Okay lets' face it...most, including myself are not happy with this season, the multitude of negative posts verify that.

We are stuck with the talent or lack of talent should I dare say.

I was thinking about ways the show could be salvaged at least to cut down on the negative comments and bring some measure of satisfaction.

I have 2 ideas:

1) For the remaining shows, each episode could focus on song choices from the libraries of legendery country songwriters. The could select 2 different writer's for each show, selecting from writer's/artists like Hank Williams, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristopherson, Bill Anderson, Dolly Parton, Dottie West....and the list goes on (feel free to add more names to this list - these happened to be the ones that came to my mind immediately)..They could start the show by saying something like, "tonight the prospective Nashville Stars will be singing songs from The Hank Williams Songbook and Dolly Parton".......This would provide plenty of "country" material and bring the show back to country music.

2) If the contestants are not allowed to select their own songs, let the judges be the ones to select the songs choosing from the libraries or songbooks of these country songwriters. At this point the judges know what they would like to hear and who they would like to hear sing what.

These are just my thoughts on how to bring country material back to the show, and show us who really can and can not sing country.

Anyone else got any ideas?

Sadly, the contestants are the weakest link on the show, IMNSHO. The contestants can't change. I don't think any amount of other changes will turn things around, but.....

1. Replace BRC. I was excited about his taking the hosting job, but he's been a dismal failure in that role. Pay BRC & just let Katie Cook take on the role, if necessary. The show already has her under contract.

2. Get better sound engineers. People who see the show live keep raving about how good it sounds in person. (Yes, I know about the acoustics at the Acuff.) The feed we're getting to television just isn't good.

3. Showcase the band. While the contestants are weak, the band is outstanding. Take some singing time from the contestants & give the band an opportunity to entertain America. Again, those who have seen the show rave about how entertaining the band is during the commercial breaks.

4. Keep JR from his sexual innuendo comments. He stayed away from that on the last show & it helped. A number of these contestants are young & he was sounding like a dirty old man at best & a pedophile at worst.

5. Put the results in an envelope so we don't see the leaving contestant read the news on the teleprompter & cut down on the time of that "dramatic pause".

1. Amen. Everyone is wonderful in BRC land
2. I went to a number of contestants MySpace and they sound much better there. Their original materials are pretty good, esp Shawn's. On the show, they are too quiet--they all sound like back-up singers
3. They are the best part so far, sadly.
4. I think we should drug him. He's overly critical, a bit controlling and then has the nerve to tell the contestants that they look nervous.
5. Dramatic pause??? I just figured BRC couldn't remember the name.

And a few more:

6. Lets not do the episode 4 plan again. Sing a song, criticize, bring in an emotional family member, then sing again (for 15 sec) and then criticize for being overly emotional
7. Make every hight original song night. lets make it real interesting.

How about take more cues from the USA version of the show? Put Jewel back on the stage being the supportive, and very personable hostess.

Bring Anastasia back...no matter what it takes. She was on point for almost every performance, in my opinion. She's a brilliant anchor to the show and clearly in charge.

Rotate celebrity judges in the #3 spot. (Tony Brown? Paul Worley? James Stroud? Big Kenny? Phil Vassar?) Producers and songwriters would make great judges. That's why Jeffrey Steele works well.

Pick the guest performers a little more wisely. Taylor's okay... Trace and Blake were good choices too. Wouldn't it be cool to have the celebrity performers mentor the contestants like on Idol? I know scheduling is tough, so you'd have to stick with whoever is in town that week. Lots of artists are on tour during the summer. Maybe quasi-has-beens would be cool? Bring in Clint Black, Darryl Worley, Chely Wright, Tracy Byrd, Mark Chesnutt, SHeDAISY, Jo Dee Messina, Joe Diffie, Mark Wills, etc)

This year has gone too far to be salvaged. They totally lost the plot in the audition process. Instead of focusing on the fact that Nashville Star was looking for country singers they advertised that they were looking for "America's" music. That is a very large genre. They casted the show to fit certain types. Then they have JR to go ballistic on the contestants because they are not country and in some cases are not strong or developed singers.
Seems to me the whole thing was contrived to showcase JR.

The sad thing is that the general population who did not see the show before this year would have know the calibre of the talent that was overlooked because of casting requirements.

Pat

How about dancing girls??

Oh wait, they tried that already.

