Nashville Star Premiere!

Now THATS more like it! I do love me a show that gets right to the meat of things. Billy Ray Cyrus kept things moving, and though there were some of the expected montages of good and bad auditions, for the most part it was all about the top 12 contestants performing for a live audience – complete with pyrotechnics and typical first night jitters.

The judges are half of Big and Rich, John Rich (who wrote my favorite – Save a horse, ride a cowboy!). producer/songwriter Jeffrey Steel, and Jewel (the Alaskan. you know. Just like me. Cept I’d never go off, get famous, then forget my hometown state and cancel concerts. Just sayin.) (Who me, bitter? Nah…). They don’t seem to agree on anyone or anything other then the decision is difficult – for them. Nice.

The up side to all the montages is that we get to the actual competition quick-like with everyone joining together to sing Life is a Highway, with gusto. What a fun way to start off the competition! The crowd was going crazy and the judges sang along, so it was cool. Except for the part where most of the singers sounded off. Not a good sign.

We’re told everyone will perform, and the judges are going to eliminate someone right off the bat tonight, with public voting for favorites afterwards. (American Idol – are you paying attention?! This is the way to run a singing comp! Just like Can You Duet does!) We listen to Taylor Swift sing, which is good – I liked the song, and so did the judges as they tell her she’s pretty much the best thing they’ve ever seen and they want everyone else to be that good. No pressure or anything, ya’ll.

Now to the performances. Pearl Heart, a trio of twins and their sister sing “Wide Open Spaces”. It’s a little shakey until they harmonize then they sell it. Jewel says that Courtney has to really take charge as the front woman. The Navy Boy, Tommy Stanley, who’s gotten a ton of press, is next and he’s got a ton of energy and looks like he’s gonna bounce right off the stage. The judges think so too, but I think he has a lot of personality and he got the crowd.

Shawn Mayer is someone I just know i’m going to like, though I didn’t like her rendition of Piece of my Heart. She went for big – but not big enough. Nerves, possibly, but I hope she gets a chance to show her range. The three boys of Third Town follow her and sing Elvira. They get the crowd, but not me. I’m sorry, don’t ever sing that song unless you can do it right, dammit. The dude in the middle – little Tony – is like super high tenor too and they’re harmonies just weren’t smooth at all. They also can’t decide on who’s the lead singer which Rich thinks is a huge problem.

Next up, it’s Coffey, who’s a single dad and his daughter is completely adorable. He sings “Drift Away” and gets the crowd going, though I do wish he’d enunciate more clearly, because if I didn’t know the song like I do, I wouldn’t know what the hell he was saying. Billy Ray tells him not to let his baby girl go into show business. hahah! Daddy says she’s a tornado in blue jeans, and babysittings a chore whoo! Hah. Rich and Jewel get into it arguing whether or not he had pitch problems. Rich tells Jewel she wouldn’t know because SHE has pitch problems. Nice. Overall they like him though and think he’s the best so far.

Laura and Sophie are next, best friends who sound more like sisters singing “Stand by your man” – they harmonize beautifully, but Jewel wants then to project more. Gabe Garcia sings All my Ex’s live in Texas and he’s pure country. Alyson sings “Suds in the Bucket” and does ok, but the judges want fantastic. Ashlee sings a contrified “bubbly” and the judges are impressed with the way she connected with the audience but want more, want her to stretch and show what she can do.

A real cowboy at last! Charley sings “I like it, I love it” and even goes into the audience to hug up on some pretty girls. He’s like a Garth Brooks Impersonator, and his working the audience didn’t go over too well. Justin sings “Drops of Jupiter” and does ok, but I duno, he’s not too strong – Jewel tells him since he’s hot he has to sing that much better. Hah.

Now comes a gal that I feel I have to pull for, since she’s not a size six, and my left foot isn’t even a size six, so I want her to do well and show you don’t have to be pretty and perky to be a star. Fortunately, she WAILS, and is awesome as she busts out with “let’s give’em something to talk about” and closes the performance part of the show on a high note – or at least a big one that she holds half of forever. Go Big Girl, Go!

It’s elimination time already, and Charley and Alyson are the bottom two according to the judges. Jeffrey wants Charley to go, John says Alyson, so Jewel breaks the tie with Charley though she’s quite sorry about it. Billy Ray asks for his mullet back tells us it’s up to us now, and we’ll find out next week who we collectively disliked, after they are split ino groups and paired with judges to be mentored and perform, and yeah, all that. Tune in then!

Tags: Billy Ray Cyrus, Jewel, Nashville Star, Save a cowboy