Like judge and Grammy-nominated songwriter Jeffrey Steele (Rascal Flatts’ "What Hurts the Most"), I was dreading original song night on Nashville Star. So much, in fact, that when I remembered it was original song night at the end of the workday yesterday, I let Slezak someone convince me to "prepare" for the impending heinoustry with a mojito, which eventually led to me watching the show on my DVR at a painfully late hour. Imagine my surprise then, when the remaining five contestants’ songs didn’t suck. At all. Let’s break it down, in reverse order.
Shawn Mayer (pictured): Had I gotten home in time to vote, I would’ve dialed in for her. All the contestants had their best performances of the season last night, but Shawn blew me away. I actually applauded when she ended her Faith Hill-style power ballad, "I’m Not Lookin’ Back," written about the love of her life that she left behind to chase her dream in Nashville. It made Jeffrey, who doubles as her mentor, say, "John Rich is a fool… You know, I’m a publisher." It made me wish she had performed her own material every week. She sounded great, she looked hot, and she was strong and dangerous (yet still vulnerable and approachable). I think she may have just sung her way into the finals.
After the jump, we review the four remaining performances, and the crazy lyric I’m really hoping I misunderstood.
Ashlee Hewitt: Ashlee, who joined Shawn in the bottom two, cried when she got sent home. Ah. I’d feel bad for her if Jewel hadn’t said that she’d love to write songs with her and help her cut a album. Even though I agree with the judges that she has a commercial, stylized sound — think Jewel meets Julie Roberts minus the maturity— her track wasn’t my favorite of the night. The naughty original, "Mike’s Hard Lemonade," was about a girl who goestoo far with a guy because her cowboy left her and she had a littletoo much to drink. A bit trite, no?
Gabe Garcia: I’d say Gabe looked about 80 percent comfortable last night, which, as John noted, is still a major problem since it keeps him from fully connecting with the crowd. But as with all the contestants, I liked Gabe even more after hearing his sound: the track "Lost Weekend," about a couple trying to find the spark again, made me think less of George Strait and more of Jason Michael Carroll. Maybe Gabe should sing "Livin’ Our Love Song" next week. If he could pull that off, flirting with the audience, Jewel would be so happy.
Melissa Lawson: Melissa admitted that she’s only been writing songs for a few months, but according to John, who can’t hide the fact that he’s pulling for her, she’s a natural. Her empowerment anthem, "Ready to Stand," was something Martina McBride would record. I thought Melissa over-sang it, but the judges loved it.
Coffey: He opened the show with his song "Southern Man," something I imagine the Barenaked Ladies would’ve written had they been Texan instead of Canadian. I’ve said before that I love Coffey’s voice and would like to hear it on country radio — but John, who (angels sing) actually liked this performance, said he didn’t think Coffey could get airplay. Since John has to take the winner into the recording studio, and wants a radio hit, he said he needs to think about that. Though, I kinda wish he didn’t.
So, whose original song was your favorite? Can you hear Coffey on country radio? And did anyone else mishear this lyric of his?
Country boy style, with the country boy tone/
Holla from the porch, ’cause we don’t use the phone/
Down in the South it’s all about love/ We don’t shake hands, I greet a Jew with a hug.
* After much rewinding, I’m thinking he said I greeted you with a hug?
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Did this recapper ever watch Nashville Star before this season? The original song night — which used to come much earlier in the season — is always one of the best episodes. Hard to tell if all the songs were good last night because weaker contestants have been eliminated or what, but I thought all the songs had radio potential. (Loved Coffey’s lyrics, but thought the tune, such as it was, was trite.) I don’t think Shawn understood the underlying message in what Jeffrey was saying — that she has a career as a songwriter, not as a performer. I find her hard to watch, and her singing is just so-so.
No critique of the judges performances? I thought they were terrible, particularly Jewel. The guy from Rascal Flatts was a little better, but seemed like a songwriter more than a performer. Surprisingly, John Rich was the best, although he still sounded like somebody who needed a little studio magic.
