The Train Wreck that is Nashville Star

[Daddydex]

Seriously, if Amercian Idol was a train wreck, this show needs a whole new classification. I don't think one person sang in tune! Most notably, the headliner, Taylor Swift was pitchier than all the contestants.

When Jewel called one of the contestants out for being pitchy, the guy from Big and Rich reminded her that he produced her last album and she was pitchy too. What a low class move.

The producers of this show should rethink their approach.

Dan

[RCinMempho]

I have enjoyed that show for what it was on USA Network.

NBC has totally trashed it. I won't be tuning in again.

[Daddydex]

Agreed, I had the Tivo set to record every episode. I have cancelled the recordings.

Dan

[geddins]

I thought it was the best Nashville Star ever. I personally like the fact that they've finally brought in someone in the form of John Rich who KNOWS what he's talking about both as an entertainer and producer.

He called Jewell down because she interrupted the other guy's critique of a singer who he said had some pitch issues by yelling out "Roll the tape again!"...

Anyway, different strokes for different folks, but I think this format for NS is the best yet....JMO.

[hekawi]

yeah, i watched it.

was that really Billy Ray Cyrus hosting, or one of those Disney animatronic things from the Hall of Presidents?

singing on key was a problem! the sailor kid and the african-american guy Coffey (pronounced cough-ay) were all over the place. the trio that did "Elvira"...P-Yew! i hope the pageanty woman gets voted off...those eyes scared me! the teenage girl duo needs to know that you have to be much older, and have a lot more world-weariness about you before you attempt "Stand By Your Man"...the hurt and irony of the song was completely lost on them.

it wasn't all bad. i kinda liked the latino guy that sang "All My Exes Live in Texas".

my favorite, by default, was the young lady that came from a family of 13 kids, Ashlee Hewitt... a nice voice and she's disarmingly cute with a great smile:

[superchicken_VI]

I didn't know it had started. I guess I'll have to set up the DVR for it. I'll definitely tune in to watch the cutie in Hekawi's post...

[geddins]

I do want to clarify one thing about my previous post....I like the new format of the show....I agree the talent last night wasn't very good overall...but I think much of that was pure nerves.

That one trio "Third Town" murdered Elvira...that was such a horrible song choice IMO they were destined to get hammered no matter what.

[Daddydex]

Originally Posted by geddins

I thought it was the best Nashville Star ever. I personally like the fact that they've finally brought in someone in the form of John Rich who KNOWS what he's talking about both as an entertainer and producer.

He called Jewell down because she interrupted the other guy's critique of a singer who he said had some pitch issues by yelling out "Roll the tape again!"...

Anyway, different strokes for different folks, but I think this format for NS is the best yet....JMO.

John Rich interrupted more than any of the other judges. He comes accross as an out of control egotist and in my opinion is everything that is wrong with Nashville today. This show proves it. I will agree that NBC has added more pop to the production values but the sound was bad and that should be priority one. I have to think the singers couldn't hear themselves. It is either that or they need a much better screening process. Admittedly, Jewel said at one point that this was not a singing contest.

Anyway, just opinion. I appreciate yours.

Dan

[geddins]

Originally Posted by Daddydex

John Rich interrupted more than any of the other judges. He comes accross as an out of control egotist and in my opinion is everything that is wrong with Nashville today. This show proves it. I will agree that NBC has added more pop to the production values but the sound was bad and that should be priority one. I have to think the singers couldn't hear themselves. It is either that or they need a much better screening process. Admittedly, Jewel said at one point that this was not a singing contest.

Anyway, just opinion. I appreciate yours.

Dan

Dan,
I hear ya...and believe me, it wouldn't be worth fightin a Tele brother over!

I can't stand the music of Big and Rich....but I do have a lot of respect for John Rich's talent as a producer....I actually kinda got to liking him a bit more after watching that CMT reality show about non-Nashvillers trying to go country...Gone Country I think it was...

Anyway, maybe it'll get better....I just enjoy watching the folks that are trying to win it bust their butts to get better.

[Daddydex]

Originally Posted by geddins

Dan,
I hear ya...and believe me, it wouldn't be worth fightin a Tele brother over!

