It looks like we don't have any summaries for this title yet. Be the first to contribute.
Learn more- "Nashville Star" -Top Eight Perform- July 7, 2008
Back to an hour and no fooling around. Dunkelwoman intros Billy Ray. Billy Ray intros the finalists. Tonight there will be a double elimination. And for one the journey is ending right now. He calls forward Tommy and Melissa. One is a top vote getter, the other is going home.
In the audience: John Rich's granny; Lisa Loeb;
Going Home: Tommy Stanley
BRC congratulates him and Tommy says thanks and says he was glad to pursue his dream, not just on his own behalf but on behalf of the Navy. He tells people to pursue their dreams. Jewel says she's proud and the show won't be the same without him. BRC tips his cap to Tommy and the military.
Contestant #1: Melissa Lawson
Song: "Danny's Song," Loggins and Messina
Video: She's lost almost 70 pounds! We see her working out hard. (No matter what else happens, good for her!!) John Rich calls her hot and thinks she can be a great artist.
Performance: This is a nice tender performance mostly in her lower register. It feels a little rushed tempo-wise, but she sounds good. The crowd gets up as the song picks up in the second half when she hits some big notes.
Jewel: Thought it started a little low. She's wondering if she and her family are ready for the hard work. Melissa says she is.
Jeffrey: He loves hearing her sing every night.
John: Tells her to watch her nerves and says she's at the top of the heap on the show and he has big hopes for her.
BRC asks if she's missing her boys. She is. BRC says one of her sons asked him "Where's Hannah Montana?"
Contestant #2: Laura & Sophie
Song: "Walking After Midnight," Patsy Cline
Video: They're aggravated with each other. Their friendship is melting down and they're bickering and crying. It's kind of heartbreaking actually.
Performance: They come out holding hands. They're bouncy but trying to be a little more sultry and adult. They sound very country but the harmonies are not super-crisp. They each take a solo, Laura's a little stronger, and work the edges of the stage before coming back together. They're fine but the final note is a wreck.
John: Same thing as last week. He says it's like band camp and if he was their big brother he'd pack their bags. He says they can't be crybabies. He says the business is harsh and asks what would happen if people walked out of their shows. Would they cry? He's pouring on the tough love. Sophie asks if it's still the "high school thing"? He says they're just not ready and they'd be better off giving it time.
Jewel: Agrees that they need to go home for their own good. Sophie responds that fighting with her best friend really hurts which is why she was crying but if people walked out of their show she would understand that they didn't like it. She says she and Laura are fine now.
Jeffrey: Asks how they are. They say they're ok. He says he believes in them and wants to help them.
Contestant #3: Gabe Garcia
Song: "Somebody Like You," Keith Urban
Video: Jewel wants him to be flirty and intense. She wants him to seduce the audience. He takes dance lessons to loosen up.
Performance: Strumming his guitar he's looking around, smiling, stomping his foot, and sounding strong. John is air drumming and singing along. The crowd is up and dancing. He takes the mike off the stand and works the sides of the stage reaching out and touching people's hands. He points out to the crowd and pumps his fist at the end. It's still a tiny bit stiff but very charming.
Jeffrey: Wondered if he had this in him and calls him a 10.
John: From one Texan to another he says it was "caliente."
Jewel: She says good job on taking notes and she wants to keep stepping him up.
Contestant #4: Shawn Mayer
Song: "The First Cut is the Deepest," Cat Stevens/Rod Stewart/Sheryl Crow
Video:Shawn fires John as her mentor and goes with Jeffrey who tries to help her milk the emotional power of the lyrics. She has to hit a home run this week to prove to John that she did the right thing.
Performance:She strums her guitar and it seems like she's acting again as she gets all teary-eyed looking and heaving her way through the lyrics. She sounds fine but her scrunchie faces aren't working.
