Nashville Star

I'm not the world's biggest country music fan; probably has to do with living in Nashville and being surrounded by it since the womb. Neither of my parents were into country either. But I digress...

I watched 1 episode of Nashville Star last season. Buddy Jewell won and put out a great CD after years of plugging away in Nashville.

Last night was Willie Nelson night. Each contestant sang a song by Willie. Except for the last guy who was a poor man's Keith Urban, they were all really good. There was a good mix of the different styles of country - pop-sounding top 40 country, old-school cryin' in my beer country, and sittin' on the front porch with a banjo bluegrass.

I highly recommend seeing really talented people perform. They are WAY better than the chumps on American Idol (which is one of my favorite shows). The judges in Nashville Star pander a bit but there is only one Simon Cowell.

Nashville Star is on at 9pm Central on Saturday night on USA Network.

4 stars.