Gabe Garcia Thinks That Nashville Star Made The Right Decision

The link attached below hits on an interview with Gabe Garcia. In the interview, Gabe discusses that he thinks the right person won Nashville Star. In addition, he gives a little insider information about the final three . . .

Click the link to read the story . . .

Nashville Star: A Pre-Finale Interview

A few minutes before the Nashville Star Finale, I was emailed an article posted in Reality TV World interviewing John Rich about the final three contestants. I'll post a link at the bottom where you all can read the whole article. Its very interesting to read John Rich's thoughts . . . it is very clear that La Rich is not fond of Shawn Mayer. He is VERY complimentary of both Gabe Garcia and Melissa Lawson . . . seeming to lean a wee bit more towards Lawson than Garcia . . . however, he stated that they are both talented and would be wonderful to work with . . . Then there are his remarks regarding La Mayer . . . Rich states that while he has seen a noticeable difference in Mayer's attitude and personality, he thinks that she is working with the same amount of talent now as she was at the beginning . . . "she has not gone from terrible to great". Really, really interesting article . . . Click the link to read the whole story.

Nashville Star Finale Tonight!

Tonight, Nashville Star will crown the winner of it's Fifth Season. We are down to three contestants: 1) Melissa Lawson, 2) Gabe Garcia, and 3) Shawn Mayer . . . not that I've ranked these in any particular order . . . er, um . . . anyway . . .

NBC is reporting that they received a "record number of votes" for this final three telecast, and that voting was up "53%" from the previous week. A Side Note Here: I have found it so very sketchy from the beginning that NBC would not release the number of votes they were receiving each week. . . or any information about voting period . . . and, lets not forget that week of the final 6 when they were supposed to go from six to four and then strangely only eliminated one person . . . weird . . . Anyway . . .

Other highlights from tonight's telecast . . . The final three reunite with their eliminated reality family for several performances this evening . . . think Idol finale, cut in half, with a lower budget. Country legend George Jones will perform . . . The BRC will bust out his guitar, but hopefully not his mullet when he croons a tune from his latest CD, and finally, our winner will perform the song written by John Rich as the first single to hit radio tomorrow.

I really hope Nashville Star can pull off a decent finale. I haven't been thrilled with all of the contestants, but there are some good folks here, and I think if they do some major tweaking, they could make this show into something special . . . here's hoping

Click the link to read a full story about the finale posted by RealityWorld

Melissa Lawson Takes The Wheel And Drives It Home

The BRC is ready to give us the second of three finalists. Who will it be?

Melissa Lawson is our second finalist. Whew . . . Yay! She freakin rules . . .

Here she comes, our girl is gonna croon a little Carrie Underwood . . . seriously, I heart La Lawson, but I'm not really sure that this is a smart move. I've got my fingers crossed . . .

Seriously, no need to cross my fingers. Our girl was freakin awesome! She and Jesus took the wheel together and drove it all the way home. Her voice is amazing and she just looked like she is already a star . . . As I have said before, I hope she wins, but I don't necessarily think she needs to . . . she's gonna be at the CMA's next year . . . .

Melissa Lawson Hits Us Up!

Here comes the winner of Nashville Star . . . er, I mean, the final performer of our Top 4 . . . Melissa Lawson. We all HEART her, and think she is amazing!

She is going back home, and is very emotional. She has gone back to her high school and is so touched by those who showed up.

Tonight, our girl is singing "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" . . . this is certainly not the song I would have chosen for her, but I'm sure she'll do fine. Her voice sounded great and she looks wonderful. I really don't think that was her best performance . . . but her voice is still amazing.

Jewel thinks that she hit the high notes when she needed to and did an overall great job.

Jeff Steele thinks she is great but is getting a little tired of all of the high notes . . .

John Rich thinks she is great . . . and asks her, a little unfairly, what becoming Nashville Star would mean to her . . . everyone should have gotten that question . . .

Anyhoo, I love her . . .

Nashville Star: Melissa Lawson Talks About The Top 4

Fort Worth, Texas Newspaper, the Star Telegram, has published an interview with Melissa Lawson. The interview highlights her time on the show and how she handles life with her family and the idea of touring. Click the link to read the story.

:Melissa Lawson Heads To The House

An NBC affiliate in North Texas has written a story about Melissa Lawson's homecoming day for Nashville Star. As Little Taste Readers know, Melissa is one of the final four contestants on this season of Nashville Star. Moreover, she has been one of this bloggers favorites all season long. Melissa is just amazing, and I can't wait to see the video of her homecoming. I can only imagine just how genuinely touched she was by her fans.

Click the link to read the whole thing!

