Don't forget to email your thoughts on the April 17th show to Rikks Revues, help@RikksRevues.com  , to get your quotes or thoughts pubished on my website and a chance to win FREE music of this year and last years Nashville Star!!

It is getting harder every week to have to see someone go. You start to feel as if you know these contestants personally and it is hard when they are told they have to leave. However, as I've mentioned before, Only one can win it all, and that is a Sony Music Nashville recording contract. The exposure alone will help those that don't win, but for the one who does they have about a week to record an album, that is a tough task in itself to get a great sounding CD in a week.

Nancy O'Dell's job is one I wouldn't want as she is the one who tells the contestants they are no longer a part of the show, and she is now getting ready to call out the first contestant to perform. This has got to be nerve racking for the contestants as they are the ones in the hot seat, and the first name, the first to know he will still be alive after this week is........ Oh my God, I am completely shocked. Sometimes when you are in the game I am in you get force fed your words at times, they come back to haunt you so to speak, and that is exactly what I had to do tonight. Last week I predicted Matt Lindahl would have to leave, but that was his name I just heard Nancy call. Matt Lindahl is now a top 3 finalist. I am shocked and the look on Matt's face of utter shock is shared by me. I am glad he made it, I love to watch his performances. I still stand my ground he is the weakest vocally of the four, and now the three.

I didn't think he had enough mass appeal to pull it off, but there he is, still in the game. Matt sings another novelty song "The Greyhound Song" and does it the way we have come to expect, the thought however remains in my head that although Matt is a terrific entertainer, but he does have the weakest voice of the remaining contestants. Is this going to come down to sheer talent? If so I do not believe Matt will win, but I am glad to see him remain as he is a breath of fresh air. Will an entertainer rather than a great vocalist win the title of Nashville Star? I guess we will have to wait until next week to find out the answer.

The second contestant to perform on the "My Best Shot" episode........... Nancy calls for George Canyon. George gets set to perform while Brad Cotter and Lance Miller have to remain backstage not truly knowing who it will be. They must both have feelings that it could be them, this has got to be hard on you.............

George Canyon does "Letting Go" and if you were not moved emotionally, I suggest you check your pulse. This is a stirring performance and I believe it is George's best performance up to this point. I remain true that George Canyon has it all, he is the total country package. This is a home run, great job.

Still waiting, Nancy calls Brad Cotter and Lance Miller forward to see who will move on. The name called is......... Brad Cotter. That means we will have to say Goodbye to Lance Miller who was really growing on me. One had to leave and Lance accepts the news graciously and with class as he assures the audience they haven't seen the last of him with the simple phrase "The Show Must Go On", and I am sure Lance will have a great career in country music.

While we wait for the contestants to do another song I want to mention the Hot Spot challenge. This time it was a hometown concert to raise money for the American Red Cross. Matt Lindahl gets the least fanfare, bur still has a great time going home and just walking through his school. George Canyon's experience has much more excitement as he arrives at the airport with fans standing outside chanting "We Want George". On the trip to Pictou County, Nova Scotia there are folks lined up on the side of the road, some fans waving at him from an overpass, getting his own "day" named after him, a congratulatory letter from the Canadian Prime Minister. Brad Cotter has a great number of fans as well, with the clips they showed however, as far as fan base he seemed to be overshadowed by the reception George Canyon received. It must have been a great trip for all the contestants to get to go to where their true support is, HOME!!!! I am sure it was nice just to get home for a short while for all three of the contestants to spend time with family too.

Matt comes to the stage for his second song, a bit different for Matt, but he is showing his diversity by performing the straight-laced song "River In The Rain". I still have to say his vocals are not as strong as the other 2 performers, but he does a good job and the song suited him.

George Canyon comes out with the rockin' country tune "The Girl In My Head". Another winner, I think so however it is not George's strongest. I can see the appeal in the song but George simply doesn't seem as comfortable with this number.  Not nearly as spellbinding as his first performance. He has proven that he can do the up-tempo numbers as well as the ballads, but this one falls a bit short on performance standards.

