Nashville Star
| Nashville Star | |
|---|---|
| Developed by | Ben Silverman Howard Owens Jeff Boggs George Verschoor Mark Koops |
| Written by | Jason Hunt |
| Directed by | Michael A. Simon |
| Presented by | Nancy O'Dell (2003–2004) LeAnn Rimes (2005) Cledus T. Judd (2005) Wynonna (2006) Cowboy Troy (2006–2007) Jewel (2007) Billy Ray Cyrus (2008) Katie Cook (2008) |
| Judges | Robert K. Oermann (2003) Tracy Gershon (2003–2004) Charlie Robison (2003) Billy Greenwood (2004) The Warren Brothers (2004) Phil Vassar (2005–2006) Anastasia Brown (2005–2007) Bret Michaels (2005) Randy Owen (2007) Blake Shelton (2007) John Rich (2008) Jewel (2008) Jeffrey Steele (2008) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 52 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Ben Silverman Jeff Boggs H.T. Owens George Verschoor SallyAnn Salsano |
| Producer | Jon Small |
| Production location | Nashville, Tennessee |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | Varies (most episodes 60 minutes) |
| Production companies | Hoosick Falls Productions 495 Productions Reveille Productions NBC Studios (2003–2004) NBC Universal Television Studio (2004–2007) Universal Media Studios (2007–2008) |
| Original release | |
| Network | USA Network (2003–2007) NBC (2008) |
| Release | March 8, 2003 – August 4, 2008 |
| Related | |
| American Idol | |
Nashville Star is an American reality television singing competition program that aired for six seasons, from 2003 to 2008. Its first five seasons aired on USA Network, while the last season aired on NBC. Its five seasons on USA made it the longest-running competition series on cable television at the time. In Canada, the show aired on CMT through season 5, but moved to E! beginning with season 6. CMT in the United States reaired each episode in season 6.
It was similar to American Idol, in that performers had to sing to impress both celebrity judges and the public via call-in and/or internet votes. Unlike American Idol, however, the performers were limited to country music. This restriction was relaxed for Season 6, allowing for the finalists to choose from many genres of music, but the songs were arranged to maintain a country sound.
The show is credited with jump-starting the careers of singers Buddy Jewell, Miranda Lambert, Chris Young, and Kacey Musgraves among others. A Nashville Star-themed gifts and souvenirs shop featuring local items and city souvenirs opened in July 2008 at Nashville International Airport, one month before the show's final episode, and closed after over a decade.