Nashville Star - Season 6

[paridy]

buh-bye Coffey!

[Google]

 

[Unklescott]

Coffey was the weakest of the final 4 IMO. Of the three, I'm pulling for Melissa. I would have preferred to see Ashley Hewitt win the whole thing though.

[Broadway]

Melissa and Ashlee have been my faves, too. I'd better vote tonight, eh?

[hott4hill]

Originally Posted by Unklescott

Coffey was the weakest of the final 4 IMO. Of the three, I'm pulling for Melissa. I would have preferred to see Ashley Hewitt win the whole thing though.

I agree.

Although tonight was obvious, Melissa is your Nashville Star!

I would like to note that this is the first time in 6 seasons that there has been two women in the finale. There has always been one, and one season two there wasn't any.

[AsIs]

Ashley really did nothing for me. I am not a fan of breathy singers tho. I want Melissa to win it. I'll be happy if Shawn wins it. But I fear their votes will be split and boring Gabe will win it.

[Krom]

Originally Posted by AsIs

Ashley really did nothing for me. I am not a fan of breathy singers tho.

Yeah. Who needs a Renée Zellweger lookalike winning the thing anyway? Give us someone less... squinty!

[surviorwannabe]

i so do not want Shawn to win. there is something about her i don't like. i will admit when it came to the final 4 and wanting someone to go home i was hopeing it was Coffey. Now Shawn needs to go bye bye and Melissa needs to win it. I would not be upset if Gabe did but i'm pulling for melissa

[liedenfrost]

July 28, 2008: The Top Four

1. Melissa Lawson. Best pipes on Nashville Star. A terrific, and mostly accurate, cover of Carrie Underwood’s Jesus Take The Wheel; but not as good as the original. With the very likeable Coffey gone, and the equally likeable Shawn Meyer getting out-sung last night, the decisive battle appears to be between Melissa’s powerful pipes and range and Gabe’s musical acumen and vocal integrity. If history is an indicator, the winner will be a good singer for whom viewers feel empathy (do I like him/her) and justice (did they earn it; did they do it the right way?). If this trend holds, Melissa, the more likeable and engaging of the two; the one who’s paid more dues in country music, will win. In my opinion, Gabe generates better pitch and tone, and is the better technical singer, so it will be interesting to see which attributes America prefers.

I know this was Martina McBride’s version, but Pat Benatar’s Hit Me With Your Best Shot didn’t look good on Melissa. Yes, it is a fun song, but is also flirtatious, overtly sexual, and brimming with confidence; a love challenge; whether physical (that fleeting booty call), or, spiritual (genuine romantic and spiritual love) is open to interpretation. Whatever the meaning, Pat projects a strong sexual and romantic undercurrent, so that’s the criterion I must use to judge this performance. Because I’ve never seen, or felt, this undercurrent from Melissa, I didn’t get much from this performance; didn't believe it. That aside, I’m rooting for Melissa to win. But, if America decides otherwise, I will respect her decision, and won’t complain. Its fun to debate musicianship, artistic interpretation, vocal integrity, merit, commercial appeal, and stage presence; that's why I like posting here, but in the end, interactive reality television contests always get reduced to popularity. If the votes are fair, there’s no way America’s choice can ever be wrong because viewers decided. No matter who wins, he/she is automatically deserving; automatically the rightful winner. Arguments that begin with Did America get it right? or Did the right person win? are silly. Of course America got it right. Of course the right person won. By definition, the right person is the one with the most votes. There’s nothing to argue; that’s how the game is played.
2. Gabe Garcia. Alan Jackson’s It’s Five O’clock Somewhere (good song) and Kenny Chesney’s Living in Fast Forward (not very good)? Good vocal, but I’ve come to expect that from Gabe. What I didn’t expect was an almost engaging charisma from a guy “comfortably numb” on stage (Pink Floyd). The Gabe I saw tonight was infinitely more likeable than ever; perhaps he’s learning and maturing as a performer. I won’t lie to you; I don’t like Gabe, The Performer. If Coffey, Melissa, Ashley, or Shawn was performing and I had to pick just one, I wouldn’t choose Gabe. Even if it’s false, I feel like I know Melissa, Shawn, and Coffey. I don’t have a clue who Gabe is. Still, I know how hard it must be to pretend something you’re not; to play a part; to learn and earn likeability, and, he is trying to let us into his world as best he can; that appeals to the parent in me, so for the first time this season, I voted for him.

