Nashville Star - Week Four

I haven't checked the Neilson ratings for the show, but I would be willing to bet that as the weeks go by, the ratings are dropping. Personally, I'll watch it till the bitter end, just out of curiosity and to give me something to write about in TWIT.  Week four brought us two performances by the contestants, which in most cases was two too many. 

Ashlee Hewitt - sang "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey.  Must have seen Martina perform this in concert and wanted to copy her.  Martina can pull it off; she couldn't. Vocals were weak and very pitchy; looked and acted uncomfortable while playing the piano. Was unsure and hesitant.
Sang "Help Me Make It Through The Night" - once again, she must have heard this from Martina's "Timeless" CD.  Sounded like she forgot the melody, but somehow managed to stay on pitch. I almost fell off the bed when judge Jeffrey Steele said she sounded like a modern day Tammy Wynette. 
Coffey - sang "Hey Good Lookin'" by Hank Williams. Weak vocals; too much vibrato.  Had good band interaction. Still too much pop and not enough country.
Sang "Take Me Home Country Roads" by John Denver. Too much vibrato and very weak vocals; tried to connect with the audience by asking them to sing along - this was a performance, not a camp fire sing-along. Still seems very awkward.  Sounds and acts like an theme park performer attempting to sing the country music portion of a show.
Tommy Stanley - sang "Bless The Broken Road" by Rascal Flatts. Still trying to sound country but is too pop; vocals very weak and pitchy; thinking and concentrating too much instead of just singing.  Also sounds and acts like the above mentioned theme park performer.
Sang "Tiny Dancer" by Elton John. Must have heard Tim McGraw's version of this song and decided to copy.  Tim pulled it off; he couldn't.  Sounded very pop while the band was playing country; looked very awkward on stage.
Pearl Heart - sang "I'll Still Be Loving You" by Restless Heart. Excellent song choice; very pleased that judge Jeffrey Steele said it was one of the greatest songs ever written. Harmonies were flat through most of the song.  No lead vocals - just three part harmony during all of the song was a cool arrangement; would have been better if they could have stayed on pitch. 
Sang "One Way Ticket" by LeeAnn Rimes.  Weak on the beginning but got stronger on harmonies.  Still seem uncomfortable and unsure on stage; dressed more mature this week - outfits were very cool.
Melissa Lawson - sang "This One's For The Girls" by Martina McBride. Strong intro; sang with feeling. Strong clear vocals. Good song arrangement. Nailed the high notes and stayed on pitch. Best performance of the night.
Sang "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac. Still sang with power while singing softer; made the rock song country; didn't belt out too much. 
Shawn Mayer - sang "Breathe" by Faith Hill.  Couldn't understand the vocals when singing soft; stayed on pitch, but sang too breathy.
Sang "Forever And Ever, Amen" by Randy Travis.  Sounded like an American Idol contestant on country music night; not consistent.  Outfit was a bit much for country. 
Gabe Garcia - sang "Wanted Dead Or Alive" by Bon Jovi. Made it country. Good strong vocals and stayed on pitch; made the song his own. Seems more at ease on stage - moved around a bit more.  Second best performance of the night.
Sang "The Fireman" by George Strait.  Good strong vocals; more at ease singing the country songs. King George would have been proud.  Is the only true country singer in the competition. Will be in the final two.
Alyson Gilbert - sang "She's In Love With The Boy" by Trisha Yearwood.  Strong vocals; stayed on pitch. Too much stage presence again - seems to try too hard. Has watched Martina McBride perform and copied the way she opens her hand while holding the microphone; was hoping she would drop the microphone. 
Laura and Sophie - sang "Walking On Sunshine" by Katrina and the Waves. Good rock version but this is a country competition; harmonies and vocals were way off. Still felt like I was watching the girls perform in front of a mirror in their bedroom while holding a hairbrush as a mic. 
Sang "Because Of You" by Reba McEntire and Kelly Clarkson. A horrible version; off pitch through most of the song.  

This week, Alyson Gilbert and Laura and Sopie were in the bottom two.  After Alyson got the boot, Laura and Sopie gave their horrible performance of "Because Of You."  Maybe knowing they were one step away from getting the boot is what caused them to suck.

This week's Performance That Made My Ears Bleed was the horrible version of "Because Of You" by Laura and Sophie.  Thank goodness they only sang about a minute of the song; but that was sixty seconds more than I could stand. 

A couple of interesting observations from Week Four's telecast: Vanessa Williams was in the audience, as was Louisville's favorite country-DJ-you-love-to-hate Coyote Calhoun.