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[TWoP Gadget]

THE SEARCH FOR THE NEXT "NASHVILLE STAR" CONTINUES WITH HOST BILLY RAY CYRUS -- Talent from across the nation compete to be named the next "Nashville Star." Host Billy Ray Cyrus ("Hannah Montana") joins celebrity judges/mentors, singer-songwriter and acclaimed producer John Rich, multi-platinum singer-songwriter and three-time Grammy nominee Jewel and acclaimed industry heavy weight and BMI Songwriter of the Year (2006) Jeffery Steele in the search for a true artist. You never know who is going to stop by the Acuff Theater to join in on a jam session.

[HerRoyalHighnes]

I'm not a big fan of Pearl Heart, but surely thought they would have outlasted Laura and Sophie?

Okay, last week the beer made me think Jeff was kind of hot (and thankfully a fellow poster validated that thought!). This week I think BRC was actually a little better? Still not good, but better?

Again, could be the beer....HAHAHA! Althought I only got to drink twice (Don't vote, Chet!)

Gabe and Melissa... can we just skip to the finale?

Edited by HerRoyalHighnes, Jul 7, 2008 @ 9:05 PM.

[SecondWife]

Never underestimate the power of the pre-teen texter. That has to be the only reason that Laurie and Sofa are still in it. There is no way in hell that they are better than Pearl Heart.

Gabe and Melissa... can we just skip to the finale?

I'm all for that!!

Edited by SecondWife, Jul 7, 2008 @ 9:05 PM.

[aquarianmoon]

I, too, find Jeffrey Steele very hot. He looks damn good for a 47 year old! Nice bod and nice facial features, IMO.

Oh, about the show.... I can't believe the duo outlasted the trio. But that's okay, hot Jeffrey indicated that he'll work with Pearl Heart.

In other surprising news, Coffey outlasts Navy Guy. Really????

Color me surprised regarding both eliminations tonight.

[bluenote123]

I feel badly for Pearl Heart, but as Simon Cowell told Tamyra Gray, you're only as good as your last performance. Last week, they weren't so good. If they had performed last week the way they did tonight, they would still be on the show. I bet you donuts to dollars that either Laura and Sophie or Cof-FAY were next on the chopping block.

Quick question: when Jewel said that she wished Laura and Sophie were standing there instead of Pearl Heart, did you catch the tall one (I think that was Sophie) roll her eyes and give the "bitch, please" look? I was on the floor HOWLING!!!!! I had to rewind that several times so I could laugh all over again! Incidentally, if the shorter one (I guess that's Laura) was singing by herself, she'd be better off. She has an infinitely better voice. Incidentally, I think they sounded like ass tonight. They did not harmonize well.

Melissa sounded lovely on "Danny's Song," but might that be too adult contemporary to excite voters? I love me a little bit of Loggins and Messina, but I'm also old. :-)

Cof-FAY sounded WAY better this week than he has in ages. I still need him to go home next week.

Shawn sang "The First Cut is the Deepest" far too tentatively. I also realized something tonight: she looks, at first glance, like she might cut a bitch, but there is a sweetness inside of her that comes from a place of fragile vulnerability. The tall twin is the one who might cut you as soon as look at you, lol! I don't care if she did run out of that room crying. There is something slightly "mean girls" about her.

Gabe was all kinds of hot tonight, both vocally and in terms of stage presence. Good for him!

Jewel: Ashlee isn't an artist just because she sings barefoot and kind of looks like you. The woman didn't even know what song she wanted to sing, and ended up doing a completely in-authentic (word?) version of "Take the Money and Run." In my experience, "artists" are a bit more self-directed than that. As for the song choice, it was completely wrong for her. The song is not a singer's song, and even though Ashlee really isn't a singer's singer, if she was going to do a song she didn't know, she should have chosen better. Of course, that takes us back to the original problem: she hadn't chosen a song at all. WTF? Does she even know she's in a competition????? Where in the hell is her head????

Goodness, when we lost Tommy at the top of the hour, I had high hopes that either Cof-FAY or Laura and Sophie would be gone by the end. Instead, I lose Pearl Heart and they're both STILL HERE. Cripes. But I'm glad Jeffrey Steele just offered to produce them on national tv. I now have a soft spot for him.