Melissa Lawson is Ready To Stand

And, we're back. Who is next to be safe and move on to the top 4. Thank Goodness . . . Melissa Lawson is up next. She only started writing lyrics a few months ago . . . What I hear in the mentor session sounds pretty darn good. She's singing "Ready to Stand" . . . This song is really good in a . . . I will probably go on itunes and download it now . . . kind of way. VERY VERY RADIO FRIENDLY!
Excellent!

Jewel - Thought she did a good job writing a song for her own voice
Jeff - He's mad. He was ready to critique. He can't. She was really great.
John - Is becoming more and more impressed each week. She needs to stay focused, but she is in control.

I think at this point, it doesn't matter whether or not this girl wins . . . she's record contract bound.

Official Top 6 Rankings!

Alright, this week was a wee better than most on the entertainment mecca that is Nashville Star!

Here are my rankings . . .


1. Melissa Lawson - By a longshot . . . she is still the Queen of this Kingdom!
2. Gabe Garcia - He's so authentic . . . so vocally amazing.
(SPACE)
3. Shaun Mayer - She took a shot by doing such a contemporary song . . . but she did a very, very good rendition.
4. Ashlee Hewitt - Her stage presence continues to rule, but her vocals are not improving . . .
(SPACE)
5. Coffey - He retains his usual place on this list. He was better this week, but just not good enough. He seems like a nice guy, but he should not still be on this list.

Eliminated Laura and Sophie would have been ranked 5th on this list. They were better, but not great . . . but better than Coffey.

America Loves That Baby, Melissa Lawson!

We’re down to Shaun Mayer, Melissa Lawson, and Laura and Sophie. Apparently, two of them are safe and one will be going home. Much like last week, I have a bad feeling here . . .

Melissa Lawson is up next . . . Thank goodness America got this one right. She’s singing “My Baby Loves Me”. Wow, this girl is really about three steps above everyone else. She looks amazing . . . she sounds amazing . . . she’s gotten a hold of her nerves . . . nothing to say except that we are looking at the next big thing in country music . . . just phenomenal.

Jewel was a little worried about the song selection, but thinks she just blew it away. Jewel thought she controlled her vocals and did a great job. Jeff Steele thinks she over sang it. He thinks that she needs to tone it down a bit, and hopes that America doesn’t forget to vote for her because they assume that she is safe. John Rich agrees and thinks that her performance was overkill. Melissa Lawson, LOVES IT, tells John Rich that she loves him, but that he was the one who told her to “kill it” and she kinda thinks she did. I HEART her for standing up . . . without sounding bitchy.

Who's Hittin the Road?

Once again, Pearl Heart and Ashlee Hewitt are in the Bottom Two. Here comes the requisite teleprompter read from BRC about the two acts.

And now, the requisite ELEVENTY YEARS OF BLUE CHEESE LACED SILENCE . . .

And, yes, I was unfortunately correct, the girls of Pearl Heart are gone. They are taking it very well . . . and have wonderful words for their friends and family.

What will Mentor Jeff have to say . . . . Wow, I believe he just invited them to record a CD. Based on what he said, and the response from the crowd, I believe that we WILL be seeing the girls of Pearl Heart putting out a CD. Of particular importance, Jeff repeatedly discussed their amazing work ethic.

I'm upset, but happy to think that I will be able to buy a CD from these girls. What is upsetting is that I think this elimination is bad for the show. This season of Nashville Star, the first on NBC, only has four . . . possibly five . . . viable acts. Melissa Lawson, Pearl Heart, Gabe Garcia, Ashlee Hewitt . . . and possibly Shaun Mayer. They are in a different league from the rest. Nashville Star is struggling in the ratings for NBC, and they will be in need of a STRONG final three or four to try and pull in enough ratings to guarantee a renewal.

Well, there goes another week of Nashville Star . . . and we still have the dynamic duo of Coffey & Lauren and Sophie . . . ugh. . .

Two more will be eliminated next week. . . SURELY THE AFOREMENTIONED DUO WILL BE VOTED OFF THE ISLAND! Leaving a somewhat viable final 4.

Here's hoping!

Nashville Star: The Final 8 . . . Surely America Will Get This Right . . . Right?

Its Nashville Star, y'all! Here comes La Cyrus to wow us with his monotone stylings . . . The thing is, I really like BRC . . . I just wish he would stop reading off the teleprompter. He's so much better when he adlibs. Remember who you are, BRC. You are the reason your daughter is a billion dollar industry!

Anyhoo, tonight, we will be deleting two more from our midst. Y'all know I have not been shy . . . particularly last week about who I think needs to go . . . Coffey and Laura & Sophie. Seriously, y'all they need to go. However, having not watched Nashville Star before, I gotta assume that we are due for an upset here.

