Nashville is Music City!
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Ryman Auditorium

The Stage on Broadway

Elvis Presley

Opryland Hotel, Christmas

BB Kings, Nashville

Opry Mills Mall

The Hermitage

Bell South "Batman" Building

Ryman Auditorium

The Stage on Broadway

Elvis Presley

Opryland Hotel, Christmas

BB Kings, Nashville

Nashville Star is a reality television program broadcast on the USA Network in the United States and CMT in Canada. It premiered on March 8, 2003 and is now in its fifth season of production, making it the longest-running competition series on cable television

It is similar to American Idol, in that performers must sing to impress both celebrity judges and the public via call-in and/or internet votes. Unlike American Idol, however, the performances are limited to country music.

Nashville Star is produced by Reveille Productions and originates live (except for each season's premiere episode, which is taped) on Thursday nights from the BellSouth Acuff Theatre at the Gaylord Opryland complex in Nashville, Tennessee. Audience members are required to have tickets, which are distributed free of charge except for a standard handling fee. The competition has historically taken place over the months of March and April, though it moved to January and February for the 2007 season.

Show format

Comparisons to American Idol
In a format nearly identical to the final round of American Idol, finalists perform one song per week individually and face criticism and/or praise from a panel of three judges. At the end of the show, voting opens to the viewing public, who may cast votes by calling a toll-free telephone number or logging on to the show's official website. The performer with the least amount of votes is eliminated.

However, because Nashville Star airs only once per week, eliminations are not announced until the following episode. The finalists who are clear to the next round are called in random order to the stage one-by-one to perform until there are only two finalists remaining. At that point, one is called to perform and the other is eliminated for receiving the lowest amount of votes from the previous week. This provides an interesting twist to the competition, as each finalist has no idea of the order in which he or she will perform, and has less than one minute to prepare once his or her name is called. No votes are tallied on the season finale.

Currently, the judges are only present to offer criticism to the finalists in an attempt to sway the voting public, much like those on Idol. Unlike Idol, however, Nashville Star's judges do not participate in the preliminary auditions, leaving that task to the show's producers. The audition process is not seen on-air. Each season (except for 2005), the judges have eliminated finalists based on consensus on the premiere episode without sending the vote to the public (the process continued for a few more episodes during the first two seasons). Whereas American Idol generally elevates people off the street to stardom, Nashville Star finalists are usually already somehow involved in the country music industry, but may not have attained a record deal on a major label. Past finalists have included studio musicians, background singers, and independent artists. Finalists are usually songwriters, in addition to being singers. In each season, one episode is dedicated to songs written by the finalists.

Appearing on both shows in the same season
2006 was a year in which several well-known musicians appeared on both American Idol and Nashville Star. Kenny Rogers made appearances as a guest performer live on both shows within two weeks of each other. Also, Patti LaBelle appeared as a guest judge on Star one week after mentoring on Idol. David Foster did the same, although two weeks apart.

Interestingly, in 2007, five days after Jewel's debut as the new host of Nashville Star, she appeared as a guest judge on the season premiere of American Idol. It must be noted, however, that the Idol segments were taped weeks before she was named host of Nashville Star.

Broadcast
Regular episodes of Nashville Star run 60 minutes each. Season premieres and finales normally run 90 minutes each (except the 2004 premiere, which ran 120 minutes, and the 2007 premiere, which ran 75). In 2006, the second episode also ran 90 minutes. The first three seasons featured nine episodes each. The series' run was cut to eight episodes beginning in 2006.

Finalists live together for the entire run of the show. During the first two seasons, the finalists lived in a large house near Nashville's Music Row. Beginning with the 2005 season, finalists shared a large suite at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. Excerpts of the finalists' interaction with each other in their living environment are often edited into the show.

In addition, most episodes begin with an established country music star or group making a guest appearance to perform their latest hit song.

Winner rewards
The winner of Nashville Star receives a recording contract (through Sony Music in Seasons 1 & 2, Universal South Records in Season 3, RCA Label Group in Season 4, and Warner Bros. Music in Season 5), a performance on the Grand Ole Opry, and a Chevrolet pickup truck.

Criticisms
Nashville Star has been criticized from its inception as a "ripoff" capitalizing on the success of American Idol. Despite such claims, the show has outlived many of its initial critics' predictions of failure, as its fifth season is currently in production. During the second season of American Idol and the first for Nashville Star, Idol host Ryan Seacrest took a tongue-in-cheek jab at Star on the air, though Star seemed to get more mileage out of the jab than did Idol..

Despite the fact that the winner is selected by fan voting, only one of the first three champions has enjoyed success after Nashville Star (the success of the most recent winner, Chris Young, remains to be seen). Original winner Buddy Jewell has become a star in his own right after several top-ten country hits, while 2004 champion Brad Cotter and 2005 winner Erika Jo faded out of stardom soon after their initial pushes into it.