Brad Cotter will perform the song "I Meant To". The second best performance of the night, trailing only slightly (very slightly) to George Canyon's "Letting Go". When the show was over I tried a little experiment because I knew I felt like this song wasn't true country. I rewound to the beginning of this song and found that if I closed my eyes, and subtracted the music from this song, this could be a pop song! The only true country feel to this song was the accompaniment. Good job, great crossover appeal which may just give this young man an edge over the competition. As gopod as feel George Canyon is in country standards, Brad Cotter has the crossover market cornered.

I have to ask this question, do the Warren Brothers actually know what they are thinking? After each contestants first performance, they told all the contestants they were going to be the Nashville Star, ummmmm, that's not possible. I do want to mention that I was watching the show with a "newbie" who had never seen the show. He was more amazed by Brad Cotter's speaking voice than with his singing, but Brad was his favorite. I will admit as I have said before I will not be disappointed in Nashville Star this year, there was so much true talent here that whether it is Brad or George who get to wear the crown (I may be wrong again, but I don't think Matt can pull it off, but just to get this far must be amazing) I will not be saddened with either choice. Both have their own style and will do extremely well after this competition has ended. Brad Cotter has great songwriting ability for the crossover market, and hey that's a really good thing, George Canyon is true straight forward country. I guess it comes down to which style the voting public likes best and we can see next week. 

This season of Nashville Star seems to have flown by. We are announcing the winner next week! This week may drag on though as my anticipation grows each day to see who will win the title. I will stand by my pick from the beginning and say George Canyon will be the next Nashville Star, I will bring some condiments though in case I have to eat my words again. Until next week, that's the way the show was seen through my eyes.......

I do have to add that the first performances of Matt and Brad were the weakest they've had thus far, as was the second performance of George. Brad's performance in the first set is excusable as he was made to sweat it out in the back waiting.

Now, next week should be a kicker! Last year it is when the final 2 performed and let it all hang out because there is no vote anymore, it is going to be a performance only..... Last year John Arthur Martinez had a lot of fun as he unleashed "The Armadillo Song" and I have to say,. I could never have put those words together vocally, the speed of that song grew to an explosive sound. Until next week, have a great one and be sure to check back again and see if you're choice is the right one, will I have to eat my words, possibly, but some spicy brown mustard will help them go down a bit better. Although I thought this season started off a bit weak, I am very pleased with the outcome thus far. This show has thrown some real talent out there for us to gobble up. Thanks for sharing the season with me. Be on the lookout for new reviews that are Nashville Star oriented. George Canyon's CD is on it's way to me, as is, I believe Matt Lindahl. 

No matter your personal favorites, we have been exposed to some great talent. I read on the USA message board how one viewer got mad and worked up and said they would not watch the show anymore because Lance Miller was sent home and Matt Lindahl was staying on. I don't think everyone has that same opinion, or will go to those measures, but.............. Just a post script here, we were introduced to some great talent across the board, and I think we should all just be glad there is some real talent here, no matter how it turns out it has been a fun ride....... I write my views down for you to read, do you agree? If not, that is why I invite you to send me your comments at help@RikksRevues.com , I will add them and you will get a chance to win free Nashville Star Music!!!!

My best shot..... that was a good name for this weeks show. Everyone put
their best foot forward and I'm very glad I'm not judging these guys. They are
all winners in my book and will do well.
When everything started the contestants came out singing a Sara Evens song
and Matt just didn't sound right singing it. The rest of the contestants
sounded good but Matt seemed off key to me.. of course Sara Evens came out
and nailed it.. it is her song after all...  :)

After that it came time to see who would be the first singer this week. I
was as shocked as anyone when they called Matt's name first to sing. At that
point I thought to myself well its gonna be Lance who gets the boot this
week. but then I got to thinking of Amy Chappell last year getting
eliminated before Brandy.. so really who knows what the voting public will
do. So it was all in the air.

Matt again is a great performer and I loved his song. I don't agree with
Billy when he said it wouldn't translate to radio. I think that one would
have. However Billy had to recant that statement later in the night. Matt's
outfit was great!!! Black jacket with those shiny things all over it that
fish like to play with. I'm supposing that's so when he's done singing he can
go fishing.

