Nashville Star: Week 3—Highs & Lows

RATINGS
Nashville Star network NBC finished fourth in last night’s (6/23) overall ratings. In the 8 PM CT hour, the show drew a 3.6 rating/6 share to come in fourth, reports Zap2It.com. Then at 9 PM the program jumped to second place with 4.2/7.

This is similar to ratings in previous weeks: fourth overall and during the 8 o’clock hour, then moving to second place for the show’s last half.

This week writers Ross, Skates and Freeman not so gingerly sound off about the show’s highpoints and lowpoints.

HIGHS AND LOWS
David Ross
LowPoint: Maybe it’s the network suits trying to boost what have so far been lackluster ratings, but someone should install a large yellow caution sign on the Nashville Star highway. Week 2 brought us Katie Cook—a welcome addition—to offset Billy Ray’s wooden hosting profile. But this week the “NashStar” dancers arrived, a distraction at best and a deal breaker for many. The evening’s Pop Goes Country theme notwithstanding, Danity Kane’s “Damaged” performance (guest artist) was so abrupt I had to check channels to be sure it was the same show. Ouch!—week 3 ratings dropped again.
HighPoint: It’s the judges—Jeffrey, John and Jewel. Those three can easily generate all the horsepower needed to get the show’s ratings engine into overdrive. Feature less of the lackluster contestants, and give each judge a performance slot. Set them in a song pull format on another evening, and finally, just feature them with Katie Cook discussing what the industry and songwriting is really like.

Sarah Skates
Low Note: For me, the program reached one of the night’s lowest moments when Justin sang “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” complete with pajama clad girls dancing goofily in the background. However, the pointless shot of this pretty boy standing shirtless on a stack of hay bales sunk even lower. I also hated Laura and Sophie’s matching dresses. Did someone convince them that was a good idea, or did they come up with that on their own?
High Note: My girl Ashlee Hewitt hit another home run last night with a fantastic take on the ultra-pop Britney Spears hit “(You Drive Me) Crazy.” It took guts to cover such an extremely pop song and try to add some twang, but she succeeded, managing at the same time to make the song her own (just as she did with “Ring of Fire” last week). I can’t wait to hear her sing her originals on the show. Also making big strides is Melissa, her take on “True Colors” was spot on and the crowd loved it. Plus she looked her best yet. Also, props to Jewel for offering the judging panel’s most constructive criticism.

Jon Freeman
The Bad: I guess it makes for good TV, but John Rich is like Nashville Star’s Simon Cowell, minus the master’s deft wit and charm. Strident and a couple exits past obnoxious, his criticisms frequently dip into the downright ugly. Example: “If you’re a sissy, then go the hell home.” Cringe-worthy.
The Good: The show’s big strength was in demonstrating the universal durability of a great pop song. Granted, no one tried to tackle “God Only Knows,” but it was still exciting to see how well songs like “Livin’ La Vida Loca,” “(You Drive Me) Crazy,” and “Love Shack” held up to the country treatment. And as for choosing Madonna’s controversial classic “Like A Prayer” for the opening number, let’s just say that my inner subversive was very pleased.