As WVG pointed out, the show can't be fixed because the biggest issue is the contestants. Instead of finding 10 great artists who are ready for a record deal, they picked a bunch of green kids of questionable talent. Nobody wants to watch them, especially not for 2 hours... people would rather see great undiscovered talent, like on AI, and not a group of undeveloped young wannabes who (with the exception of Gabe) aren't even country.

Then on top of all that they have BRC and the stupid long pauses. Overall it's very difficult to sit through the show. My wife and I record it, then fast forward through it, reducing the 2 hour show to about 20 minutes max. NBC just needs to lick their wounds and regroup next year, or hand the show over to someone else, if anyone is even interested after they hosed it up so badly this year.

mc

AMEN to you BlueVelvetz! Anastasia was a great judge, and could provide some VERY MUCH needed direction for this show.

I also think that Jewel shouldn't be a judge. She did serve the show and contestants much more in the supportive host position. She was also able to give comments to the contestants during the week last year which allowed her to use her abilities to help the contestants as well.

I enjoyed when Anastasia and Blake worked together last year. I also enjoyed Phil Vassar the two years that he served as judge. Although I thought Blake was more helpful to the contestants.

As for this season the only element that I would keep (aside from the band, who seems to be the only consistent talent on the stage) is Jeffrey Steel. I think putting him with Anastasia Brown and Blake Shelton or Phil Vassar or Randy Owen or any number of singers would provide the show with some qualified and much more helpful judges than what we have this season.

I have watched this show every season and this season is by far the worst. This show gave us MIRANDA LAMBERT for crying out loud. There is NO ONE anyone near the level that Lambert was at when she was on the show. I can think about at least two or three contestants from the last four seasons at least that I remember and wonder how things are going for them. I do not believe that will be the case for this season. I'll be lucky as will the show if the show ends with me wanting to follow the career of one of the contestants.

NOTE TO NBC. . . the show has gone in the wrong direction. It seems to be too much about flash and style and there is not near enough substance. It really does seem to be more about cheap gimmicky performances instead of helping to find and create the a next star for Nashville and for country music. PLEASE commit to fixing it and don't just cancel it. AND BRING BACK ANASTASIA!

The show has no heart or soul.

It is already dead.

Time to pull the plug.



That's my tactic, too. Really- if long time fans can't stomach the show...how does it expect to attract new ones?

It started with the "casting" instead of auditioning. There's no way to change the contestants at this point. I say cancel it , and show re-runs of season 1,2,4 or 5.

I agree with everything ya'll have said....BUT...I would hate to see the show canceled or never return...so I was really hoping for some ideas that could help save the show for the future.

Granted, one of the biggest problems is the lack of talent (although I personally think Melissa can sing)....but more the the lack of the "country"...which is a huge part of what we all miss. Less glitz and more "downhome".

Oh yea, there is BRC and his inability to be a bondife host, but there is Katie Cook who I thought way back when, should have been asked to host from the very start.

I am as disappointed as anyone this year; I was hoping NBC could find it's way out of this fiasco and turn the tables by returning at least to country music in it's finest form.

Am I an idealist or what?

Won't happen. NBC has already sold advertising based on the current cast and schedule. It'll be around just like it is til the Olympics start. I think they could get more PR and fan interest if they put the finalist's potential singles on iTunes and let the results count for half in choosing the winner. That way they'd know which artist fans will actually pay to listen to.

You would know better, but wouldn't there be an escape clause in the contracts with the sponsors whereby if ratings go below a certain point, the sponsors have a right to withdraw? As ratings are falling consistently and steadily, isn't therefore possible that the sponsors could book, and the thing could either get cancelled or put on one of the minor league networks to finish?

Wouldn't Lance Smith (CMT Top 20) and Katie Cook make a great duo hosting this show? They've teamed up before on CMT and I thought they're both great at what they do. Lance Smith can think on his feet and read way better than BRC. And who doesn't like Katie Cook?

I haven't read any of the contracts but I can't see why a network would put more time and effort into anything during the month of July when nobody's watching anyway. They're too concerned with the all-important fall season and the Olympics.

That's the main issue. The only issue really as otherwise the show is phenomenal. But NS needs to attract a higher caliber of talent. I was hoping the resources of NBC would come into play this year and that would happen but alas, it hasn't.

The most important thing is that the Auditions need to be promoted more. I've been bombarded with audition info for that other show but in 6 seasons I've never seen a thing about NS Auditions unless I went out and specifically looked for it.

