Gretchen Wilson has joined forces with TNT to create a video for her new song, “Work Hard, Play Harder.” The new Gretchen Wilson video depicts scenes from TNT’s edgy police drama, Saving Grace, starring Holly Hunter. Gretchen Wilson’s new song and musical style is an excellent choice to feature with the TV show Saving Grace. The character Grace is a tough cop from Oklahoma with some issues. Grace is wild and reckless at work and after work. Saving Grace is returns for a second season July 14th at 10 PM. To find out more about the show and Gretchen Wilson’s connection to the show visit TNT Saving Grace Page
Season 6 of Nashville Star is starting to heat up. On episode 4, contestants families were brought to town and contestants sang two songs instead of one. This episode was by far the best episode to date. One of the best parts of the show was John Rich finally giving contestants hell. He gave them hell for not being country enough and some he criticized for sounding like they should be in a high school talent show and not on Nashville Star. I was especially impressed with John Rich for not being afraid to challenge these contestants, even though there families were present.
The two contestants John Rich attacked for not being country were Coffey and Tommy Stanley.
I was so happy to hear him flat out tell them they are NOT Country!
While I think Coffey and Tommy Stanley have talent and may have a place in music in the genre’s were blues, rock, soul, etc. mix country into their sound, they are not country musicians. Just like I said in earlier posts, my question is why were these contestants even chosen for Nashville Star? We all know that John Rich and the other judges are smart. They must have noticed what these guys were about during the auditions. You have to wonder why they were chosen? Were they looking for diversity? Did they want to make a big deal about the fact that they had a military personnel on the show so they could exploit that for ratings? If these things did come into play, it is a shame. The whole spirit and purpose for Nashville Star is to find country musical talent and not to find a cast that will look good on prime time network TV.
The other contestants on the hot seat last night were Shawn Mayer, Alyson Gilbert, and Lauren & Sophie. All the judges got it right when they said Alyson (who was voted off last night) was not ready for the big time. There is also real concerns that Shawn Mayer runs hot and cold and may not be ready to be a Nashville Star. While I agree with that, I still feel that Shawn Mayer is a diamond in the rough. She has a presence about her. Her life experiences also would translate well to country music.
Finally, John told Sophie & Lauren they were high school talent show material and far from being able to compete in the big bad music industry. Once again I ask, Why were they even chosen for Nashville Star? Did they decide they had to have a duo for the show and that was the best they could come up with?
I am done discussing the negatives. It is time to talk about what made this episode the best of Nashville Star season 6. Melissa Lawson and Gabe Garcia were the key two reasons. They had great performances. It was great to get to hear both those contestants sing twice. Melissa Lawson is just such a powerful singer. I think with the return of greats like Trisha and Reba to the music scene, it is clear that there would be a place for Melissa Lawson in country right now. I also love her taste in music. Singing Landslide and tackling Martina’s “This Ones For The Girls” were great song choices that showed her ability. Gabe Garcia once again showed that he has that true traditional country sound when he sang “The Fireman.” His choice to sing Bon Jovi this week and his choice to sing Ricki Martin last week shows us that Gabe Garcia really is something new and fresh. Regardless of whether Gabe Garcia ends up winning Nashville Star or coming in second, it seems pretty clear that the show has opened the doors to bring him to Nashville to record.
The last thing I will say about the show was that watching Blake Shelton perform home was a bonus! Blake Shelton sounded great and his version of Home is one of my favorite songs right now.
What did you think of Episode 4? Who are your favorite contestants?
Full episode recaps are available at the NBC Nashville Star Website Episode Recaps
Kid Rock has released the hottest summertime song of 2008. Summertime songs have a long tradition in country music. Alan Jackson and Kenny Chesney are my two favorite artists when it comes to the promotion of summertime bliss. Check out my new Summertime Song list. I have posted over 20 great summer songs.
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