I might actually vote this week, just for the sake of doing my part to get Cof-FAY or the Twins (and ideally, both) gone for next week. I think I'll go vote for Shawn -- if they're cutting two acts again next week (goodness, they're rushing through this season!), I'm guessing that among the rest of the acts, she's the most vulnerable.

Edited by bluenote123, Jul 7, 2008 @ 9:23 PM.

[amnewsboy]

Is it just me, or is BRC actually getting progressively worse as a host? (Ad-libbing the Hannah Montana story only reinforced the fact that if it wasn't for his daughter and her successful TV show.............)

[valny]

I bet you donuts to dollars that either Laura and Sophie or Cof-FAY were next on the chopping block.

We can only hope!

[GilvearSt]

And with that, I'm done for the season. At the very least, I won't be watching this live anymore; I'll tifaux and just watch the singing from here on out so that I can hear the original songs we've been promised. Loosing Tommy hurt something awful. I knew he wasn't going to win, but I had hoped he'd make it to the original song night just to see what he had in him. But more upsetting was that Coffay and Laura and Sophie will both be around next week. Is Nashville Star playing some elaborate prank on the viewing public? The only good think about Coffay is his kid and the only good thing about Laura and Sophie is Sophie's (I think I mean Sophie; the one who talked back a bit during the critiques) petulant crap. I loved her rolling her eyes at Jewel; last week she gave Jewel the stink eye too. That's at least good for a laugh.

The performances were boring; Pearl Heart was the most exciting act of the night, so of course they went home too. There's no energy in any of these people. I want entertainers who fill the stage and not a single person left has that. Gabe has a great voice and will do well on radio once he's won the damn show, but I don't really think he's a TV star.

[quothapril]

The eliminations tonight: ouch. First, standing Tommy up there next to Melissa and telling us that one of them was the highest vote-getter and one of them was the lowest? Raise your hand if you were on the edge of your seat. Tommy seems like a nice kid, don't make him stand there for one of BRC's suspenseless twenty-minute pauses when the outcome is already that obvious, y'know? Meanwhile, there was no possible good outcome with the other pairing, because neither deserved to go.

Melissa: That might've been my favorite performance from her, mostly because it was relatively low key. Don't know if it'll help her in the voting, but it's not like she's going anywhere.

Laura & Sophie: After this week, I can identify them by name and distinguish between styles of brattiness. Well done, girls. Sophie is the one with the eye-roll (although really, when you're 16 and Jewel has dissed you on live TV, what are you gonna do?), and Laura is the one who is so completely over this partnership. The latter could not have been more obvious. Sophie was the one in tears, and she was also the one during the performance who was trying to force eye contact and interaction between them; Laura was barely playing along. Maybe they'll mend the friendship down the road - I know how it is with teenage girls - but 24 hours after they're eliminated they're going to be pursuing solo careers. Unsuccessfully, I suspect, because neither is that great a singer without the other.

Gabe: I will give Jewel credit as a mentor, because she seems to know exactly what to do with him. I thought the vocal suffered with the increased audience engagement (though it could be the song for all I know), but he was still easily the best of the night. Too bad they only handed her one contestant who wasn't absolutely fucking hopeless.

Shawn: Surprised she hasn't hit the bottom two yet, frankly, but I assume she will next week. Still think she's my favorite long-term prospect here, and I like her dismissal of John Rich - he needs to realize that just because she cries easily, that doesn't mean she's not tough. Even a lot of established artists probably wouldn't have had the confidence to look at someone as successful as him and say, "This isn't working, and it's not my fault." Not her best performance, but not terrible.

Coffey: And here I thought I'd heard the all-time least memorable rendition of "Proud Mary" a few months back from Syesha Mercado. What a joke. Mediocre voice and still not country, so behind the showmanship (which: I've seen better), he's literally got nothing to offer. What is he still doing here?

Ashlee: Sweetie, don't listen to John Rich anymore, okay? Please? Glad she didn't go, though, as I still think she's one of three contestants (besides Gabe and Melissa) who's ready for a record deal right now, and the only one with a contemporary style. Also, I totally want to set her up with Jason Castro.