I'm only about a 4 hour drive from Kansas City and I had no idea they had Auditions there this year.
When the other show came to St Louis (and found Carrie Underwood), which is over 6 hours away, I heard ads on every radio station in the region almost once an hour and every news station in the area talked about it and covered it. But there wasn't even an ad on the any of the country stations to get the word out about the NS auditions and nothing on the local news.
That kind of promotion is what NS needs to do if they want to get an instant success like Carrie Underwood of their own.



The lack of country material is due completely to the lack of Country talent.
A very large number of Country songs really start out as generic pop songs. The demos of many of the songs that eventually become Country Hits very often start out sounding very different. Finding people who can take songs that aren't known to be Country and making them country is the only way to separate those who will be to succeed as an original Country Music artists and those who will only be great at the local Honky Tonk on Karaoke night. It's just we don't have many people who who will be great at the local Honky Tonk on Karaoke night much less be successful artists.

The contestants are the core of the show.

The big name host.
The big name Broadcast station.
The Big name Judges.

None of it is worth a dime if the contestants aren't the best of the best. And when I can hit Myspace and find 24 better unsigned country artists in a half an hour, you aren't getting the best.
Hopefully they find enough potential in the show to push on for another year and get serious about finding as much talent for the stage as they have in finding talent to fill all the other positions on the show.

Supposedly Carrie passed on NS to go straight to AI. Maybe her example is encouraging the better country singers to do the same.

Deb, over 20,000 (show claims 30,000 but I think that's a bit high) folks tried out for the show. I know some of those artists and have heard them perform. There was absolutely incredible talent available for the show...even if you did miss the auditions. Despite pitiful judging on the part of the casting crew during the audition process, there still was incredible talent who made "Nashville Week". Why on earth the producers went with the contestants they did will probably always be one of life's mysteries.

Having the contestants who are on the show sing songs that fit them is another way the show might help itself at this juncture. I don't know who picked "Stand By Your Man" and "Walking After Midnight" for S&L, but that person should be shot .

They need to "target" ALL. Have contestants that appeal to a lil bit of everybody. Which actually I think they did a better job of this year than last. But I am mostly alone in that opinion.

Not really, Katy, at least as far as I'm concerned. I do think the diversity of talent could have been a real plus for this year's show...except they tended to forget the "talent" part of it . If they wanted an African American artist who could hammer country, Gerald Lanier comes to mind. There was also a gal who tried out a couple of seasons back who is awesome although her name escapes me at the moment. If they wanted young, Chase Foster plays about 6 instruments, has a killer voice and incredible stage presence...and he is only 17. I'm sure there are many more similar talents...Laurelyn Carter comes to mind and she was at "Nashville Week". If they wanted an "older woman" (when did 30 become old), Valorie Jayne puts on one of the better shows I've ever seen. And on and on and on. There were truly gifted people who could fit each "role". The producers didn't choose those folks .

A big difference between AI and NS was the age limit. AI has a cut off age of 28, NS has no cut off age. Most of the AI contestants were/are very young. Until this year, most of the NS contestants were a bit older, and as we all know the first season there was Buddy who was already over 40. That was one of the things I USED to like about NS. It was a fairly decent mix of age and no high school talent show types. The deserving older, more seasoned, yet undiscovered talent was allowed to be seen for Amercia to chose from.

I totally agree about the "older" contestants. That's what I liked about NS--the age limit thing is ridiculous.

I also agree with those of you who want Anastasia back. She was blunt, but accurate (most of the time). She KNEW what she was talking about. I miss that!

About the judges.... I can do without Jewel altogether (never liked her last year as hostess either), but what kills me is that Jeffery acts like HE'S the one being judged and that if HIS mentees don't succeed, it's his butt on the line.....THAT is stupid! It's about the Contestants, NOT the judges for heaven's sake! And John Rich just comes across completely hypocritical telling contestants they are not "country" enough when he's known for being on stage in a fur coat singing very "un"country rap songs. Anyway, it would be nice to see guest country judges come in and mentor all the contestants (like AI) and get good constructive criticism. And whoever suggested Jo Dee Messina.....right on! She's great! Dolly, Martina, Montgomery Gentry, Brooks and Dunn, etc......heck, I enjoyed Randy Owens last year!

But this season is a train wreck. Maybe next year, GMC or CMT will carry it and it will return to it's country roots!

