that whole weeks-long period of getting acquainted with the contestants. Jumping right in to watching performances from contestants we aren’t familiar means they may not grab us right off the bat.
I’m going to give it a few weeks before a make a decision on whether I think this is a good crew, or not.
MJ,
If the format holds to previous seasons, the elimination will happen right before the last performance next week.
The host calls the contestants to the stage in random order to perform, those who are called are safe. By the end of the show, there’s two who haven’t performed. The host then announces an elimination…the bootee doesn’t perform (which is unfortunate since they rehearsed a new song all week then never even get heard). Then, the person who just survived elimination (not necessarily even in the bottom two) performs last to end the night.
If they keep the same format as the last three seasons, that’s how it’ll go.
I watched starting with Shawn Mayer - she was eh, the trio of boys was a little OTT and then when Coffey came on I decided I couldn’t take any more. He sounded like a sheep with all that vibrato. Baaaa
Not only was Coffey on AI-2, his audition episode showed him being whisked to the hospital for the birth of his new daughter. This young lady looked a bit older than 5 or 6, but what do I know? Maybe he has more than one child. I hope he gets more of a chance than he got on AI.
Ok, come to think of it, that’s how NGAB did it and it makes sense, because it holds the suspense until the very end.
Thanks!
LOL I hope she doesn’t come out next week in short shorts singing something patriotic.
that’s right, I remember now….
Everyone will sing next week until it gets down to the final
2. That’s when we find out which of the 2 got the least amt.
of votes and that person departs.
If she writes, let Kellie Pickler sing her songs!
I read that Taylor Swift is doing a duet on Pickle’s next album.
Actually, we get to know the contestants a little better as the season progresses. I’m just glad they didn’t eat up time with hours of bad auditions. This is my 3rd season watching, not necessarily in order, and, I kind of like the show.
Seems most are in agreement, that Taylor Swift can’t sing, Buggy eyes should’ve gone home, the pretty boy needs to pack his underwear, and, get out of Dodge, and, Melissa Lawson threw down the gauntlet last night.
This Friday night is the finale of “Can You Duet.” I think its a 2 hour special. They are down to 4 groups, and, guess they aren’t going to prolong it over the next 4 weeks.
John Rich is so full of it. On Gone Country he emphasized over and over you had to be true, blue, authentic country then picked Julio Inglasius, Jr. as the winner. The fans were outraged and the message boards lit up. He also ripped Diana DeGarmo apart for R&B riffs and runs in her country song which he said country songs dont have. Now on NS, he praises Coffey who had runs all over the place, and didnt sound country. The pretty boy was horrid but not voted off. It seemed to me they voted the 2 with the worst performance skills as the worst of the night, not the worst singer. John Rich is now working with Diana on an album which she will shop around in Nashville. In my opinion, he appeared not to like her at all but said on the show she had the best voice. I guess the fans reminding him of that and threatening to boycott his records put a little fire under his behind. Last years NS winner, Angela Hacker and the year before, Chris Young were fabulous. If AI had gotten hold of Chris, he wouldve been huge. Great looks, voice, personality, and great song writer.
I agree. I saw the week that they did original songs and his was about 3 heads and shoulders above everyone else’s. It’s really a shame that his career hasn’t taken off. I’m hoping they’ll have some of the NS alum back to perform this season. That would be GREAT! :)
I’m not sure John Rich ripped Diana apart for doing runs, but, she actually did sing her song in a pop style. She can hit notes not even invented. But, I think he had plans all along to sign Julio, because he’s always trying to break into the Hispanic market. However, Julio’s song sucked, and, even the country stations wouldn’t touch it. John knows he laid a big turd where Diana was concerned, so, he back pedaled. BTW, Mikalah Gordon will be part of the next “Gone Country” show. That should be interesting.
I don’t know…Someone at the top said they didn’t like country music but listened anyway and didn’t like it..well, you did not hear any country music…you heard some type of pop trying to pass for country…Melissa didn’t even do country,,that was Bonnie Raitt for Pete’s sake…
Is this really the best country singers they could find? I hear much better at my local karaoke bars..much better. I feel about this season of NS the way I felt about season 6 of AI last year….I’ll watch but I doubt I will have a favorite. So far, Gabe and Melissa seem the most authentic..but I’m still not jumping up and down.
I’m sort of liking it because it is not just country music.
And there are six acts there that show talent or at least show the potential of having real talent.
The judges are great. When jewel was a guest judge on Idol she really didn’t say much, but here she seems musch more at ease in this format because this show doesn’t take itself all that seriously, well not as seriously as AI anyway.
Gosh, Taylor Swift can’t sing live, but I enjoy her CD. Pretty darn good songwriter.
Tommy gave me an Eilliott vibe- beautiful voice, but needs to work on his delivery and performance. This performance was just a mess, but I’ll give him a pass because I do like his voice.
Gabe Garcia wasn’t as good as I had expected after reading the comments here.
Coffey seems more R&B than country to me. And no, not because he’s African American, but because of the darn runs and falsetto.
I would imagine Ashley Hewitt making a Taylor Swift-like album. She certainly beats Taylor in the vocals department, but she doesn’t have as much star quality, in my opinion. She doesn’t meaure up to Miranda Lambert, that’s for sure.
Melissa Lawson was the best vocally, but not one of my favorites.
Nashville Star contestants don’t have the vocal prowess of Idol contestants, but I like how NS includes instruments and songwriting. Maybe I’ll change my mind about the NS contestants being terrible when I hear their original songs.