Next up to sing is Matt Mason.
In his pre-recorded piece, he says:
"I've always had two plans for myself. One, was I wanted to play music, that's always been my dream. And my backup plan was to be a truck driver. My grandpa drove truck for 40 years, and I was always real close to my grandpa. And, he's always told me, 'If you wanna do something, then do it.' That's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna move down to Nashville, right now. I'm gonna start working on my career. And nobody's gonna try and stop me. And if they do, I'll just have to shoot 'em."
The song Matt sings is "Burn Me Down"
John: That's cool. You've got some bluegrass inflections in your voice. And you're so quiet. I think you can be overlooked. But, not right now, man. You're singing your ass off. It sounds good.
Kenny: That was fabulous man. I really enjoyed it. You can really sing. You really look like you've been watching Dwight Yoakam alot when you're dancing. Tell ya what, if you put a little Mick Jagger in there too, and kind of balance them out, I think you'll just be perfect.
Anastasia: Be careful not to wear your heroes on your sleeve too much. But, that song choice was fabulous, and you made me hot, hot, hot.
Phil: I don't know. I think you're my favorite, my favorite guy so far.
Wynonna: *sings* Touch me, turn me on...
Matt: *sings* and burn me down.
Wynonna: I like that. Don't you girls? He's so mysterious, dark and handsome. I've been talking to the peers, and you have a wacky wild side.
Matt: No, I'm not wild at all, I'm as tame as they come.
Wynonna: What a rebel. Matt Mason.
My thoughts: Matt has a great traditional sound. He reminds me of Brad Paisley looks-wise. I really think he's got a great stage presence too. Great song choice.
The last finalist to sing is Jewels Hanson.
In her pre-recorded piece, she says:
"I'm a walking oxymoron, I guess. I'm just kind of a crazy girl. But, on the other hand, I like to relax, and chill out. My parents raised me not to take any shiznet from anybody. I grew up next to stables and ranch land, and truckers, and you know, you eat breakfast at the truck stop. I went to work in marketing. Just a low level marketing assistant. I just don't fit in that box. I'm slam dunk ready for that record deal."
Jewels sings "Gone"
Kenny: I don't know what to say.
Anastasia: I am dizzy and my ears are bleeding.
John: Jewel, you got the energy, but it looked like Troy Gentry with a long ass hairdo. I mean, you're rockin', you're rockin'. I didn't totally believe you.
Kenny: Well, I think you have enough energy to light up the entire city of New York. But, just completely just bring it down a little, and it's yours.
Phil: I'm with you. I wish someone would just suck, tonight. Because everybody was just so good. You all did a great job tonight.
Wynonna: I don't know. Personally, I like a woman with attitude. You know what I'm saying? I hear that you had to sell your Harley to come here.
Jewels: I did. I did, but I'll get another one soon.
Wynonna: You can borrow one of mine. You wanna go riding?
Jewels: Yes! I can borrow one of Wynonna's Harley's?
Wynonna: We can be like Thelma and Louise on wheels. Jewels Hanson everybody.
My thoughts: I liked Jewels' performance, but something was kind of artificial and forced about it. Her voice is similar to me to Wynonna's. Very expressive.
After the commercial, we're back with all ten finalists on the stage. Wynonna tells the finalists, "Ok. I so relate to each and every one of you tonight. I was 18 years old back in 1983 when I signed with RCA. And, I can't believe that 23 years later I'm still here. It's by the grace of God that we all do what we love. It's about showing up and waiting for your miracle. And for someone tonight that miracle isn't going to happen today. But it's not your tombstone, it's your stepping stone. And don't forget that, alright? Follow your dreams and never give up, because God's not through with you yet, alright?"
The first person to leave is Jewels Hanson.
Wynonna: Ok judges. Tell us why you made the decision that you did.
John: The thing you didn't get across. It didn't look real. Whatever reason tonight. Nerves, or whatever you want to count it up to. I don't know what it was, but it wasn't totally coming across to us tonight. You gotta stay with it and keep kicking some ass. I've been fired from some of the best band's in the business. So, you just hang in there, and we love ya.
Phone lines and Internet voting will be open in moments. We get one more look at the nine remaining finalists along with their phone numbers.
Next week Gretchen Wilson will kick off the show, and Larry the Cable Guy will fill in as the guest judge.
View the Nashville Star 4 - Episode 1 Photo Gallery
New this year, Nashville Star now has downloads of the contestant's performances after the show has ended. The song links I've provided link to the page to purchase the download, which is 99 cents each, or buy Pass-Along-Points and get 10% off, or 89 cents a download.