I can't stand the music of Big and Rich....but I do have a lot of respect for John Rich's talent as a producer....I actually kinda got to liking him a bit more after watching that CMT reality show about non-Nashvillers trying to go country...Gone Country I think it was...

Anyway, maybe it'll get better....I just enjoy watching the folks that are trying to win it bust their butts to get better.

I will have to give a listen to some of his work. I guess I can start by listening to the Jewel CD. Any others of note?

I will peak in on the show and, like you, hope for the performances to improve. Maybe the judges will get their thing worked out too. I am sure they will watch and learn right along with the contestants.

Dan

[Darrell]

Previous Nashville Star shows seemed to have several very talented individuals, and it was easy to see that it was going to be tuff to judge when it got down to the last 6. The last few who weren't going to make it to the end were STILL going to get record deals (Miranda Lambert)

I don't see this one being tough to judge. At best I saw 3 people (and duo's) with significant talent. How that model dude made it through last night without getting cut the world may never know. I could have sang better that with about 1 day of preparation. Geez.

[emu!]

It is always a hoot when music is put in a competition format...because music is so subjective...like art. So this show, like AI, cannot be taken TOO seriously.

My take on the first episode I have ever seen:

Billy Ray Cyrus...you go with your bad azz soul patch, brother...Miley will pay the bills.
Jewel...are you doing the country thing now, or are you just passin' thru like you did with the hip-hop CD???
John Rich...music maffia ring leader...yeah...rap country artist...whatever.
Unknown dude who looks like he just got off the crazy train...cool finger tats man.

In conclusion, I guess they couldn't find any better judges...but there is just no drama like AI. Maybe Jewel will sleep with one of the contestants or something. Or maybe BRC will show a hint of humility one night. As far as the talent goes, my bet is on the really cute young girl from Minnesota or the male model dude. It would be just like Nashvegas to pick a looker...

[Guitarzan]

I watched bits and pieces because nothing else was on and I was curious how bad it would be. The fact that the judges aren't country says something; at least the old version had Randy Owen and Tony Brown's wife. I don't think that Mrs. Tony Brown and Jewel got along, and they had a little cat fight over pitch on one show I saw. I find it ironic that pitch came up b/t Jewel and John Rich as described above.

I thought the Hewit girl was pretty good among the field that they have.

Of course, all of this must be viewed through the prism of contemporary country music which has 3 "new" recording artists now on country radio:

1. Jewel;

2. Jessica Simpson; and

3. Hootie.

We've had enough of those "country sucks" threads, but there is no end to the surprises.

[HOBBSTER01]

+1

[Jakedog]

Ashlee Hewitt was awesome. The full figured gal at the end was really worth watching too. The guy who sang "All My Exe's" was great, but done to death. Meh. Who cares.

Everybody else completely blew chow. Not worth a $3 cover at a dive bar with a sticky floor, let alone national TV.

I would like to say, that John Rich is causing me to have some very confused feelings. There are probably not many people in the industry that I completely loathe mare than I do him. He's a terrible performer, a mediocre singer, calling his writing pedestrian would be a kindness, and his production makes me turn off the radio immediately in most cases. All of that said, I agreed 100% with pretty much everything that came out of his mouth last night. I was 100% in his corner all night.

[51mike]

I've watched all the nashville Star shows since the beginning and generally have liked it better than AI by a lot. I liked it because it was simpler, with a lot less production thrown at it. I thought the judges in the past were decent (all except for that lady they had somebody Brown? she drove me nuts with her self-righteous attitude. and they had that poser brett michaels on it for a while) but they were less brutal, yet truthful for the most part. The talent they had was better suited to my taste however some good ones got passed by. Last year there was a brother and sister that both had the goods and it came down to the two of them. The girl won out. They both good sing and put on a show and there's no way anyone would have called her a "real looker".
I'm afraid that this year we're in for a pile of mediocraty because the judges are who they are and the prevailing winds of "good" in Nashville just don't agree with my taste. One of the ways I judge the contestants is how I think they'd affect my band. If I think they'd raise the level of the band then good. If not, then bad. That includes personality clashes and so on as far as I can tell from little exposure I have to them.
I liked Minnesota gal and the latino guy. They both would help my band as would the older gal who was in the bottom two (she's closer in age to my band and sings well enough. Also, she's the best front person I saw there) Who knows, it's all a crap shoot anyway.
Remember.... the purpose of these shows is to bring cash into the coffers and they do that by creating a show that folks'll get arguing about. This raises the viewership numbers and thus raises the advertising rates and number of commercials we get exposed to. In the end, the producers make lots of money, the talent gets some exposure and maybe a record deal, and we get whatever they want to give us which is mediocraty at this point.

