Urban Out Of Rehab, Clay Walker Gets Engaged, And George Jones 101

Having nothing better to do, I’ll comment on the first episode of Nashville Star. I’ve never expected much from this show, but I have to say that even this week disappointed. The thing I hate most about the show remains predictably unchanged. The contestants barely get 90 seconds to perform their songs, a travesty in a genre that is driven by narrative lyrics. Thus, song selection is of utmost importance in Nashville Star. The worst performer of the night was Tim LaRoche, who, in addition to being a weak vocalist, made the mistake of performing a ridiculously truncated rendition of “The Devil Went Down To Georgia.”

I thought this year’s judging panel would be great but they disappointed. Blake Shelton is not nearly as funny as he thinks he is, which produced such groaners as, “I think that you have a great bottom end, and your voice is great too.” Randy Owen apparently didn’t want to talk about music and instead made it his job to summarize each contestant’s video biography instead of commenting on their performances. Maybe I’m setting the bar too high, but I expect a country music hall of famer to be able to provide a 20 second critique of a vocal performance. Anastasia Brown is decent, but, along with the other judges, fell into the trap of telling practially every performer that they just might win the competition. The only positive thing I can say about the judges is that they definitely eliminated right two contestants.

Hosts: Cowboy Troy continues to be unremarkable in every way. Jewel is much easier on the eyes than Wynonna was, but asked canned, inane questions like “how do you expect that your poker-playing abilities will help you on Nashville Star?”

The only memorable performer of the night was Angela Hacker, who got a standing ovation for a powerful rendition of Patty Loveless’ “You Don’t Even Know Who I Am.” Based on the first week, I’d call her the most talented contestant. Yes, the judges, especially Anastasia, raved about Joshua Stevens, but I found his performance nauseating. He performed “My Wish,” one of my least favorite “country” songs, and was only slightly less obnoxious that Gary Levox.

If I had to pick a winner, I’d go with Dustin Wilkes, who performed Travis Tritt’s “Put Some Drive in Your Country” and also looks a lot like Darryl Worley. The judges weren’t crazy about his performance, but he won the crowd over. It’s much easier for a male to win Nashville Star than a female. Wilkes had an outlaw appeal that the other males lacked and seems like the only male contestant that has the chops to perform classic-sounding material, an ability that seems characteristic of those contestants that do well on Nashville Star.

Thanx Matt,

I appreciate the kind words. With your outlook on things I take it as a compliment! LOL

Tim