Because country music is new to me, I went back and listened to every Kenny Chesney song that made top ten on Billboard’s Country Music chart. At first, I was confused that the same man who recorded and emoted something as lyrically wonderful and musically beautiful as You & Me in 1997 could find musical significance in something as lyrically silly as She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy in 2000. Then things started to make sense. Kenny is, and will always be, an entertainer first; everything else is a distant second. Garth Brooks is one of the best singers in the world; his discography is loaded with beautifully constructed compositions: Until You Come Back To Me, The Dance, If Tomorrow Never Comes, The River, The Change, but even he likes to have fun at times; e.g., Ain’t Going Down til the Sun Comes Up and Friends in Low Places. One is a consummate entertainer; the other a consummate artist. Which is better depends on personal taste and artistic temperament. I know that country music fans need, and love, both; that each has a purpose and a place in the genre. So, I take back the disparaging remarks I made about Kenny Chesney last week.
3. Shawn Meyer. She’s a wonderful singer and a likeable performer, but is out of her depth against Melissa and Gabe; both have stronger pipes and bigger vocals. Shawn is a victim of small voice syndrome. To win a singing competition against master class vocal technicians and show stopping belters, small voiced competitors must emote and project at the highest level. There’s nothing to emote or project in Gretchen Wilson’s Here For The Party. She sang it well, but in the grand scheme, it ended up a seeing-eye single that kept her in the game rather than the walk-off home run she needed to tie the series. She did capture the essence of Garth Brooks’ The Dance, but I couldn’t help but compare it to the original; vocally, it simply didn’t measure up.

There are many wonderful, passionate, and stylish singers with small voices. Dolly Parton’s I Will Always Love You and Taylor Swift’s Our Song (country); Yael Naim’s New Soul, Eva Cassidy’s Fields of Gold, Shantel Kruviazuk’s Feels Like Home, and even Jewel’s Hands – let’s give Jewel her props; small voice but a true artist (pop); Avril Lavigne’s Complicated and Alanis Morisette’s Ironic (rock). And who can forget Smokey Robinson’s Tears of a Clown or Janet Jackson’s Control (R&B). All have small voices, yet each used it to full advantage. Of course, I think the best utilized small voice in contemporary music is James Blunt (You’re Beautiful, Carry You Home). Shawn must learn to do what these singers did.
4. Coffey. I’m devastated; I will miss this kid. No, he wasn’t the best singer (in my opinion) but was easily my favorite contestant. When Jewel wasn’t messing with his head (trying to make him an artist), he filled the room and our television screens with radiate, often foot stomping, joy and good clean fun. I loved his soulful version of Sweet Home Alabama. I think this was his best work yet. It’s a shame it happened the same night as his eviction. Did he deserve to leave? Of course he did. America said. What’s there to argue? But I like what he brings to the stage and wish him the best.

[bbnbama]

liedenfrost, I always enjoy reading your posts and now I like you even more because of your great praise for my man Garth!

[taylor.a]

Originally Posted by hott4hill

I agree.

Although tonight was obvious, Melissa is your Nashville Star!

I would like to note that this is the first time in 6 seasons that there has been two women in the finale. There has always been one, and one season two there wasn't any.

I have been so focused on the fact that the good talent made it to the top 3 for the Nashville Star Finale that it didn't even occur to me that 2 of them are women this year! I guess that's progress when sex really is no matter.

But YAY!!!!! for the girls. Girls rock! oh ya and Girls country too! hehe