[Big John]

Maybe, at last, this genius' time has finally come ..........

[DMRoller]

Originally Posted by emu!

Unknown dude who looks like he just got off the crazy train...cool finger tats man.

I hadn't thought of him that way before, but that''s pretty funny.
That would be Jeffrey Steele, once of the band Boy Howdy, and now serious songwriter, etc. He's definitely chosen his own look, but with his level of success comes the freedom.

Check out his credits at his website..
http://www.jeffreysteele.net/about/

Take care.
Dale

[DlxNashvilleLuvr]

Yeah, I thought that was really tacky when John Rich told Jewel she was pitchy. And did you catch him saying "Taylor Swift's country instincts are unparalled right now, and that's why she's having so much success in our format." A.) Taylor Swift was out of key and performed like a high school talent show third runner-up. B.) Can you imagine Willie Nelson commenting on someone's "country instincts" and their success in "our format?" Total cheese.

And what's with Jewel saying "y'all?" Isn't she from California? So far she's gone from Sarah MacLaughlin-type singer/songwriter to D-grade Christina Aguilera ripoff to country singer. And then she has to sing every song back at the singers, as though to prove she's "better" than them.

The blonde Rick Springfield with tattoos guy is some big-time songwriter...somethingaruther Steele.

Only Gabe Garcia was any good in my book. The whole show just makes me appreciate how well American Idol is produced.

[cowboytwang]

Originally Posted by emu!

Unknown dude who looks like he just got off the crazy train...cool finger tats man.

"BOY HOWDY", that was Jeffrey's Country band back in the '90's. He was the bass player, songwriter, and singer. After the band moved to Nashville, they broke up, and Larry Park(guitar players for Boy Howdy) became a top session picker and Jeffrey Steele became a very in demand songwriter.

I would say in terms of #1 songs (as a writer) in Nashville, he made have had the most of everyone on the show. I think he has written 8 #1 hits and co-written six more.

"If You Love Somebody" for Kevin Sharp, "Unbelievable" for Diamond Rio, "Big Deal" for LeAnn Rimes, "Brand New Girlfriend" for Steve Holy, "These Days" for Rascal Flatts(their first #1), "She'd Give Anything" and "They Don't Make 'Em Like That Anymore" for Boy Howdy, "What Hurts the Most" for Rascal Flatts(and that won Jeffrey "Songwriter of the Year" from BMI and Music Row magazine in '06).

[Jakedog]

Originally Posted by DlxNashvilleLuvr

And what's with Jewel saying "y'all?" Isn't she from California? So far she's gone from Sarah MacLaughlin-type singer/songwriter to D-grade Christina Aguilera ripoff to country singer. And then she has to sing every song back at the singers, as though to prove she's "better" than them.

I could be wrong, and not that it matters, I find her country "act" as fake as you do, but I believe she's from rural Alaska... And grew up playing country with her dad, or something like that

I know she broke out of L.A. doing the chick songwriter thing that was big in the 90's, but I think it was far from her first try.
Like I said though, the country thing from her still strikes me as an act.

[teleplanner]

Originally Posted by Jakedog

I could be wrong, and not that it matters, I find her country "act" as fake as you do, but I believe she's from rural Alaska... And grew up playing country with her dad, or something like that

I know she broke out of L.A. doing the chick songwriter thing that was big in the 90's, but I think it was far from her first try.
Like I said though, the country thing from her still strikes me as an act.

Actually, she is from Alaska, but broke out of San Diego, from the small venue/coffee house scene there. She has a long standing partnership with Taylor Guitars. They gave her a GC very early on when her childhood guitar was stolen out of her car and a friend of a friend was Bob Taylor. This is from Wood & Steel a few issues ago.

[mickeydean]

if nashville star has anything remotely to do with actual country music, i am the queen of spain.