Nashville Star
Place Name Sex Age Hometown Week eliminated
1 Buddy Jewell M 41 Osceola , Arkansas Winner
2 John Arthur Martinez M 41 Marble Falls , Texas Finale ( May 3 , 2003 )
3 Miranda Lambert F 19 Lindale , Texas Finale ( May 3 , 2003 )
4 Brandi Gibson F 21 Arlington , Kentucky Week 8 ( April 26 , 2003 )
5 Brandon Silveira M 24 Hanford , California Week 7 ( April 19 , 2003 )
6 Amy Chappell F 27 Hutchinson , Kansas Week 6 ( April 12 , 2003 )
7 Jamey Garner M 32 Chester , Illinois Week 5 ( April 5 , 2003 )
8 Prentiss Varnon M 22 Uvalde , Texas Week 4 ( March 29 , 2003 ) ( judges ' decision )
9 Travis Howard M 32 Chalybeate Springs , Georgia Week 4 ( March 29 , 2003 )
10 Tasha Valentine F 21 Albuquerque , New Mexico Week 3 ( March 22 , 2003 ) ( judges ' decision )
11 Kristen Kissling F 22 Topeka , Kansas Week 3 ( March 22 , 2003 )
12 Ann Louise Blythe F 24 San Lorenzo , California Week 2 ( March 15 , 2003 ) ( judges ' decision )
Season 1 ( 2003 )
Season 1 was broadcast on USA Network and presented by Nancy O'Dell . Judges were country music historian Robert K. Oermann , record label executive Tracy Gershon , and singer/songwriter Charlie Robison . The standings for 2003 were :
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 remains open.