Controversies
The show has also seen its share of controversy. In 2004, the practice of judges eliminating contestants without fan input ended after a public outcry following their elimination of fan-favorite Mal Rodgers (though the practice would return for the premiere episodes only beginning in 2006).

In 2005, finalist Tamika Tyler blamed producers for attempting to influence fans to vote against her, after she was voted off on an early-season episode. Tyler claims that video clips of a confrontation between her and eventual winner Erika Jo concerning the difference in their ages were doctored and taken out of context as they were presented on the show. The show's producers would refute the claims; however, in 2006, the focus of the videos shifted from interactions between finalists to a behind-the-scenes look at each finalist preparing for his or her performance.

Behind the scenes, a ticketing snafu early in the 2005 season saw hundreds of angry ticketholders turned away at the door for one particular show after the house filled. The process was reformed for the remainder of the season with the elimination of standby tickets and the addition of a standby queue (first-come-first-serve with no guarantee of entry). This system also had its faults, most notably at the season finale, when several fans, who had traveled from Texas and had been at the front of the line for more than 12 hours, were turned away. In 2006, the ticketing was outsourced to Ticketmaster and the standby line was eliminated.

Hosts
The host for the first two seasons of Nashville Star was entertainment reporter Nancy O'Dell, who also served as a consulting producer. Before the third season (2005), the show announced its move from Saturday nights to a more desirable prime time slot on Tuesday nights. In doing so, O'Dell made the choice to leave the show due to her hosting commitments at Access Hollywood, which is taped in Los Angeles. Country superstar LeAnn Rimes was hired as the host for Season 3, but missed two episodes late in the season due to a broken blood vessel in her vocal cords (Sara Evans substituted for Rimes in her absence). Rimes was replaced with Wynonna and Cowboy Troy in 2006. Jewel assumed the reins from Wynonna in 2007, and Cowboy Troy remains as co-host.

Cledus T. Judd served as a "special correspondent" in 2005. From 2006, Two Foot Fred has hosted a segment ("Small Talk") in which he interviews the week's departing finalist during the closing credits.

Season-By-Season

Season 1 (2003)
The first winner of Nashville Star, in the spring of 2003, was Buddy Jewell. On the strength of his win, Jewell's self-titled album earned him a gold record and two top-five country hits ("Help Pour Out the Rain [Lacey's Song]" [#3] and "Sweet Southern Comfort" [#3]) . With the release of a second album (Times Like These), Jewell was thought to have secured his place as a legitimate country music star. However, after Times Like These underperformed, selling only approximately 80,000 copies following its release, Jewell was dropped from the Sony BMG roster.

Perhaps a bigger star was created from a Season 1 finalist who didn't win: Miranda Lambert, whose debut album, Kerosene, debuted on the Billboard charts at #1 upon its 2005 release, finished third. As of May 2006, over 600,000 copies of Kerosene have been sold, more than the combined major-label recordings from any other Nashville Star finalist from any of the four seasons.

Judges in 2003 were country music historian Robert K. Oermann, record label executive Tracy Gershon, and singer/songwriter Charlie Robison.

Season 2 (2004)
In 2004, the second winner was 33-year-old Brad Cotter, who enjoyed very limited success after his win. Cotter was a fan-favorite from start to finish in Season 2. He was one of ten finalists eliminated by the judges on the first episode, but was allowed back into the competition after he was selected by viewers to be the one of those ten saved. The format was changed after the 2004 season and that element of the competition was eliminated.

Cotter, by way of his victory, earned a recording contract with Sony Music on its Epic Records label. His first album, Patient Man, performed poorly, selling less than 140,000 copies. He was subsequently dropped from the roster. Cotter remains on tour opening for other country artists, such as Mark Chesnutt and Restless Heart.

However, runner-up George Canyon experienced a similar situation to Miranda Lambert. He came in second, and so did not receive a record deal from the show. However he found a large audience in Canada and got himself a record deal and has to date released three highly successful albums.

Gershon returned as a judge in 2004, though joined by radio personality Billy Greenwood and country artists The Warren Brothers.

Season 3 (2005)
The 2005 winner was Erika Jo from nearby Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, the only female thus far to win. Only 18 years old at the time, Erika Jo became the youngest champion of the show, a record she will hold at least into season 6. Her victory was watched by the show's largest-ever audience, when over 3 million people tuned in to see the April 26 finale. It marked the first time the show ranked among the top ten cable shows of the week.

Erika Jo's self-titled album debuted at #5 on the country album charts, but quickly fell out of the top ten, selling just over 118,000 copies in the year following its release. The video for the first single, "I Break Things", received heavy rotation on CMT and GAC, but the song was largely ignored by country radio and only reached #53 on the Billboard Magazine country charts. One subsequent single ("I'm Not Lisa") was released, but it also failed to attract substantial attention. She remains a Universal South recording artist, and the label is in the process of giving her a second push into radio/video airplay. Erika Jo occasionally makes concert appearances and has become a regular performer on (but not a member of) the Grand Ole Opry since her victory.

