I was in the audience for Nashville Star Monday night -- six seats down from John Anderson, and the row in front of Laura Bell Bundy. I'm going to have to take Delaynie some time, because I was right in front of the circle stage where Billy Ray did a bunch of intros, and all I could think of was "I'm four rows away from Hannah Montana's daddy."
So here are a few things you don't see on tv:
- They've redone the audience setup from year's past. Taken out a bunch of seating, and added risers. So it's a smaller audience.
- In the commercial breaks, the judges often pull out their guitars and sing. Jewel did a song that was apparently a hit for her, Jeff did part of "What Hurts the Most," there was a sing along to "Lyin' Eyes."
- They had a sing-off in one break for tickets to the Tuesday night Opry. The two contestants from the audience sang Amazing Grace, accompanied by Jeffrey Steele. They both had more talent than some of the contestants.
- Everything was live this week -- no pre-taped special guest performance.
- Billy Ray Cyrus came out into the audience and hugged or high fived a bunch of little girls throughout the night. He knows his fan base. He also made a trip out once they announced John Anderson was there.
- Watched the show on TV tonight. It sounds so much better in person when the crowd is loud and you can't hear it. It's also hard to hear the judges in the house.
I'll go on the record as saying I think Ashlee Hewitt has the most star potential. They're going to have to develop a story on her to get the audience won over. It's tough to compete with a single dad, a sailor, or a mother of five.
BTW -- who else is dying to hear Melissa let loose on Trisha's "Real Live Woman?"
I sat behind a friend of Courtney's from Pearl Heart. Got a good story out of her that is going to make this weeks' edition of Nashville Star Radio. I also had someone tell me they'd seen Pearl Heart at the Bluebird last year. Shawn had some friends in the audience too - including a guy from South Dakota who used to own a bar she sang at.
As I type this I'm watching a re-run of Grand Ole Opry live. Crystal Gayle is singing, and she sounds fabulous. Whatever happened to the idea that old fashioned notion of getting singers who can actually sing?
One of the things I miss this year is the signs and t-shirts from the fans of a particular contestant. It's hard to tell who's got the crowd support - although in the house, Coffey and Shawn seemed to get the biggest reactions.
I interviewed Jewel prior to the show, and Justin after he was eliminated. (I correctly picked that one!) Try not to be jealous of the plush accomodations I enjoyed while I chatted with Jewel. You can hear clips from both interviews Thursday at 8pm ET on XM's Highway 16. We tape the show Wednesday night at 10pm local time, so it's a quick turnaround!
*Trisha Yearwood’s new single from her Top 10-selling album Heaven, Heartache And The Power Of Love is “They Call It Falling For A Reason”, penned by Matraca Berg & Jim Collins, and Trisha loves the tongue-in-cheek take on what falling out of love feels like.”What I love about this song is that it’s about falling flat on your face in a romance and it says that in a way that’s funny,” notes Trisha. “I love the imagery in the first line that says ‘He had me spinning like a girl in a circus in a trapeze act.’ She’s on the high wire and everything is awesome then you fall and hit the ground. It’s a great analogy. They call it falling for a reason. I thought what a great way to look at it. The energy and groove of it draws me in and makes me want to hear it again.” Fans now have the chance to hear it again and again: the single impacts playlists on July 14th.
I interviewed Jewel prior to the show, and Justin after he was eliminated. (I correctly picked that one!) Try not to be jealous of the plush accomodations I enjoyed while I chatted with Jewel. You can hear clips from both interviews Thursday at 8pm ET on XM's Highway 16. We tape the show Wednesday night at 10pm local time, so it's a quick turnaround!
Backstage at LP Field last week, Keith Urban met the press. It was actually really funny, because we had a game plan when he came back. There was a tabloid reporter in the press room driving us all crazy, so a bunch of us came up with a sequence of questions so we could get the good stuff answered without her asking something stupid.
I'm back. Met Jeremy. Pleased to report that he's every bit the sharp dressed Grascal. I took a zillion pictures but never saw him smile. Definitely missing the smiling fiddler...
To fully appreciate this blog, you must listen to the audio....
