Play something country?

Ever since Garth Brooks arrived in Nashville, I've been hearing about how the "new country" sound was killing country music. Alan Jackson and George Strait even had a song called "Murder on Music Row" about the new acts that were killing country music.

That song always pissed me off.

Many artists have been called sell-outs and accused of not playing "real" country music. From Garth and Kenny Chesney to the Dixie Chicks. The Dixie Chicks wouldn't go pop when they were approached. You can hear the steel guitar, dobro and fiddle in every song they sing. I've never understood that one.

If you read my blog, you know that I listen to just about everything, but I love country music. And I love all country music. I don't like Rascal Flatts, but that's partly because they aren't "country enough" for me, but mostly because they have no talent. I know they have fans, but I'm not positive the lead singer is not tone-deaf. From Johnny, Merle and Willie to Kenny, Brad and Dierks -- I love all country music. I love all your "neo-traditional" artists like Brad Paisley, Joe Nichols and Chris Young. I love all your old-timers like Jones, Haggard and Kristofferson. I like your new country sound like Kenny and Keith Urban.

I grew up on country music. Both Hanks, Boxcar Willie, Vern Gosdin, Willie Nelson: Traditional country music ruled my household. My dad listened to it all. I think he had every Johnny Cash album on eight-track. When I got to junior-high age, it was really not cool to pull up at school with my dad in his Chevy Silverado listening to Lefty Frizzell. Boy bands were all the rage, and I decided that New Kids on the Block were much cooler than Chet Atkins.

So, I abandoned Patsy, Reba and Loretta and started listening to not only NKOTB, but Bon Jovi, Poison and just about every other hairband in America.

That is until one day in high school. I flipped on my favorite rock station and I heard this guy singing some song about going back to the bar and kissing his ass. My station had become country. Young Country, they called it. And their first song was the live version of "Friends in Low Places" by Garth Brooks. That song wasn't my daddy's country music. I kept that station turned on. There were great things happening in Nashville.

I haven't changed the dial yet, more than 15 years later. Country music is in my blood. It always has been. And the artists I shunned in my adolescent angst? Patsy? Hank? Johnny? They're all on my iPod. I just bought Vern Gosdin's greatest hits yesterday.

When people started dogging all the new country artists about sounding too much like rockers, they should've remembered the music we were raised on. Yes, we listened to Keith Whitley, but we listened to Bon Jovi and Poison, too. Garth Brooks' favorite band was Kiss, and that's where he came up with the idea to do his high-energy live show. When you go to a Kenny Chesney concert, you can see the influences of the Van Halen shows he attended in high school. We were children of the 80s, and our musical influences are all over the charts.

And, you know what? I think that's great.

Garth Brooks brought me back to the party. He reminded me that country music was cool. It's the music of the blue-collar working man. It's the music my grandpa and my daddy listened to. It's real. There's nothing better than the sound of the steel guitar or mandolin. If it weren't for Garth Brooks, I wouldn't know who Alan Jackson was.

Jon Bon Jovi sang at CRS last week. He's been in town working on a country CD. That's awesome. I liked Bon Jovi's music because it's real too. It speaks to the working man. He's just from New Jersey instead of North Carolina, but that's OK. The life-stories that make up the fabric of county music don't have to happen in the South.

Country music is America's music. And it's about-damn-time that everyone in America knew how great it was. And maybe Jon Bon Jovi will be to some kid today what Garth Brooks was to me all those years ago.

I hope they all turn the dial to country and never turn it back. It's good stuff. I can't say that about the music on a lot of the other stations today.

Oh, and by the way. Johnny Cash's Ultimate Gospel CD came out last week. It's definitely a must-have for everyone's collection.

The Nashville Star Curse?

I think I mentioned recently how much I love 2006 Nashville Star winner Chris Young's first CD. It took a long time after the show for Chris to get the CD to us, but it was worth the wait. The CD features several songs written by Chris and some great songs (like my favorite "You're Gonna Love Me") written by other great people. Not a single song is a cover song, and the only one he sang on Nashville Star was the one for original song night, "Drinking Me Lonely,"which was arguably what won the show for him.

I've mentioned many, many times that the plight of previous Nashville Star winners seems to be to rush to release that debut CD, go on the Nashville Star tour and fade out of existence. They win a one-record deal, and none of them have won a re-up from their label yet. With Chris' success, he just might be the first one. Every single other Nashville Star has lost his or her recording contract. Currently the only one signed is Brad Cotter, who is not with Sony, but some label that I've never heard of. (I'm not dogging that, though, Merle Haggard isn't with Sony either and his last CD with George Jones has done quite well. Indie labels are good, but I imagine it's a let-down after Sony.)