Pearl Heart: Wasn't totally wild about the performance, but the rough patches might've been worked out with more rehearsal time. I hope Jeffrey was serious in his offer to produce them, because I do think that with a little more time, they could make a solid record. They belonged in the top four or five, easy.

Laura & Sophie and Coffey should be gone next week, but I suspect it'll be L&S and Shawn instead.

Edited by quothapril, Jul 7, 2008 @ 10:27 PM.

[CaffeinatedTV]

Point the first: Ouch.

Point the second: Really. Tommy Stanley? Guess that Navy card finally got maxed out. But, wait...that's right. Yes! We did get to squeeze that last Navy reminder into a sentence that resembled nothing close to a coherent thought. Glad to know our military is being put to good use. (Which, ironically, is the thought I had last week when NBC threw not one but three Navy reminders at us.)

Point the third: Melissa...meh. Which is what I've thought about her all along, but in an entire season of meh I suppose that she's...on the higher end of meh? Which is M, and that's what her name starts with, so at the very least we've come full circle.

Point the fourth: Laura and Sophie? Really? What. The. Fuck? Honestly. Fuckin' Laura and Sophie. Well, when you've got the shining, you might as well use it. Which they do. A lot. Horribly. Although I've got to admit it was almost worth it to hear the shorter one say, "I don't feel the same way about her that I used to." Aw, Joanie doesn't love Chachi anymore. Sad. Oh, wait. What's that? Oh yeah. My own laughter.

Point the fifth: By the way, the Shining twins sucked again tonight. Just for the record.

Point the sixth: Well, like we didn't all know Gabe Garcia was safe. He's the closest thing to country the show has now that Pearl Heart's gone. Which I shall rant about later. Patience, young grasshopper. Patience.

Point the seventh: "Gabe, good job. I'm going to keep stepping you up." Oh, I just bet you are, Jewel. Because you can take total credit for Gabe's voice, performance, and general existence. Bitch.

Point the eighth: Really? You can fire your mentor? Why didn't we know about this sooner?

Point the ninth: Wait, wait, wait. Does that mean Katie Cook could fire Billy Ray Cyrus? Or is it the other way around?

Point the tenth: Can I fire Billy Ray Cyrus?

Point the eleventh: John Rich. I'll settle for firing him. Wait, Shawn already did that. My bad.

Point the twelfth: Shawn's performance was about as usual. Good, not great. Not bad, though, and that's more than can be said about the majority of this season.

Point the thirteenth: Gah. Coffey. If he wants the big wheel to keep on turnin', and the wheel in the sky keeps on turnin', do we really know where he'll be tomorrow? (Ah, Journey. Love in its purest form.) I have a guess, though -- a sideshow somewhere. Or John Rich's opening act. Or Jewel's...well, let's just not go there.

Point the fourteenth: How awesome would it be if during one of BRC's uncomfortably long pauses, someone yelled, "Fire!"?

Point the fifteenth: Damn you, Ashlee Hewitt, bare feet and all. One, choose your own fucking song. Two, sing instead of whimpering for once. Three, take one of your discarded shoes and stick it in your mouth. Just because Jewel wants to skip away into the magical sunset with you while holding hands and discussing her glory days doesn't mean that we do. And we don't. (I don't, anyway.)

Point the sixteenth: Pearl Heart kicked some ass. I think that's the first ass that's been kicked on the show this season. Well, other than John Rich's when Shawn FIRED HIS ASS! Ah, never gets old. I'm glad Jeffrey Steele made me feel a bit better about the loss of my favorite contestant with his mention of recording. They'll probably do better than the winner (which doesn't actually say much). Ironically, I just realized tonight that Pearl Heart was my favorite act. Previously I'd been too bitter about the entire package to fully enjoy any performances. Now I can be bitter that the only act I really liked -- and one of the minority country acts -- just got kicked off the show.

Point the seventeenth: Sophie's bitchface? Made my night. Several times over, actually, since I was forced to rewind repeatedly. You are not alone, bluenote123.