Jewel: Says it took guts to fire John and that everybody can't always get along and that Shawn needed nurturing not abuse. Thought it was nice to see her show some restraint
John: Even though he thought it was gutsy to fire him too and that talented people don't always get along he still didn't think she was great. He gives it a five out of ten. He asks Jeffrey what amazing mentoring advice he gave her that resulted in that performance.
Jeffrey: He says he told her to stay out of the way of the song and let it carry her. Tells her to put her tears into her song. He's proud but she's got a long way to go.
Contestant #5:Coffey
Song:"Proud Mary," Credence Clearwater Revival/Ike andTina Turner
Video: Jewel and Coffey debrief over the beating he took last week. She says they were rough on "my boy," and the 11 African-American viewers of this show cringe. (Of course, she didn't mean it that way, it just sounded awkward). She wants to see new sides of him. He wants to take it to the next level.
Performance: He does an uptempo, rocking, Robert Cray-like version. He sounds just okay. He tries on a faux-gruff growl and throws in some "come on"'s and stuff. He hands off his guitar and comes down and does a little jig in front of the judges' table. He throws to the guitar solo. He comes back in all gruff again and ends with "somebody say yeah!" It was energetic but the vocals weren't spectacular.
Jeffrey: Says he's the best he's been since the first show but he feels like he needs less hype and more pipes.
John: Says he's the last person to talk about country/not country given that he wears fur coats and such but he still feels like all the "entertaining" Coffey does is sleight of hand to distract from his vocals. He asks if he can hold his own onstage with Keith Urban, Rascal Flatts, or George Strait.
Jewel: Says America disagrees with John and that both Americans and Coffey are responding to her mentoring. She then uncomfortably calls him "my boy" again. She says next he needs to do a ballad to get him "real."
Contestant #6: Ashlee Hewitt
Song: "Take the Money and Run," Steve Miller Band
Video: John wants Ashlee to throw a party onstage. John calls her a hippie chick and she agrees. She decides to go barefoot. She wants to be fun and flawless.
Performance: She starts off by speaking the first line about Billie Joe and Bobbie Sue. The arrangement has a nice sliding feel to it. She seems like she's having some fun but she also sounds like she's straining her voice. The arrangement is really pretty funky and cute.
Jewel: Calls her one of her favorites and says she seems like one of the few that feels like an artist. She doesn't say anything about the actual performance.
Jeffrey: Loves her but didn't like this performance. Tells her to be herself.
John: Liked the bare feet. He thinks she pulled it off wonderfully. He can't believe she's in the bottom two and that it was a mathematical error because she will be in the final rounds.
Contestant #7: Pearl Heart
Song: "Ain't Going Down 'Til the Sun Comes Up," Garth Brooks
Video: Jeffrey says being good isn't enough and they need to jazz things up with a little glitter. He puts them onto the Brooks tune and thinks they should all play guitar. They are concerned that it's tricky but are determined.
Performance: All three are wielding guitars, none are really playing though. The fast tempo, impressively, isn't derailing their harmonies one bit. They sound pretty great. One puts her guitar to the side. They are very cute and smiley, but they're clearly concentrating very hard. The crowd's totally in their corner. They hit a tremendous final note and they all strum it out.
John: Calls it awesome, says "holy moly" and asked what happened to Pearl Heart. Can't believe they've given their best performance on the night they're in the bottom two.
Jewel: Says no disrespect to L&S but they outworked them and outshined them and can't believe they're in the bottom two not L&S. She also compliments their guitar work.
Jeffrey: Is super proud and is also devastated they're in the bottom two and thought they took his direction superbly.
Going Home: Pearl Heart (The crowd boos this decision, but they nicely cheer that Ashlee gets to stay.) They hug and cry. It really is too bad, they were terrific tonight. The crowd cheers them. One says they're going to miss the other contestants and will be rooting for all of them. BRC says he's fallen in love with them.
Final Thoughts: Jeffrey says they know where he lives and that they are superstars with a great work ethic and that he hopes to hear from them soon.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content