Here we go. They are gonna complete the first elimination by pulling out the top vote getter and the lowest vote getter - circa last week. Tonight, they pull out Melissa Lawson and Sailor Tommy. Surely, we know the result here. I'm a bit disappointed that one of my bottom two is not out there right now. I think we're in for a wild ride folks.

(Insert drumroll here) Melissa Lawson is . . . the top vote getter. Which means, Sailor Tommy's pimpage last week did not have the affect I had anticipated. . . I'm beginning to wonder if we are experiencing low voter turn outs on this show . . . I mean, considering that the show is only pulling in about 5-6 million viewers per week. Maybe with lower vote totals, those who have REALLY STRONG contingents are ending up higher on the totem poll . . . oh well, who knows.

First up, Melissa Lawson is singing Danny’s Song. As per usual, I'm not immediatley familiar from the title, but I'm sure I'll get it when she starts to sing. Her mentor session with John Rich begins with him telling us that La Lawson has lost 70 lbs, and . . . John Rich thinks she’s hot. Here she goes . . . Wow, her understated vocals in the beginning are just amazing. She sounds vulnerable, yet passionate. Excellent! Brills! Lower register to high register. . . simply amazing. I worry that the song was a little understated and that she went first and that the voters know she was the top vote getter. I only say that because over the past few weeks, the person who goes first has had some trouble staying out of the bottom two . . . hope that she is not a victim of this trend. She was just great.

Laura and Sophie – SERIOUSLY – They’re fighting . . . and crying . . . “I go out walking”. Better than last week . . . the vocals were better . . . the look is better . . . but they are still not getting it yet. Agree with John Rich. . . . until he attacked them personally. Jewel agrees.

This One is For Melissa Lawson!

Next to be safe . . . Melissa Lawson. Thank goodness she is not one of the last ones to perform . . . AGAIN . . .

So very touching to watch her with her husband and children. She just seems so very genuine. I heart her a wee bit. . .

Melissa is gonna sing a little "This One’s For The Girls" - This performance has the potential to be wonderful . . . Absolutely BRILLS! The girl was just wonderful . . . the vocals were directly on target. . . the performance was wonderful . . . She is just phenomenally good!

Jewel – Loved it . . .
Jeff – Just amazing
John – thought she would win if the end was tonight

Thank God For Melissa Lawson

Melissa Lawson – True Colors – Ms. Lawson was SHOCKINGLY in the bottom two last week . . . then she came out and gave a good, if shrieking, performance of “Natural Woman”. Even before I hear her, I think she has made the best song selection of the evening. I have very very high hopes for this performance. THERE ARE NO WORDS . . . yes, there are. Wonderful, beautiful, amazing . . . the girl is back. That performance took any shrieking memories of last week out of my head. She’s back and head and shoulders above everyone else.

Melissa Lawson's Our Natural Woman And Third Town Hits the Road Jack

Melissa Lawson and Third Town are our two remaining contestants . . . one will stay and one will go. To be honest, Third Town's presence in this position doesn't really surprise me, but surely this is not our bottom 2. Melissa Lawson was quite frankly, awesome last week. Surely they're manipulating the phrase Bottom 2 . . . just a wee bit. Anyway, as would be expected, Third Town is gonna hit the road.



Probably for the best . . . they were not gonna win this competition. There harmonies were pretty tight, but they just didn't quite gel for this show.

So, now, we have Melissa Lawson. She's gonna make us feel like a Natural Woman.




For the most part she was on target, except those high notes . . . girls got a killer voice, but ain't no need to scream those notes . . . otherwise, she is on target. Hopefully, she'll recover her first week mojo next week.

Overall, a good show. Most everyone improved. Rankings to follow.

What did y'all think?

The Looks Hotness and The Singing Hotness

The Hotness is up next . . . He is SOOOO cute . . . one Mr. Justin Gaston . . . gonna need to try and look beyond the cuteness . . . . Rut ro . . . there’s a very pleasant voice there but man, somebody needs to light a firecracker under his ass . . . PICK ME! PICK ME! . . . Just kidding . . . he needs to pick it up or The Hotness will not last long. The male judges didn't heart him, BUT Jewel defended him hardcore.



Mother of five, Melissa Lawson is up next . . . very Wynona Judd . . . her audition was quite good. She is singing a little Bonnie Raitt and givin up something to talk about . . . Girls got some pipes, yo. Far and away the best of the night . . . to quote Randy Jackson, “We’ve got a hot one here . . . MOLTEN HOT!”. The cute Hotness followed by The singing Hotness. Man oh man she had a good first week.