Dorkdom and Nashville Star

I’m trying to keep this blog very real and very representative of me. DS’s girlfriend told me I am dorky tonight. She’s absolutely right! I’m a big dork who loves Nashville Star so that’s what I’m blogging about today. And….drumroll please…I’m blogging live! So here I sit with my computer in my lap and I’m ready to go. BTW…the reason she called me a dork was because I’m currently reading Memoirs of a Geisha and I said I really want to see the movie now. She said I really like weird stuff – I’m gonna make her watch the movie with me so she can enter my dorkdom world and see how wonderful it is here!!

Ok..it’s starting – gosh I am so sick of Billy Ray’s soul patch. Can someone give the guy a disposable razor please?!?!

To start the show they just told one of the contestants that he was in the bottom 2. Is it just me or was that a little cruel? He had to spend the whole show knowing he was in the bottom 2 but still looked like he was nervous about them calling his name. Seemed a little strange to me.

Group Song
They sang Like a Prayer. Ick, Ick, Ick!!! It started out ok with Melissa Lawson singing a really pretty part but tanked after that!

Gabe Garcia
He sang Livin’ La Vida Loca. He did a great job but the dancers were really distracting. They gave each performer the option of having dancers. I understand why he opted for it because the judges keep telling him he needs to get some personality. He is a little dull on stage but that’s worked great for George Strait all these years!

Pearl Heart
They sang Love Shack. You know when you hear something and you’re not quite sure if you like it or not? That would definitely describe this bluegrass meets the B-52’s they turned this song into. Their harmonies were really tight but it just felt sorta weird to me. The judges keep pushing the little sister to become a “front woman” for the group but I would really like them to just perform as a trio. I think it would be more authentic for them.

Alyson Gilbert
She sang I Think We’re Alone Now. It was quite a bit off key and pitchy. She has a pretty voice but I just don’t think she’s star material. This performance may have been the kiss of death for her.

Ashlee Hewitt
She sang You Drive Me Crazy. The music was not very well balanced with her voice so it was hard to get a feel for the song’s theme. Her vocals were really good though so she pulled it together despite some bad mixing. She reminds me a Leeanne Rimes.

Coffey
He sang Umbrella. Maybe I’m just old but I’ve never heard of this song in my life and even when I heard it I still didn’t know the song. He said he was singing it to his daughter. It sure didn’t feel like a song you would sing to your little girl. He kept yelling out some of the words like a worship singer does when their overheads fail. Then he had this weird beat boxing thing in the middle and his vibrato is really getting on my nerves. He is definitely not my cup of..uh..dare I say it..coffey! I know, I know, go ahead and take a reading break to groan over that word play – I deserve it!

Laura & Sophie
They sang PYT-Pretty Young Thing. They looked uncomfortable but sounded good. Sort of like a Joe Cocker thing – you love to hear him but just can’t watch. The song had a great arrangement. It did feel a little weird hearing them sing a song that really sounds like a guy should sing it. The judges loved them so maybe I’m just a little too critical – but would you love me any other way? ;-) They are really adorable but I just can’t see them being a headline act.

Guest Group
I hate, hate, hate the guest group they had on tonight. I’ve never heard of them and not even sure if I’m getting the name right – Vanity K or Danity K or something like that. It was 5 women who looked like Playboy Playmates out there strutting their stuff. Seemed a little gratuitous to me. I wish the judges could have given their honest opinion of those girls!!

Shawn Mayer
She sang Bye, Bye, Bye. She’s my least favorite so we’ll have to see if I can keep those feelings out of this review. She was ok until she got to the chorus. It turned a little off key and her dancing was kinda’ creepy. To hear the audience going crazy you’d think she gave the performance of a lifetime. I just don’t see it.

Melissa Lawson
She sang True Colors. She has a beautiful voice and really showed that tonight. If she wins this thing, she really should record this song for her album – do they still call them that? I told you I was old so forgive me for the dated terminology I tend to use. I could see her singing this to her 5 little kids at home. This is definitely the best performance of the night!! The judges called her a true artist!!

Justin Gaston
He sang Girls Just Want to Have Fun. I really think he’s on this show because he’s some major eye candy. This show is not about eye candy so he better kick up the vocal stuff. Why is he singing a girls song? He and the girls should have switched songs. His dancers are in PJ’s – geez can we get any more kooky? His vocals were karaoke night ok but not good enough for this show. I’m predicting that it’s going to be him and Alyson in the bottom 2 next week if he doesn’t get voted off tonight. I can’t believe the judges actually liked this – what are they on?

Tommy Stanley
He sang Maniac. I always feel like he’s over doing everything he sings. I feel so unpatriotic saying that since he’s a service member and I’m mega-supportive of our troops. He did pretty good tonight but I’m thinking the judges will probably tell him that he didn’t sing this country enough. One of them said it didn’t get his “country bone” going – huh?!? Anyway…they all said he wasn’t country enough tonight – I knew it! I really feel like this was one of his best performances, not necessarily vocally but I didn’t feel like he was screaming at me or overdoing the song.

Random Thoughts

Billy Ray is really getting on my last nerve. His stupid comments have got to stop. After one of the girls sang a Britney Spears song he said it was so good it made him want to go shave his head – huh?!? Yes, she shaved her head when she was really having a mental meltdown but exactly how do you turn that into something that shows how good something else is? I’m not necessarily a Britney fan but I do feel sorry for her. I’ve been around mental illness and it’s sad that her struggles have been so public. It’s a horrible disease and until you get it under control with counseling and medication you can certainly make some very questionable decisions. Just most of us don’t have to do it in full view of the public. Well…back to Billy Ray because I’m certainly not done with him yet! It sure seems like he’s just riding his daughter’s fame – sure hope he doesn’t mess up her career by being stupid with his own! Although I am glad he got rid of the whole mullet thing he had going on!

Ok…it’s time to find out who’s going home….SPOILER ALERT – stop here if you don’t want to know who was voted off the show:
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can’t say I’m not giving you a chance to look away
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Justin is gone. Billy Ray told him that he’s going to be a big movie star. I guess we’ll see where he goes next.

I just told the girlfriend that I’m live blogging and that I’m going to pull her into my dorkdom world before too long. I think she rolled her eyes at me – I’m so glad I can be so entertaining to these kids!