Point the eighteenth: OH MY GOD! I just figured it out! All season I've been wracking my brains trying to figure out who -- or what -- Jeffrey Steele reminds me of. He's a who! Like from Whoville, singing Christmas carols and dancing around the Christmas tree with hairy green monsters! Only minus the Christmas tree, carols, green monster, and entire Whoville scene. This who moved himself to Nashville. Although, on second thought, BRC's hair did have a slight greenish tint to it tonight...

Point the nineteenth: On that note, I must conclude that I really, really hate NBC. Oh, beloved Show, why hast thou foresaken me?

Edited by CaffeinatedTV, Jul 7, 2008 @ 10:49 PM.

[haclseerjc]

I've read all of the weecaps (because Potes' weecaps and recaps rock my world), but tonight is my first time watching the show itself, and I have to ask, if the show is really about finding the next Nashville star (to borrow the AI lingo), how could the final two be anyone other than Melissa and Gabe?

[Lincolnave]

Alyson is home pulling out her hair yelling WHY DIDNT THEY TELL ME I COULD FIRE THAT TALENTLESS WOMAN HATING ASSWIPE WITH THE SHORTMANS COMPLEX!!!!!

When I heard it was double elimination, I was actually thinking (OK hoping) it was going to be a judges decision on #2 so they could do an end run around the voters and dump Coffey. I fear we are going to be stuck with him until the end when he goes out third. Which the way they are going could be as little as two weeks from now.

Once again "America" proves to simultainiously be both the stupidest and smartest voting block in the history of civilization. I hope Jeff keeps his word because IMO those three girls were the most talented act on the show and the only ones on that stage with a shot at a real career. It figures I finally figured out which of the twins I liked (easy now, I checked their both 20) even though its obvious she doesnt know one end of guitar from the other. And now their gone leaving the creepy day care duo on the stage.

Roll your eyes all you want princess. You and your annoying little cohort are headed back to Podunk JR High 2 minutes into next weeks double elimination show.

But to give the voters credit, I couldn't be happier to be rid of Snaggletooth Tommy and his stretchy neck of doom. Don't forget to pack your uniform Tommy. The ship leaves for Okinawa in the morning. But if your leave is still on until the end of the shows run, you might want to use your newly freed up time looking for a good dentist.

Gabe's a local bar singer and nothing special. He's only winning because he's on the same stage as hacks like Coffee and Tommy. I don't see any improvement let alone room for growth or anything I would ever pay money to go see.

And the same goes for Melissa. She looks good compared to Ashley, Shawn and the brat twins but she's really nothing special and I don't see a future for her. If they couldn't make something commercially viable out of a much more talented Angela Hacker last year then Melissa is just DOA.


Ashley is cute and more talented than I thought she was in week 1 but I think shes only been getting by on the fact that John Rich sells her so hard everytime she performs. The only impressive thing about her performance tonight was the way her jeans fit.


Somewhere in a bar there is a group of guys watching this show and when Shawn's singing, three of them look at the fourth and say "Damn WTF did you do to that poor girl to screw her up that bad?". The girl is massively hurt inside and at some point she's either going to fold under the pressure never to be heard from again (until the trial for the fourth guy in the bar aboves murder) or she's going to dump it all (Alanis style) into one hell of a record.

Edited by Lincolnave, Jul 8, 2008 @ 1:32 AM.

[sundodger78]

Did Jewel say something negative about her time with John recording her album? It was during the whole Shawn firing him spiel. I thought I heard her say she had a hard time with him, too? She was mumbling so I couldn't hear it.

Regarding everything else, you all said it so much better than I ever could. Cheers to you!

ETA: Thank you, Quickbeam

Edited by sundodger78, Jul 8, 2008 @ 8:06 AM.

[Quickbeam]

I wasn't surprised that Tommy left but what will it take to get Coffey off this show? I was stunned that he was left standing. He's just dreadful. It's painful to listen to him.

ETA: I think Jewel was saying that people can be good in their own right and not be compatible. Such as her experience with Rich. Sounded like she'd never work with him again.

Edited by Quickbeam, Jul 8, 2008 @ 7:45 AM.

[Sprout]

This show is still largely horrible, but Laura and Sophie's bitchfaces (with full-on eye roll!) were awesome. Those two are headed for the best meltdown ever; I just hope we get to see some of it.

