Okay, I stayed up last night to watch the crowning of the Nashville Star, NBC-style. After all, I’m a country music fan. This show should be for me, right?
Only it (and the rest of the shows this season) wasn’t really for me at all. In fact, I’m not sure who it was for.
I think the problem arose when some suit-wearing people in offices in a big city tried to come up with a plan for what people who buy country music CDs and attend county music conferences might want. And them someone said they needed to also try to attract new fans, especially younger people. And from there it spun away into – we’re not quite sure what. All I know is that very few of the people who ended up on Nashville Star had any appeal for me or other country music fans I know.
It was a bit like taking a nice glass of orange juice and diluting it with a bunch of water and then adding some apple juice and maybe a little bit of coffee, and saying, “There, isn’t that better?” Uh, no. I wanted orange juice. 100%. With pulp. Period.
Now I have nothing against the people who made it onto the show. They’re just looking for that big break we’d all love to get. You know, the one in that dream you’ve had more than once where you’re just standing in line at Walmart and a stranger with a notepad comes up to you and says, “We’ve filming a movie just down the street and we need some extras. Would you come?” And as you start talking, he goes, “You know, forget the extra bit. I think you’re perfect for this role we’ve been having trouble casting. It’s one of the leads…” Sure, we’d all love to be there.
But you know it’s not going to happen. But when you want to sing, you go and audition and hope for the best. But the people who wound up actually getting picked to be on Nashville Star should have been the people who had what it takes – i.e. those who auditioned who could (and given the choice, would) actually sing country music – and sing it well!
I shouldn’t be watching the final show wondering about the song choices and worrying that the finalists are going to mess up. That doesn’t tend to happen on American or Canadian Idol. It doesn’t even happen on CMT Canada ‘s Karaoke Star (which had some amazing talent just from BC)!
Don’t get me wrong. I wish Melissa and her family all the best. And Gabe and Shawn too. And all the other finalists. And I sincerely hope there’s another Nashville Star next year. I’ve been a fan since season 1 (and BTW, I still think 1 and 2 were the best produced).
But please, whoever is wearing those suits in the offices, get it right next time! Give us country music singers: young or old, thin or not-so-thin, American or Canadian or Irish or… as long as they are country!
And now – Are you kidding me? My mailman just this minute brought me a package and – Yes! It’s Buddy Jewell’s latest CD – Country Enough. Yeah!!!!! (Thanks, Nashville Star Season 1 for letting me find out about Buddy!)
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I have to agree with you fully on this. I really don’t think the best singer won. But I don’t wear the suit or the big hats. I really thought that it was very in appropriate for the hostess to wear something so reveling. Our children watch these shows too.
A real country singer can wear a tuxedo or a ball gown and still “be” country. Anyone can wear a hat. Or, as Chris Young said, “He’s all hat and no cattle.” :)
I thought the dress Katie wore was over the top for a show like this, too. I was thinking, “What would Stacie and Clinton say about that? and it wasn’t good.
Susan Boyle is an incredibly talented lady who’s been subjected to considerable pressure in the media. IMHO she deserves all of the success that she is experiencing.