John Rich Blasts ‘Nashville Star’ and Contestants

How does John Rich get to criticize anyone for bastardizing country music after what he has done with Big & Rich and the accompanying sideshow?

Kenny seems to be giving up on his latest album pretty quickly..

Knowing John Rich’s ego, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if his rage at NBC arose from being notified there would be no additonal “Nashville Star” shows on that network, or none with his involvement anyway.

I agree with Scott Moore. I’d much rather see Pam Tillis perform than Brooks and Dunn. Come to think of it, you couldn’t drag me to a Brooks and Dunn concert!

As for Lily Allen’s new video, the concept is not original for a pop artist. I seem to recall that Jenny Lewis of the Rilo Kiley band did something similar awhile back. (Well, I think it was Jenny Lewis, but with my memory these days…)

So My Kind of Country is giving away Eric Church CDs eh? I’ll have to go to the sporting goods store and pick up some ammo! (lol)

Yeah, so what exactly did “CMT’s Gone Country” do for the industry? Also, another tidbit to file away under too much information about John Rich: after claiming that he wants to keep his private life private, he does let us know that he and his wife are working on having babies.

As for Kenny Chesney, I think there’s only one new song on the upcoming compilation so he’ll probably go back and mine Lucky Old Sun for one or two more singles after “Out Last Night” has run its chart course. Overall, I’m disappointed with the songs he selected for this Volume 2. I’m not a huge fan and I don’t own any of his studio albums, so I was hoping some of his singles that I’ve enjoyed had made the album’s tracklist instead.

A Pam Tillis concert sounds like a great experience!

I think I may go pick up the new Martina disc today. I didn’t plan on it, but the reviews seem favorable and many are citing “Ride” as one of the weakest cuts.

Good for John Rich to distance himself from Gone Country. Now all he has to do is distance himself from the rest of his professional career, and I may start revising my opinion of him.

It’s nice to see Special Consensus still around and kicking. Greg Cahill has been a figurehead in the Chicago bluegrass scene for decades, and it’s a pity that he’s not more well-known than he is. If nothing else, he helped give Robbie Fulks a start by hiring him in an early version of Special C.

As far as Doug Sahm tributes go, I thought the Bottle Rockets’ Songs of Sahm was pretty good. I was more of a fan of the Rockets than I was Sahm, but that album gave me a real appreciation for him beyond the Texas Tornados and “She’s About a Mover.”

Sam, did Rich distance himself from Gone Country?

He *should* distance himself from Gone Country, though.

Alert: Emily West will be performing on TONIGHT’s Opry at 7:15 PM Nashville time. Here’s Paul W. Dennis’ chance to hear what the fuss is about! (lol)

Don’t forget the new Thursday Night Opry Classics debuts this Thursday and will feature Loretta Lynn and Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers along with other artists. I really don’t see where the Opry square dancers fit in though….

Opry Schedule Link: http://www.opry.com/TicketsAndInformation/ThisWeek.aspx

PS – Chris N., thanks for confirming that! There seem to be a lot of Jenny Lewis fans lurking out there. I wonder if Jenny and Neko Case appeal to the same audience? Hmmm….

I love how Melissa and Gabe are the saving grace of Nashville Star, and not the only person who has managed to get a career out of it.

What I do not get is, awhile ago everybody was mad because NBC took over Nashville Star and was ruining it. John Rich decided everybody was right and now you are blaming him. He did not say Nashville Star did not make good singers, just that NBC made the show bad, which I agree with. If you could possibly get past your John Rich hater hobby, you might realize he was named songwriter of the year for THREE years running. He is outspoken and people do not like that, but I would rather hear an honest opinion than a bunch of yes people.

Glory2001,

I don’t mind outspoken people, but i can’t stand an arrogance a$$ that cannot speak without having to use four-letter words to get a point across like John Rich. I’m told that six top shelf lead guitar players in nashville have turned down the big and rich tour for this summer (and everyone of them likes Big Kenny)…hmmmmm….word on the street is John Rich is actually having to pay Big Kenny (in addition to their 50/50 split) so he will put up with him. That pretty much says it all right there.

Great article on Pam Tillis.

And thanks for the link!

While I am not a big fan of John Rich or his ego, I am glad that Nashville Star is not being continued. That was one of the biggest jokes ever played on country fans. Most of the singers completely sucked and the judges they had weren’t much better. The show started off bad on USA and just got worse as the few years went on then totally jumped the shark upon moving to NBC. The only singer I can think that remotely got anything out of this show is Miranda Lambert and she didn’t win. The same can be said for most of these flash in the pan reality show winners. I wish the entire music industry would stop looking to game shows for talent and go back to looking for the acts that continue to build a fan base while playing live..being able to do so with NO technical “Help”.