Nashville Star: week five recap

The youngest contestants take the hardest hits this week on “Nashville Star.”

You know how these elimination-based reality shows always make you wait and wait and wait some more to see who’s been giving the old goodbye?

Well, not this time. “Nashville Star” opened the night by calling up Tommy Stanley and Melissa Lawson, then announcing that one was the top vote getter and one was the bottom and going home.

Kind of a no-brainer. It was Tommy Stanley who was sent packing and it was a good choice. I like the kid and all, but he wasn’t going to win it. That was clear from day one.

Tough for Tommy, but honestly, it was tougher for the other bottom two, Pearl Heart and Ashlee Hewitt who both had to sing and have their “voter” numbers announced, even though they knew it was the last night for one of them. Why do they do that? Why not let them all sing and then announce the bottom two? Anyway, back to last night’s show.

Melissa Lawson runs hot and cold for me and last night was no exception. After blowing it out of the water the week before, she came back with a too-low, barely on rhythm version of “Danny’s Song.” I don’t see her getting the most votes next week, but she’ll be around for awhile.

Next up was Sophie & Laura with one of the most uncomfortable moments of the night. It started with a video packaging showing the girls fighting and one running off in tears. Then they hit the stage with a truly awful version of “Walkin’ After Midnight.” Both Jewel and John Rich said it was time for them to go home, they were too immature for the biz and I don’t think either of them were being too harsh. Incredibly, the girls fought back, saying that they could handle the stress and they were growing as artists. Sorry, but no. These girls should have been sent home a week ago and if this was “Idol” Simon would be giving it to them good. My worry is that the public will vote for them out of sympathy and not because of their talent. They need to go home, now.

Gabe Garcia tried his hardest to add a bit of charisma to his performance and it was a good step up for him. He sang “Somebody Like You” with a lot more personality than he’s shown in past weeks. He could win this thing.

Shawn Mayer also fought back against harsh criticism, this time from her mentor John Rich. She told John she was sick of being put-down by him and she wanted a new mentor. He turned her over to Jeffrey Steele and it was a much better match. She sang “The First Cut is the Deepest” and did a respectable job.

Coffey turned on a little “Proud Mary”…wait, isn’t this a country music show? I think the only thing country about this guy is his hat. He pranced around the stage and incited the audience in an attempt at showmanship, but it was too much. Just sing, already and knock off the act. I think he’s going home soon, as well.

And that brings us to the bottom two. Ashlee Hewitt performed “Take the Money and Run,” or at least, I think she did. The song has a great story in it but you couldn’t understand one word she was singing.  Not a great night for her, actually, it was because…

Pearl Heart was eliminated after a very nice version of Garth Brooks’ “Ain’t Going Down.” Talk about going out on a high note.

So that’s it for this week.  I’m putting Sophie & Laura and Ashlee Hewitt in the bottom two for next week.  Tune in to “Nashville Star” every Monday night at 9:00 on NBC to see if I’m right.

Who do you think should be the next contestant eliminated on “Nashville Star?”

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