Ashlee was definitely better than Coffey, not sure why people keep voting for him. She’s reminiscent of Taylor Swift who has been successful, while he’s like Cowboy Troy, and what’s he done lately?
I thought he sang “greeted Jewel with a hug.” He even looked over in her direction and acknowledged her right then.
I’m still trying to get over the worst singer of the night… Jewel.
Singing like that she’d have been sent home the first night.
To me the best, by far, is Melissa. Her song and her delivery were both excellent.
shawn meyers performance was awesome, she brought a tears to my eyes when she put her soul and emotions into her song, if she doesn’t win that will surpise me, but i’m sure she already has a reord deal.GOOD LUCK SHAWN
juniorron – Jeffrey Steele actually is a songwriter. He’s not in Rascal Flatts, but has written songs for them.
I agree about the judges performances. Jewel, whom I am a big fan of, was awful! John Rich, whose music I normally despise, was the best of the three. But based on last night’s performances, that’s not saying much. Still, I’d take these three judges over the judges on American Idol any day!
Gabe Garcia will win this competion he is a true cowboy another George Strit in the running , he’s the voice the looks and the personality, praying for you “you deserve it! LOVE YOUR STYLE!!!
Melissa is still my favorite. She easily has the best voice in the competition and I really enjoyed her song. Agree LSS, can’t understand how Coffey is still in this competition. He’d be boo’d off an AI Stage! Shawn’s performance was very moving but thought her lyrics were unoriginal. Have heard that song many times before. Gabe’s just a sweet guy with an average voice.
Melissa is still my favorite. She easily has the best voice in the competition and I really enjoyed her song. Agree LSS, can’t understand how Coffey is still in this competition. He’d be boo’d off an AI Stage! Shawn’s performance was very moving but thought her lyrics were unoriginal. Have heard that song many times before. Gabe’s just a sweet guy with an average voice.
The judges “performance medley” was atrocious! My son said Jewel sounded like she was singing with a french accent, I said that was her attempt at sounding “country”.
Yea!! Shawn brought it and I hope everyone bought it by voting her into to the finals. I voted for her for 15 minutes straight.
Jewel sounded like a cat caught in a rocking chair! My husband actually came running in to see what it was!
While I thoroughly enjoyed all the performances last night, I can’t say it was “best original song night ever” because I have watched the show since the beginning and a few seasons back, when Chris Young sang “Drinkin’ Me Lonely”, it was crystal clear the competition was over…so I think that would rank as my “best ever.”
Shawn I loved your song last night!! I can’t wait to see you in Maycity!! I’m from Hartley and watch you every week!!! Your amazing!
I’ve been avoiding the show but did watch it last night. Certainly worse than earlier season’s song writer nights.
I thought Shawn had the only decent song. She can’t sing very well, but she wrote a pretty good song.
Coffey really, really can’t sing. And his song sounded just like an old Sugar Ray song (listen to it again and ignore the cowboy lyrics).
Melissa — someone help me out here — but hasn’t the tune (at least in the chorus) already been done? I’m thinking Dixie Chicks.
Gabe — sings ok I guess, but not a great song.
Overall, once again weak. I hope they go back to USA next year.
Carolina, a tune can’t be “trite.” A lyric can be trite. Grab a dictionary.
I was really surprised to hear how bad Jewel sang – it was embarrassing! Not too long ago she was on PBS’s Soundstage – live from the theatre in Joliet, IL – and she was REALLY good. I don’t understand why Coffey is still there – he still comes across as fake.
Love you Mandi but I’m not a Shawn or Coffey fan. And I hate to agree with John Rich but he’s right-Coffey’s song isn’t right for country radio. Jewel looked beautiful and liked the judges’ performance-it gave them more credibility.
Chris Young’s “Drinkin’ Me Lonely” is a great song.
bubba, a concept for a song can be trite though, as well as a lyric.