Chris Young did things differently. Maybe it was because Buddy Cannon produced his CD, and I've never known Buddy Cannon to half-ass anything. The next time I see Chris, I might just have a conversation with him on this subject, because I don't know exactly how his production process went down. I can infer from the finished product that he spent last summer touring and in the studio working on the perfect CD. I think he realized he had one chance at making it and this was it, and wanted to do it the right way.

I'd hoped that Chris' attitude toward making his CD indicated a change in the attitude of Nashville Star, but apparently it did not.

[Warning: Before I launch into the next part of this post, I want to make it perfectly clear that I like Angela Hacker. I think she's fantastic. I want many great things for her. I thought this was her big break, and I very much want it to translate into success for her. Because I don't want her to be the next Erika Jo or Fantasia Barrino, that's why I'm writing this.]

I am on Angela Hacker's e-mail list, and I got an update from her today. My heart dropped just a little when I read this:

The release date for my CD is April 3rd – Exclusively at Wal-Mart. The 10 song CD will have 6 of the Cover songs that I performed and 4 of my originals. To answer many of your questions about singing a song with Zac. Yep, one of the songs will be a duet with him. I hope you enjoy it! Maybe one day soon we'll have that CD together you've all been asking for.

I love to listen to Angela sing. I want to listen to her sing for a very long time. I would rather wait for her CD like I did Chris' rather than her rush to put something out. I have bought everything she sang on Nashville Star, including her original song. As a consumer, am I really going to Wal-mart to spend $10 to get the three extra songs?

Well, yes, I will. Because I want to support her. And maybe if she sells lots of CDs, RCA won't drop her contract as soon as the year they are obligated to her is up. I'll keep telling people about her, because I don't want her to make this CD, go on the tour and then fade off into the sunset. She's talented, and she has a family to support. I want her to have unprecedented success, like Gretchen Wilson did. I don't want her to be a one-hit wonder.

This is the first time since January that I've doubted the direction of Nashville Star. I just think it's too soon, and I think that everyone -- both the artist and the fans -- deserve the best product they can put out. And I just don't think you can do that in three weeks.

There may be underlying reasons for all of this. I'm not privy to any behind-the-scenes info. I'm just going to cross my fingers and pray that it works out. Because someone who reminds me of all my country favorites -- the women who have been around for 40+ years with no signs of slowing down -- doesn't deserve a career that won't extend past Christmas.

Nashville Star Prediction

As I type this, Zac Hacker is singing "Lady" on my iTunes (not my iPod, which is broken), so I will come right out and say that I am somewhat biased, but I'm also a realist.

In my heart of hearts, I want Zac Hacker to win tonight. I adore Zac Hacker. I will buy every CD he puts out and follow his bus around America. Yes, my friends, I am a "Hacker Backer" in a bad way.

That's why I was distressed to see the very non-scientific poll picking the winner on the Nashville Star Web site. That poll has Zac Hacker to come in dead-last tonight, with David St. Romain in 2nd and Zac's sister Angela, going home with the Chevy Silverado and the recording contract.

Angela has been the odds-on favorite since Day One. She has some pipes, and she does a great job. Her original song was very good. I have said since a few weeks in that I thought winning Nashville Star would be Angela's only chance at a recording contract, and I still believe that. Not because she's not talented -- she's one of the most talented women I've seen in this town. She just doesn't have the look that women in country music are "supposed" to have. For clarification on what I mean: Whitney Duncan very much had that look. Talent? Not so much.

David St. Romain is the long-shot in this competition. He has improved every week. He's cute. He knows how to get the crowd going. He was definitely my favorite behind Zac. His songwriting still needs some improvement, but I envision he'll be someone more like Kenny Chesney who may not be the best writer but has a knack for picking good songs and giving people a rocking live show. I'd buy David's CD if he puts one out.

So, why should Zac Hacker win?

Quite simply, I think he's the most talented and has the best chance of having a successful career in country music. He writes great songs. His voice moves me. He makes me swoon. He's a great guitar player. I could live without the sparkly clothes, but it'll keep Manuel in business. I wasn't sure about Zac in the beginning when people said they figured it'd be he and Angela in the final round. But he grew on me each and every week. He grew as an artist, and it made me even more of a fan.

There are a few scenarios that folks keep mentioning.

One I heard right from the get-go last week was that Zac and Angela would split the "Hacker Backer" vote, and David would win. Honestly, it could happen.

The other scenario, which I like more, is that that there are girls that will vote for Angela because she's a girl; there are girls who will vote for David because he's cute; and then Zac will get all the male votes and win.

I'm generally a pragmatist when it comes to playing the ponies. I don't pick because of cute names or what color their silks are. I look at the stats, the jockey and their last few workouts before I make my bets. That's why I'm very surprised that I am going 100 percent on emotion for my prediction here. I'm going with my heart, but mostly because my head says that this race is going to be way too close to call.

With that, I predict that at 10 p.m. tonight, we'll all be talking about Zac Hacker, the next Nashville Star.