It was the night that all contestants both fear, and live for, the night of the final auditions for “Nashville Star”-when 20 musical hopefuls are whittled down to the final 10. The atmosphere before the show was quite party-like, as the media, this season’s celebrity judges, including Poison frontman Bret Michaels, hit country singer/songwriter Phil Vassar, and music supervisor and industry executive Anastasia Brown, comic Cletus T. Judd as special correspondent, the lovely hostess LeAnn Rimes, and the nervous contestants mingled backstage, sharing thoughts about the season to come. Yes, the USA Network’s successful twang version of “American Idol” was about to begin its third season, which began Tuesday, March 1 at 10 PM ET/9 CT, and will finish up on April 26th, 2005.
Fast forward a couple of weeks and the show is progressing full-tilt-boogie, fueled by guest performances by the popular duo Montgomery Gentry (early in their career, they too were winners of a local Nashville talent contest, sponsored by Jim Beam), the legendary Charlie Daniels Band, and Sara Evans ("Suds in the Bucket"). With additional guest appearances scheduled with country hit-makers such as Big & Rich (“Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy”), and many others, the star power has been turned on, as has the heat and the jitters on the final contestants.
What is it about this particular talent show that generates such wide audience appeal, (Rumor has it that the show is doing so well, USA’s parent company is considering moving it from the relatively small cable channel to the powerhouse, mainstream network NBC), passion, and an avalanche of votes?
Says judge/artist Phil Vassar, “The sales of country music have gone up 12% this year over last year. And going out on the road like I do, you see what’s going on for real, what the real people say. The shows are bigger, people are getting excited. It’s just an explosion right now, you can really feel it.” He continues, “Because of the times we’re living in today, people want to hear some real music, real songs, real lyrics and that’s what country music is. It’s real heartfelt stuff, it’s real soulful. And it’s a really good time.”
For Music Supervisor/ Industry Executive/ Judge Anastasia Brown, “Nashville star is so important to the Nashville music industry. It gives us a venue to showcase artists, it helps sell records, and it helps develop artists. I hope our community supports us, embraces us and cheers us on.”
She continues, “The talent this year, it’s really bar none the best I’ve seen on any talent show for the last few years. The power of television really helps boost an artist’s career. For example, it took Keith Urban 15 years to get to be the star we all know, but with the power of television, this can shave 5-7 years off the development process, and it’s a win-win for everybody.”
