On tonight’s season finale of Nashville Star, it was down to the final three singers: Melissa, Shawn, and Gabe. First, Billy Ray Cyrus performed his 90s hit, “Achy Breaky Heart” and the three finalists joined in with him. Afterwards, each took the stage for their encore performances. Jewel tells Gabe that it’s been a pleasure getting to know him and says that she’s very proud of the growth he’s made over the course of the competition. John says that it’s very possible that tomorrow morning, she’ll have a single on ITunes and have her song played on every country station in America. Jeffrey tells Shawn that she’s come a long way in the last few weeks and calls her the dark horse tonight!

After the encore performances, it was time to eliminate someone right then and there. Shawn is eliminated after receiving the fewest votes last week. She thanks everyone who supported her all season and looks forward to getting on tour with Nashville Star. Melissa and Gabe join forces and perform “I’ve Had The Time Of My Life” together. Then, interviews are shown of the final two contestants, where they talk about how much winning would mean to them and each perform another song.

A video is shown of Gabe and Melissa in the studio, recording their individual singles with John Rich.  Before the winner is revealed, Jewel says that she thinks America picked the right people to be the final two standing.  Katie reminds them of the grand prize: a Warner Bros recording contract, an AEG live concert tour, a performance at the Summer Olympics, and a Toyota Tundra truck.

And the winner of Nashville Star is... MELISSA LAWSON!




- Gina Scarpa, BuddyTV Staff Writer
(Image courtesy of NBC)