Then George was called to sing.. no surprise there. George came out and sang
"letting go". I really liked this song and the way he sang it with feeling.
George is definitely going to get a contract somewhere if not with Sony. Im
definitely going to go to at least one of his concerts when he starts
performing nationwide.

We then got to say goodbye to Lance Miller. He went out gracefully and you
can tell from the look in his eyes that he isn't done by a long shot. He was
very gracious and thanked the people who voted for him week after week.

Brad came out and sang a song that was not country at all. But.. saying
that,  it was enjoyable and he did a great job on it. This is the kind of
stuff that will draw people that normally don't like traditional country in
and much as I hate it.. Nashville needs to start selling records. Tracy is
very taken with him and his ability and I guarantee you she is going to
offer him a contract when its all said and done whether he wins or not.

They all left and then Matt took the stage again and sang "River in the
Rain". This was his first serious...heavy.. song that he has done since the
show started. It was great when at the end Billy had to say "Darn ya Matt, I
think radio might play that one". I'm not sure if this was a strategy for
Matt or not.. to wait until the end to try a heavy. But it sure seems to
have worked. The voting public had kept him in week after week and obviously
they like what he has to offer.

George Canyon's second song was "The Girl In My Head". I wasn't as taken with
that one as I was the first song. I liked the start of the song but there
was place after the song started and  came to a place where I was looking
for a flourish or change of tempo.. it just wasn't there. It was just flat...
Im not sure how to explain what I was looking for as I'm not a singer or a
songwriter.. I just know what I like. However he gave a great performance
and the judges seemed to like it.. well all but the Warren bro's.

Brad... this guy has surprised me since day one. He just keeps raising the
bar for the rest of them. Just when I think George has it all sewed up Brad
comes out and gives a five star performance. Brad has a very very good
chance of winning this!! His second song was "I meant to". This was a good
choice for him and although a very well written song it was not very
country. Again.. was this a strategy to not allow the judges to taint the
show with (too pop/crossover as they did with Amy the first season)? Could
be. We will see next week whether it worked for him or not.

And here we are, down to the wire. The show is almost all over and next week
we will see who is the new Nashville star. I think Matt's best chance for a
contract with a record label is to win this. The other two have contracts
anyway in my opinion. I'm more than ready to see who is going to win and I
have my checkbook ready to buy that first CD when it comes out.

Regards,
GaCowboy

I agree with the fact that lance miller has a much better voice than Matt L.. he should have been gone so long ago.  they are having the same problem with the American idol.  the American public is so fascinated with the nerd.  I will be pi$$ed if matt for that (nerd factor) wins this show.  it will mean true talent does not matter.  I however agree with you that the other two, George and brad will be excellent winners.  My favorite is brad.

J. Sowatsky

 ******For The record I disagree that Matt should have been long ago, I was however surprised that he moved on. - Rikk******

See you next week, and remember to get your quotes added, just email them to me help@RikksRevues.com and you will get added into the draw for free music too!! Besides Buddy Jewell and John Arthur original independent CDs, we will also have Lance Miller to give you, Matt Lindahl when it is released, George Canyon CD single and more........... You can enter every week if you want!!!

Country Music and Nashville Star Message Board - http://com2.runboard.com/bcountrymusicandnashvillestar

USA Network's Nashville Star Bulletin Board - Click Here!

The official USA Network Nashville Star website - http://www.usanetwork.com/nashvillestar/

Other Nashville Star 1 & 2 Message Boards, chat rooms and forums......

 

	George Canyon Fanlisting site
	Miranda Lambert - Message Board
	Brandon Silveira - Message Board
	John Arthur Martinez - jAm Fans Message Board
	Jamey Garner - Message Board
	Brandi Gibson - MSN Group
	Brad Cotter Chat - Chat Room
	Matt Lindahl - Message Board
	Anessa Andrews Forum - Forum/ Message Board

Hey If you know any other message boards, forums or chat rooms you think I should list, let me know!!

               Nashville Star Links

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	Sir Links Alot Nashville Star links Loads o' Links about Nashville Star
	Nashville.About.Com  Nashville Star news and links. Jan offers up some great information for Nashville Star Fans. A must visit.
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