She is smart enough to know that the exposure she would recieve on AI would far outweigh that of NS.. Even if she hadn't won AI, she would have still be far better off

Let's hope that proves to be true.
And as sad as it is to say, I have to agree about the statement that Carrie would have been better off no matter where she finished on AI than she would have being on NS.

How can Nashville Star be salvaged? Well, I think it could be salvaged quite easily by all the people who hate it so much simply not watching it. I highly recommend the "Off" switch or channel selector to them. There's still enough people that do enjoy watching it that I'm sure the show will be just fine. I didn't tune into this show expecting to see a new Johnny Cash be born. I tuned into it expecting to see unsigned, rough amateur (or however you spell that word today) talent become fine tuned and given direction in a way that will lead them toward success. I believe the three judges that are teaching them are all very well capable of doing that and although I may be alone in this thinking, I love the show and look forward to it each week.

lol, that is very true, I just didn't have the balls (or in your case, the guts) to say it.
I guess people, myself included, are used to seeing stars, and sometimes even superstars, being born out of AI and NS both, forgetting in the process that it took them some time to reach that level of fame and talent.

The problem is...this year, there was no talent to begin with. The casting company obviously had no idea what Country music is. They cast accordingly...including our dear underwear model.

Is it too much to ask for a reality show that deals with singing to have contestants with at least a smidgen of talent? Country talent?

In the previous seasons the contestants were much better-as a group.

I don't even mind Billy Ray...

Before telling long time fans to take a hike...listen to several contestants from previous seasons. I think you'll notice the difference.

You do make a good point, and due to the fact that this is my first season watching the show, I will have to do that.

I totally disagree with that. I think there are 3 very talented people on the show. Gabe Ashlee and Melissa are all very talented, however they are very rough around the edges yet. Granted it might not be the talent level your used to hearing on previous seasons but it's a new way of doing things now that NBC has the show so maybe it's just easier to say NS is over and has been cancelled the way you once knew it and just move on to trying to adjust to it in its new format.

That being said, I assume that D_D has watched previous seasons, and yet she still feels the way she does, so I guess that speaks to the fact that people's opinions are just that, opinions, and that differences will occur.
Anyways, I would say that there is some talent on this season, otherwise I wouldn't watch it. The problem is that, to me, the move to network TV has caused it to be somewhat dilluted by the fact that it's not as "country" as I'm told previous seasons were. But perhaps, as D_D stated, this is just a new look or a new way of operating the shows. Call it a reaction to the Taylor Swifts of the music business, but judging by the sheer volume of album sales she's already accomplished in selling, it's hard not to react to that.
And after listening to some of the artists from the past, I can see where you're coming from, djbee, but the key, I guess, is to remember that shows, like people, evolve and change with time.

I don't believe DD has watched in previous years. In fact, I believe she's also stated that she's never watched AI. Most contestants on AI have talent. That kind of wipes out your idea that moving to a major network caused the lack of talent. I'm not specifying country talent at this juncture, just plain talent. I certainly will agree NS has changed. Unfortunately, virtually every change is for the worse. Since NS only had 5.5 million viewers last week, I doubt the network wants anyone just turning off the show. Those numbers are a nosedive from prior weeks which were pitiful enough. The show is coming in last in its time slot overall. I'm not sure if any of this year's contestants could even make the tour (top 4) if they were up against the contestants from prior years. Maybe a couple would be in the hunt. Thankfully, two go home tonight and the show only lasts for an hour. By episode 5 in previous seasons, I hated seeing anyone leave (other than Brandi in season 1 ) and I always wanted more show, not less. Having less time is my last hope for making the show better. Maybe BRC won't be able to stretch out his pauses so long .

Oh okay, well thank you for correcting me, especially since I, too, have never watched AI.
And I had to laugh at that last part, let's hope it works out that way.

How's this? Put a gong near the judges table and let them gong people off the show like they used to do on the Gong Show. Same network too.

If they had, we'd never get past the first episode. ;-)

And we wouldn't have a host !

I'm not sure how to salvage this show. I just know it's gone to poot! Maybe because it's not on CMT anymore, just don't know. The talent sucks! THe songs Suck! What is all that butt gyrating dancing in the back ground? This is not a los vegas show, it's country. What's with the takeing pop and making it country? Why can't they just sing country. You don't have to take another genre and make it country, that is arst-enine. Judges... no comment.. BRC SUCKS! He is so nowhere.... he may have lots of money but he is a nowhere.... who told him his hair cut looks good? geez!

