Nashville Star

What A Shock!

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 14:37:19 -0800

Wow!

I mean Wow! Can you believe it? How long have we been waiting to see what we saw tonight? Something so big and so underestimated. When the unsung hero finally gets her due. And I'm not talking about Melissa Lawson winning Nashville Star, I'm talking about Katie Cook's outfit.

Wow! You don't see her wearing THAT on CMT. She looked incredible, but WOW! Katie can Cook! And then to hear her say, "Tonight we will reveal......." Yeah, I'd say so! It's pretty obvious what you're revealing tonight. I didn't hear a word she said, because I just kept saying "WOW!"

Bring It Home!

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 17:25:44 -0800

Alright, another one of my favorite aspects of these talent shows is when the remaining contestants get to go back to their hometown as heroes and "make Momma proud!" Not like this guy so much. The one with the dog-toy nose.

Or this guy, the "Who wants to look up my nose like a periscope and stare into my thoughts?" guy.

And then of course there's this, ahem, "stud"

......... who Bedazzled his face.

Contenders or Pretenders?

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:44:06 -0800

I, like most country music fans, have been chomping at the bit to get to ORIGINALS night, because this is what separates country from other genres of music. The "realness". There's only one John Prine. There's only one Hayes Carl. There's only one Todd Snider. There's only one Robert Earl Keen. You get the picture. And of course, there's only one Willie Nelson. By the way, did you hear what he had to say about turning 75? He said he's outlived his rooster. And I'm paraphrasing that a little. But country music has always been about the common man. Rap music has always been about degrading women and extravagance. And Polka music has always been annoying. So originals night was a complete surprise to me!! Every song was way better than I expected. So let's get to 'em!

This week's theme? Crack

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 12:32:23 -0800

Why Crack? Because there seemed to be a running theme throughout the show with John Rich making a crack about not wanting to crack on another artist, then Jewel said she liked the way Ashlee used the crack in her voice, and then finally because America must be on crack to keep Coffey in this competition, but more on that later. This week the show is themed around

Love songs

Sayonara Sailor, and please take the stale Coffey with you

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 09:49:07 -0800

It was Double Elimination Week, which means you get to see twice the slice, at the half the price!

contestants were axed this week and they got it done in half the time. Kicking off this week's show was Sailor Tommy being...uh......kicked off this week's show. It came down to him or Melissa, and America made him walk the plank.

Gave him the boot!

Sent him straight down to Davy Jones' locker!

Warm 'n Fuzzy with the Family

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:14:57 -0800

It was family week on Nashville Star with the contestants getting a surprise visit from their immediate families. And as pseudo-reality shows go, I'm a sucker for these types of things every time. What can I say, I'm a sensitive guy.

I think I was born with high levels of menstrogen or something, because almost anything involving love, and family and spilled shots make me well up like a little girl.

So who peed in the judges pool this week? Wow, were they coarse or what? "Hey, thanks for flaying me in front of my family I'd like to go die now."

Country as Cornbread?

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 12:18:33 -0800

So there I am, sitting backstage sucking down all the free drinks they supply, which is a cool way of saying I watched the show on my couch with a 12 pack like you, when I hear the theme of the show is Pop Goes Country. It's a cool idea, except it seems a little premature. Shouldn't this be farther down the line as a more challenging obstacle for the blessed few to show their versatility at the end?

And what exactly are the rules, because I'm getting . Take a pop song and make it country. Then what's with the dancers? Aren't we trying to find a country artist? Country is "3 chords and the truth". I understand needing bells 'n whistles to sell the show, but the dancers were too distracting to me. It would be like saying this picture is country because she's wearing a cowboy hat......"ok, but what about the clothes and swords?!"

My name? Mental.....Judge Mental

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 11:42:14 -0800

Alright I've been reading the comments on the blog and I've also been doing some very meticulous research with the expense account that NBC didn't give me and I've found out that most people commenting are really bashing the show this year. Where are the positive comments?

So far, I have to say I'm really impressed with the show. Granted, I'm on the payroll to a degree, but there are some folks out there who are Negative Nancy's.

Simmer Down

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 10:34:36 -0800

Alright then let's just simmer down and get to the goods and the bads of Season 6-Webisode #1, err uh I mean Episode #1 (force of habit)

Before I tear into the performances I'd like to start by saying TOO MUCH CRYING! Alright already! I get it. Your dream is coming true. You're doing it for your Mom, You're doing it for your daughter.

Welcome to Season 6 of Nashville Star on NBC!

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 12:38:54 -0800

A big hello to all the returning fans (Walnut Valley Girl) as well as to everyone who is checking this out for the first time!

For those of you who don't know, my name is Wix Wichmann and every week I'll be having fun looking at the contestants through my patented "reality glasses" and throwing my 2 cents into a blog as the contest progresses. I've been lucky enough to be involved with Nashville Star since the first season and I'm thrilled to be contributing again this year.

Besides being a fool-time comedian, I've also spent the past 15 years in the country music business. I worked at a major record label responsible for launching the careers of the Dixie Chicks, Gretchen Wilson and Montgomery Gentry. I spent 8 years on the road opening up shows for Montgomery Gentry and then signed my own record deal with Universal South to support my comedy album I'LL QUIT WHEN WILLIE QUITS in 2006. What does this have to do with Nashville Star? Nothing, I'm just trying to see if NBC will let me plug my album here.