Nashville Star – Episode 4 – Recap

Alyson Gilbert is Eliminated.

Tonight’s show is better than last week. The standouts are Melissa Lawson and Gabe Garcia. Ashlee Hewitt and Shawn Mayer improve. The rest are forgettable.

The finalists are visited by their families. Noah Cyrus introduces her father, who still can’t read a freaking teleprompter. Gah, every contestant is performing twice. This show is so freaking bloated.

More recap and Videos after the JUMP…

Ashlee Hewitt – “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey – Yes, her entire family is here, all 13 of them, including her dad who has been deployed to Iraq. Why is she singing Journey? I guess Journey with a twang and a fiddle is considered country? She’s got a decent voice, but this is a crappy song choice. I don’t understand why the contestants aren’t choosing country songs. Jewel likes the singing, but calls her performance “clinical”. Jeff gives her a wacky lecture about not flirting with boys. John likes her transition from piano to guitar. Eh, it was a little gimmicky.

“Help me Make it Through the Night” – This is a little more like it. A real country song. Except that it was only about 45 seconds long. This is a really weird show. Ashlee is going to rise to the top because she’s pretty and isn’t tone deaf. – VIDEO.

Coffey – “Hey Good Lookin’” by Hank Williams – Jewell warns him against gimmicks, and gives him tips to make the vocally un-challenging song a showcase for his vocals. He’s not as goatie as usual, and he refrains from shouting out after every single verse. Without the gimmicks, he’s kind of boring. He’s better than last week. His daughter is his calling card here, she is cute. Jeff says, “Too little too late”. John is concerned for Coffey, “You can’t sing country”. He tells him to try AI. Oops, he did that already! Coffey argues with John, something about cleaning rabbits with his papa, or something. Jewel compliments him for following her directions, she hopes he’s able to stick around

“Country Roads” – The goatie vibrato is back. He’s so rattled, he’s back to shouting out after each verse, and he’s flat. Jewel suggests he sing a ballad next week. – VIDEO.

Tommy Stanley – “God Bless the Broken Road” by Rascal Flatts – Tommy sees his family for the first time in a year. He was so horrible last week, I’m surprised he isn’t gone this week. – YIKES, this is really off key! Tommy has vowed to prove he’s “country” this week. He’s got to prove he can sing first. John tells him he’s a nice guy and then babbles on about…something. Jeff looks pissed, as if he can’t believe how crappy the sorry ass talent is on this show. He says, “You hit a bad note, your voice cracked, and you sang right through it.” He means is as a compliment. Sad. Jewel gives him props for trying. A truly horrendous performance. – VIDEO.

Before he performs his second song, a bunch of his Navy crew members from the ship where he was deployed surprise him with a visit.

“Tiny Dancer” by Elton John – Tommy’s diction is terrible, what the hell is he singing? I mean, I know the words, but I don’t recognize them. Also, what is the point of singing a 30 second snippet of a song? This is a little better than his first song, but I have a feeling Tommy will be leaving this week. – VIDEO.

Pearl Heart – “I’ll Still be Loving You” – They get a visit from their family, including their cute doggie. Jeff suggests a song that he loves. The harmonies sound off, the girls are trying a little too hard. It’s ok. It would resonate more if one of the girls sang lead. Jeff isn’t unhappy with their performance, but he doesn’t seem thrilled either. John points out that some of their harmonies were off (they were), but still good. Jewel liked that they stood up at the chorus to heighten the emotion. She didn’t have much to say about their singing. – VIDEO.

“One Way Ticket” – Short and sweet. Jeff says, “I’m so proud of you.” – VIDEO.

Melissa Lawson – “This One is for the Girls” – Her husband and 5 little boys visit. Melissa plays electric guitar this week. She’s the best singer here, I’m glad she’s not in the bottom this week. And she actually sounds like a country singer here. The audience loves it. Jewel compliments her on her wide singing range. John says, “If Nashville Star was over tonight, you’d be the undisputed winner of the show.” – VIDEO.

“Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac – Short and pretty. John tells her to concentrate on getting a hold of her nerves. – VIDEO.

Shawn Mayer – à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Breathà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  by Faith Hill – Actually, I have to sayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦Nice job. Jewel says it was a good song choice. Jeff says there is a lot to work on, but sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s getting there. John says ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s some of the best singing sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s done so far. Her original song choice was à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Imagineà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ . Hm, this is a better choice.

à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Forever and Ever Amenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬  – John seems to think she dropped the ball on her second song. It was only 30 seconds, how can he tell? He tells her that sheà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s not competitive enough to make it to the top. – VIDEO.

Blake Shelton performs “Home” – VIDEO.

Gabe Garcia – “Wanted Dead or Alive” by Bon Jovi – Making it on to the country charts makes Bon Jovi country now? Heh. This is a good choice for Gabe. He seems way more comfortable than he did last week, when he had girls dancing around him. Jeff says it’s great. John says he’s the best male singer on the show and that this week was a big step forward. Jewel says, “Good job.”

“The Fireman” – Thirty-second honky tonk – John says, “I think this kid can make hit country records all day long.” – VIDEO.

Alyson Gilbert and Laura and Sophie are in the Bottom 2

Alyson Gilbert – “She’s in Love with a Boy” – Shes getting drowned out by the band. She’s making those faces that Jewel hates. Jewel says, “Your eyeballs are back…you need to go away someplace and find some soul.” Jeff says he’s bummed out a bit, and that she went against what she was told to do. John says she has her brilliant moments, but it’s not enough at this stage of the game. – VIDEO.

Laura and Sophie – “Walking on Sunshine” by Katrina and the Waves – Weird arrangement not helped by off-key harmonies. Send the girls back to high school! Jewel said, “That should have been great, but it wasn’t…you nearly fell apart up there.” John says, “High school girls on a high school talent show…right now, you are little girls.” Jeff says, “I was proud of your work tonight…if you manage to squeak through tonight, we have a lot of work to do.”

Alyson Gilbert is Eliminated. – John calls her a great singer, and that she needs to figure out what works for her. Alyson cries.

Laura and Sophie – “Because of You” by Kelly Clarkson – Because they squeaked through, they get to assault our ears one more time. Yikes. Alyson wasn’t all that, but she was way better than this. Horrible. – VIDEO.