You mean USA network, right?

I hardly think this will salvage the show...that may actually get it cancelled.

Although there many, many people who are not happy with the show this year, they must be watching, because we are still talking about it...that counts for ratings, something every network is after.

I have an answer on how to solve this problem. Move it off NBC. Move it to CMT. After tonight(July 7) I now see country fans aren't the ones voting. Thank you NBC for making it so Nashville Star can be as stupid as American Idol. Three girls were voted off tonight who were more country than most of the rest of the contestants. Country radio is going pop, hey I have an idea lets publicize it on TV. Bring back Chris Young and Jason Meadows.
One other thing to make things better. Get rid of John Rich. He wants to be this guy who is "changing the face of country music," or whatever he is doing while he's saving horses and riding cowboys. John Rich you are not Willie Nelson. You are not Johnny Cash. You are only adding more novelty songs to an already overcrowded radion station.

Thank you and good night.

I am just getting into this show A LITTLE but why are we told to vote if someone is already going home? PLease let the chick host and Billy can just Ughgh I don't know what to say about that guy. It is amazing with all that talent that he had Ackie Breakie stuff and he can not even look at the contestant or stop reading the teleprompter. I have not read anyones post just wanted to say what I thought about this show. I also do not care if I mispelled anything so for any haters that look into that stuff SorrY. Just picked your place to post so sorry if I got off anything you were saying. It's a alright show but it could soon jump the ISUCK SHARK.

Later 3bALL

What good would that do? The same people would still own it and run it. And as long as one of the original creators/producers is the head of NBC, I don't see that happening.

Where did my Lil pic disapear to?

The networks run everything the show if skrewed up Still why are they giving the nubers to the contestant if the fate is already SOLD. That makes no sense And again I am probably 4 weeks late on my thoughts.

CMT good one that would be better just not as much exposier but the< I guess real fans would watch but also demand better talent. I am no agent but I have seen some pretty cool Kareoke cats just get up there and get it on.

The fans vote not the network heads. How about this solution, cancel it. I have watch every season up untill this one. I have seen it twice. Once to see who was on there and tonight to see if had gotten any better. Well it hasn't and I have watch it for the last time. Country music is better than reality shows anyway.

Why should the network cancel it as long as they're making money on the ads? Maybe the "fans" vote the "winner" but the corporations who buy the ad time get to "vote" which shows get canceled.

Maybe I should simplify what I am trying to say for you. THIS SEASON SUCKS! If that wasn't true this topic would not be on here. And everyone wouldn't be saying the same thing.

By "everyone," do you mean the few that post here? I notice everyone who days it "sucks" is still watching, as are several million more than watched it on USA. Let me "simplify" - the show's not going anywhere as long as it's still selling ads for the network. The network that is run by one of the show's original producers.

Thank you Ms NBC. I am sorry to have offended your apparent employer.

We will get back on topic and not resort to personal attacks.

Nope. Your bad. And didn't we get a warning this afternoon about making personal cracks like that? I'm just pointing out that a few people bad mouthing a show on a message board won't get it canceled if it's still selling ads and attracting more viewers than last year.

Let me try this again. "Everyone" who posts on these boards are or atleast were fans of the show. I believe to even sign on to this you must be a fan of country music. So these folks aren't happy with the progression of this show. If you are that is ok. YOu have your opinion as I have mine .But Its not only this show for me but the progression of country music as I have known it. I read another of your posts about the times years ago when Johnny Cash hosted pop stars and Glen Campbell crossed over. I agree with you that change is not bad. Had it not been for Johnny Cash saying I am doing things my way we may not have known him as we do today. However you can't believe that crossovers now are the same as they were then. I think pop as a whole has gone far astray from country, not like it was then. Don't get me wrong I like the different. But if you are going to be different you have to have something. Guys like Charlie Robison, Bruce Robison, Eric Church , Robert Earl Keene, even Kris Kristofferson, they may not be as powerful in their singing talents as these reality show singers, but they are originals. Not to say that some on the show don't have those talents. And msybe that is where the show fails for me. Forget the coaching. Let these people get up and do their songs their way. If they lose they lose on their own not because they were forced to sing a pop song and didn't feel it enough to put their self behind it.

Maybe that's the problem. jc518 didn't join until about an hour and a half ago.

And to back on topic on what can be done to save the Titanic Nashville Star