2005's judges were singer/songwriter Phil Vassar, record label executive Anastasia Brown, and singer/songwriter (and former Poison frontman) Bret Michaels.

Season 4 (2006)
Nashville Star began its fourth season on March 14, 2006 with a slightly altered set, two new hosts (Wynonna & Cowboy Troy), and one fewer judge (Bret Michaels left the show after 2005, and guest judges occupied the third seat each week). The format remained unaltered, though the length of the season was reduced by one week, and one finalist was eliminated on the season premiere (by judges' decision) to compensate. Two Foot Fred hosted a short segment at the end of each episode interviewing that week's eliminated finalist. The season ended on May 2, 2006 with 20-year-old Chris Young crowned champion. Chris, from nearby Murfreesboro, Tennessee, is the second consecutive Nashville-area finalist to win. Young's debut album was released on October 3, 2006 to rave reviews and became the highest selling debut by a male country artist in 2006 after debuting at #3 on the Billboard country chart. The album sold 36,000 copies its first week in release [10].

The standings for 2006 were:

Place / Name / Sex / Age / Hometown / Week Eliminated
1 Chris Young M 20 Murfreesboro, Tennessee Winner
2 Casey Rivers M 23 Lindale, Texas Finale (5/2/06)
3 Nicole Jamrose F 33 Schererville, Indiana Finale (5/2/06)
4 Matt Mason M 20 Fairland, Indiana Week 7 (4/25/06)
5 Jared Ashley M 29 Hobbs, New Mexico Week 6 (4/18/06)
6 Kristen McNamara F 20 Napa Valley, California Week 5 (4/11/06)
7 Melanie Torres F 28 Albuquerque, New Mexico Week 4 (4/4/06)
8 Monique LeCompte F 23 Grand Terrace, California Week 3 (3/28/06)
9 Shy Blakeman M 25 Kilgore, Texas Week 2 (3/21/06)
10 Jewels Hanson F 31 Fremont, California Premiere (3/14/06) (Judges' decision)

Vassar and Brown returned as regular judges, with a third seat occupied by guest judges, which included:

Premiere (3/14/06) - Big & Rich
Week 2 (3/21/06) - Comedian Larry the Cable Guy
Week 3 (3/28/06) - WWE Superstar John Cena
Week 4 (4/4/06) - Naomi Judd
Week 5 (4/11/06) - David Foster
Week 6 (4/18/06) - Patti LaBelle
Week 7 (4/25/06) - Scott Weiland & Duff McKagan (of Velvet Revolver)
Finale (5/2/06) - Big & Rich
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Season 5 (2007)
This article or section contains future information about a television show which is currently on a seasonal break or has not yet finished its broadcast run.
It may contain non-definitive information based on advertisements, a website or interviews about future episodes and/or plot lines. The information may still change as the date of broadcast(s) approaches.

The fifth season debuted on USA Network and CMT Canada at 10pm EST on January 11, 2007.

2007 has brought several changes to the show, including an earlier start date and new night. The series has moved to January and February, and airs live on Thursdays at 10pm Eastern (widely regarded as television's most desirable time slot), rather than Tuesdays. In addition, Jewel has replaced Wynonna as host, but Cowboy Troy has returned as co-host. [11]. Brown has returned for her third season as a judge. Joining her at the judges' table are country singers Randy Owen (former lead singer of Alabama) and Blake Shelton. The format remains mostly unaltered, except the judges eliminated two finalists (one male, one female) on the premiere episode.

Sonic Drive-In is the presenting sponsor for 2007. The agreement includes promotion for Nashville Star on food packaging at the restaurant's locations.

The finalists for 2007 are:

Status / Name / Sex / Age / Hometown / Week Eliminated
Active Meg Allison F 25 Chicago, Illinois
Active Whitney Duncan F 22 Scotts Hill, Tennessee
Active Angela Hacker F 29 Muscle Shoals, Alabama
Active Zac Hacker M 23 Muscle Shoals, Alabama
Eliminated Tim LaRoche M 36 Gardner-Athol, Massachusetts Premiere (1/11/07) (Judges' decision)
Eliminated Kacey Musgraves F 18 Golden, Texas Week 3 (1/25/07)
Eliminated Rickiejoleen F 18 Tempe, Arizona Premiere (1/11/07) (Judges' decision)
Active David St. Romain M 28 Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Active Joshua Stevens M 28 Churchville, Iowa
Eliminated Dustin Wilkes M 26 Jefferson, Georgia Week 2 (1/18/07)

2007 marks the first time that siblings (Angela and Zac Hacker) have competed on Nashville Star.

Guest performances included:

Miranda Lambert, "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" (1/18/07)
Little Big Town, "Good As Gone" (1/25/07)
The Wreckers, "My, Oh My" (2/1/07)
Jewel, "Anybody But You" (2/1/07)
Randy Owen, "Mountain Music" (scheduled for 2/8/07)