I think Jewel’s shoes were the reason she sounded so awful last night. Blake Shelton sang on last years show and he was awful too. Coffey should have been gone the first week. He can’t sing and comes off as a poser. The contest is Gabe Garcia’s to lose.
I have been a fan of country since Eddy Arnold and it is my opinion they should have sent the judges home first week. When they sang I wanted to cry. Thank God for Randy Travis.
Coffee should have been voted off a LONG TIME AGO…he just doesn’t have it.
I personally think Garcia and Melissa are the top singer. I like all three judges, I think they have tried very hard to be upfront and honest. I felt sorry for Jewell last night, she sounded way off to me and nothing like country.
bubba: if your dictionary includes slang, I’m sure it’ll define “tune” as “song”. I imagine you’ve heard people call songs tunes before. As far as the ep goes, the original songs were shockingly decent. But the most shocking thing of all is that Coffey hasn’t been eliminated! Second most shocking is that Ashlee was eliminated over Shawn. I don’t want Shawn out—she’s my favorite and in my opinion the best bet for modern country—but I am shocked that the viewers chose her over Ashlee, considering Ashlee’s young, Taylor-Swift-esque vibe. Ranking the songs from best to worst, I’d go 1) Gabe, sounded very much like a real country radio hit 2) Ashlee, had a real solid viewpoint, even if obnoxious; in other words, unique 3) Melissa, a nice melody if maybe dull 4) Shawn, underwhelming, but maybe Jeffrey Steele oversold it in the clip that preceded it 5) Coffey, another appalling and totally unconvincing self-promoting load of bull; the least believable “I am country” tune I’ve ever heard.
I’ll agree with the person here that the judges performance was sad. It didn’t bolster their position as experts. Jewel sounded plain awful; in my opinion she is a shallow songwriter and a hack, and in some cases she has obviously stolen tunes and lyrical themes (compare “These Foolish Games” with Joan Baez’s “Diamonds and Rust”); Jeffrey Steel writes for others for a reason; and John Rich can’t sing live. Save it for the studio, all!
Any way you slice it, Coffey’s song was more rap than country. No country station will play anything he’s performed thus far. Gabe is good but they’re right about his stage presence — or lack thereof. Shawn — eh. Melissa has great potential.
I’m still bummed Pearl Heart was voted off. They were best of all. When they record “Love Shack” I’ll buy the CD.
As for the celebrity medley… Why was Jewel trying to sound like Britney Spears? At one point I thought she was lip-synching, but I guess the jumbo monitor may have a bit of lag. They all sounded awful, but I’ll forgive Jeffrey because he’s primarily a writer and not a performer.
If NBC keeps the show, they need to re-consider how they select the contentants. Obviously they chose singers who would hit every demographic in the US, and sadly some poor choices made it onstage.
Melissa, Gabe, and Shawn all had songs that could easily be hits on the radio. Coffey has that ‘it’ quality about him. I don’t think the majority of country music fans (who are white) are going to vote for him. But who knows, they said a black man wouldn’t become president in our lifetime. I don’t think Coffey’s lyrics helped his cause too much, because it did sound like he was trying to compare & contrast the ‘hood to country music. I hope Coffey does win though. He is to country music as Jack Johnson and Hootie is to their respective genres.
I should say that Coffey has the potential to become a great country music star. However, he has yet to prove himself, so he shouldn’t be compared to Jack Johnson or Hootie yet. Coffey has a likeable quality about him – he looks like a nice guy, good voice, just needs some help writing songs. My humble opinion.
Coffey’s voice reminds me of Tiny Tim. And he can claim he’s a country artist because he likes country music and is from Texas all day long but he isn’t. I was in my garage today, but that doesn’t make me a car.
I couldn’t agree more with everyone here. The bottom 3 of last night were the judges! They all came off as hacks that sound great with millions of $ in the studio. If they were in the voting, we would see them all in the bottom 3 each week!