[Genius]

What's happened to my beloved Nashville Star? This is less than a shadow of what it used to be on USA.

My two favorites, Tommy & Pearl Heart, of course were the ones to leave last night. Such bullshit. And the fact that Pearl Heart was praised with the best performance of the season and then moments later unceremoniously dumped from the show is the perfect statement of how shitty and backwards this season is.

Gabe's a local bar singer and nothing special. He's only winning because he's on the same stage as hacks like Coffee and Tommy. I don't see any improvement let alone room for growth or anything I would ever pay money to go see.

And the same goes for Melissa. She looks good compared to Ashley, Shawn and the brat twins but she's really nothing special and I don't see a future for her. If they couldn't make something commercially viable out of a much more talented Angela Hacker last year then Melissa is just DOA.

Word, word, word. Neither of them is anything special.

Are we sure next week is another double elimination?

[mooncreek]

Alyson is home pulling out her hair yelling WHY DIDNT THEY TELL ME I COULD FIRE THAT TALENTLESS WOMAN HATING ASSWIPE WITH THE SHORTMANS COMPLEX!!!!!

Totally. Tonight's episode was a showcase for John Rich's idiocy as a coach and judge. Good for Shawn to jump ship to Jeffrey, who between her and PH is doing a very good job as coach. Hell, he briefly helped with L&S before their implosion.

But the funniest moment was after Jewel and Jeffrey rightfully dismissed Ashlee's performance (barefoot does not automatically give you personality) but John had to praise her to the moon because Shawn had made him look like a fool.

I never thought Pearl Heart was going home. There were four acts in contention for leaving (Cah-fay, L&S, Tommy, Ashlee was bottom vote getter of the survivors). PH gave their best performance yet the brats continue on - oh the look after Jewel said that was priceless.

Good riddance, Tommy, you should have been gone after Maniac. That was a stupid way to do the elimination. Although it is nice to know that Melissa is the top vote getter.

Next week is a double elimination and it does seem obvious that Cah-fay and L&S should be gone. As a result, my votes went to Gabe and Shawn - well, Gabe because he should finish top 2 as long as there are no further shenanigans and Shawn because no way should she be gone before either of them.

[GilvearSt]

Are we sure next week is another double elimination?

I wasn't really paying attention to Billy because that's hard to do, but if the winner is going to perform at the Olympics (and did y'all know the winner is singing at the Olympics? No, John I didn't hear you when you told me 1000 times already. /snerk) they pretty much have to have the winner by the end of the month. So to get this done on time I think it's double eliminations from here to the end. Which is the best news ever, because this season needs to end and the show needs to start fresh with actual talent. I think the show can come back and be better than it is.

So I watched Pearl Heart again this morning and I'm really sad to have them go. It turns out I liked them after all.

[Wolverinesyr]

Melissa sounded lovely on "Danny's Song," but might that be too adult contemporary to excite voters? I love me a little bit of Loggins and Messina, but I'm also old. :-)

Anne Murray covered "Danny's Song" a year or two after the original release & had a pretty big hit with it - so it does have some country legs, although with this group I doubt they've even heard of Anne Murray.

So this is what we're left with? At this point, I wish Charlie had stuck around. At least he sounded country & appeared to be authentic. I guess there's no place for that in this non-country, not pop, not any kind of marketable music, show.

[Rachel RSL]

I won't miss Pearl Heart at all. I never really thought they sounded all that good. They seem like nice girls but their harmonies always sound off to me so I'm not the least bit sad to see them go. And I couldn't help but snicker when Tommy was eliminated. Oh well, guess you have to go back to the Navy. Sucka!

At this point, I'm rooting for Laura and Sophie to go as far as possible just to piss off the judges. I don't blame them for rolling their eyes and giving them bitchfaces. If the judges are all over them for being too young and telling them they should go home, why the hell did they let them in the competition in the first place?!

[Genius]

Oh, I totally agree. If I was Sophie or Laura, I'd have total non-stop bitchface too. Yes, they're immature, but John and Jewel castigating them is ridiculous. As Judge Judy would say, "YOU picked them!!!"

[corvus13]

Gabe, Gabe, Gabe. Head and shoulders above anybody else on this show, though that's really not saying much.

Melissa's start was way too low, she needed to show some energy from note one.

Loved the eye roll, that girl is probably a Mean Girl back at school. Laura and Sophie were HORRIBLE, Patsy Cline is rolling in her grave.

It's sad and ironic that Pearl Heart left with such a great performance, but if they can get a record deal, then more power to them.

When did anybody come up with the idea that CoFFAY is a country singer?

And I was surprised Tommy Stanley left, I thought the military card being played over and over would keep him in the competition, regardless of his talent or lack thereof.

[Deigh]

I like Melissa more and more each week. I think she has real vocal talent but I don't think John Rich knows what to do with it. He keeps hitting on her instead of working with her. I wish she would jump ship to Jeffrey.

[jalapeno]

I just have a really hard time with the judges being mentors. Aside from the fact the judge's critiques give no constructive criticism ("I didn't like it", "You are too young", "The song didn't do it for me"), acting as mentors is a huge conflict of interest. The judge never gives a decent review following "their" contestant's performance. They are too busy one-upping each other over who did the best job with the guidance to ever give an honest synopsis.

And someone needs to break it to John Rich that he is NO Simon Cowell...just some no talent schmoozer who is running country music into the ground (yeah, John, wearing fur coats, smoking cigars and smashing a guitar on stage is so worth bragging about on national tv) with a head about 10x too big for his britches.

Wow - this show is the worst and is best watched on tape so BRC, commercials, the 10 minute "dramatic" pauses before the elimination and 1/2 the songs can be fast-forwarded.

I still expect Ashton Kutcher to come busting out at any moment.

[hilaryvm]

I didn't think Pearl Heart would actually win, but I can't believe they went before Coffey and Shawn. I really dislike them both. Although Shawn usually sounds alright, I can't stand to watch her because of the way she contorts her face so much. It's just too much for me.

Moving the show to NBC really has ruined it. I wonder how much of the viewing audience now are actually country music fans?

[starwannabe]

Shawn jumping ship from John to Jeff reminded me of "The Biggest Loser" a couple of seasons ago when that one woman jumped ship from Kim to Jillian. Hmm, they're both NBC shows. Coincidence, or setup?

[chesslover]

Dear Ashley. Lose the eye make-up or stop squinting or get bigger eyes. Coffey actually sounded ok. Someone must've turned off that fan he was singing into. Is that final elimination pause over yet?

[quothapril]

(yeah, John, wearing fur coats, smoking cigars and smashing a guitar on stage is so worth bragging about on national tv)

I dunno, in context (telling Coffey he wasn't country enough), it sounded more like, "Yeah, I get that I can be pretty ridiculous too." A little shred of self-awareness and a sense of humor about himself that I wouldn't have expected. Don't tell anyone I said this, but I kinda liked him for half a second there.

[FourEyedNerd]

I just want to say SHUTUP JEWEL! Yes, Jewel, Braces & Braceless (brilliant, Potes; thank you for giving me a way to finally label the two coherently!) should have gone home before Pearl Heart. But the person who should have gone home before either of them is your boytoy Hack-AY. Remember, America VOTED for Braces & Braceless to stay, just as America VOTED for Hack-AY, as you had to rub in Richy's face. And to call Braces & Braceless immature, and then turn around and call them out by name saying they deserved to go home (even though they did), was completely hypocritical. The bitchy eyeroll from Bracesless was priceless!

And because it can't be said enough, for the love of god and all things holy, WHY IS HACK-AY STILL THERE?!?! WHY the hell are people voting for him? It's a complete travesty that haunts me day and night (just kidding, sort of...). I think Hack-AY's idea of country music is to take a song a suck all the soul and life out of it. I have never head a more white-bread version of "Proud Mary".
I think I figured out why Jewel is so up his butt - he's just like her - someone who will go with whatever genre of music that will get them the most money/exposure at the time.

Edited by FourEyedNerd, Jul 8, 2008 @ 3:42 PM.

[Quickbeam]

Is that final elimination pause over yet?

Wow, that felt like an hour and a half. I lost interest, baked a pie, darned some socks and it was still pending.