The brand new season of Nashville Star boot scooted and boogied onto the airwaves Monday night with 12 new contestants and groups competing for a recording contract, the chance to perform at the Summer Olympics in Beijing and, of course, a brand new truck. There's no denying that while the finalists are all talented, on Monday some definitely shined while others didn't put their best foot forward.

Voting on the Top 11 already went down after Monday's episode, with one performer to be ousted during next week's first live episode. Here we rank who we think is going to sail through the next round and who is currently on shaky ground.

11. Third Town

Third Town got a late break – originally they weren't even supposed to be on the show. The night before the premiere episode was taped, original contestant Charla Corn was deemed unable to compete and Third Town was the lucky group chosen to fill her place. Unfortunately, their performance of “Elvira” was a bit of a mess when it came to the harmonies. As judge John Rich put it, they need to figure out who the lead singer is, as it sounds as though all three are trying to one up each other. When one of the singers includes high-pitched Little Tony who is still sporting unfortunate hipster hair at age 29, this isn't a good thing. Unless these three can smooth out their vocals, they may be next to go.

10. Alyson Gilbert

Jeffrey Steel compared Alyson to Martina McBride, which he pointed out wasn't necessarily a compliment as the contestants should aim to be themselves and not ape famous singers. Unfortunately, while Alyson is an attractive woman and a serviceable singer, she definitely isn't Martina McBride. Combine that with her pageant-like performing style and she may not be around on the Nashville Star stage much longer. The saving grace for her might be that she was put in the bottom two with Charley Jenkins and pitying voters may have dialed in to keep her around for another week.

9. Justin Gaston

Justin is a pretty boy, there's no denying that. There's also no denying that his youthful good looks will get the ladies and some gents dialing like mad to keep him on their TV screens. Unfortunately, his performance of “Drops of Jupiter” was hardly a vocal masterpiece. His voice is thinner and less impressive than the majority of the other male singers, and unless he shows he has more in him he may not see the later rounds.

8. Shawn Mayer

Shawn came off to me as a likable tomboy, a good ol' girl who can fix your car and then kick back and drink you under the table. When she performs, there's something there, but it often feels like there should be something so much bigger coming from her mouth. There was a sense of wasted potential after her otherwise fine performance of “Piece of My Heart,” and unless she's actually capable of reaching that potential, she may not win over viewers.

7. Ashlee Hewitt

I kept wavering on where to place Ashlee, because I found her performance of “Bubbly” absolutely charming and feel she has a fantastic voice. The judges were right, however, that while she did sweetly connect to the audience, she didn't do much to highlight how awesome her vocals may be. When compared to the other girls competing, she's not quite as memorable as I feel she should be, and so for now she's settling at seventh place even though I think she'll be able to move her way higher.

6. Pearl Heart

Pearl Heart looked fantastic on stage Monday night with the elder twins in their summery dresses strumming away at their guitars while front girl Courtney handled the lead vocals. Their harmonies were particularly on point and quite pleasant to listen to. The only downside to their performance of the Dixie Chicks' “Wide Open Spaces” was that when Courtney was singing alone, she didn't sound so hot, nor did she really stand apart from her sisters when they sung together. When you sing lead on a song like “Wide Open Spaces” you need to be at least as captivating as Dixie Chick Natalie Maines, which Courtney was not. But Courtney is young, and so I think as she is mentored throughout the competition she'll grow as a performer.

5. Tommy Stanley

Tommy was one of my personal favorites Monday night. His modern, soulful tone was right up my alley and I can completely see him going down the path of country-styled rock that I so enjoy. The judges criticized him for playing too much to the crowd, which made his show-starting performance seem a little over the top. What he'll need to learn to go higher up in the rankings is how to harness his energy and perform to his best ability without taking it too far.

4. Coffey

The singularly-named Coffey has an adorable daughter and a fantastically modern country sound. While nerves did cause some pitch issues, he overall provided a fresh look and a fresh sound to the program, and I think the more he performs the better he'll get. The judges agreed and, when they weren't arguing amongst themselves, declared him one of Monday night's best performers.

3. Gabe Garcia

Gabe is old school country through and through. His tone is classic, his performing style simple but effective. He wants to provide Hispanic country fans someone to look up to and, though I worry his vocal style might be deemed too old-fashioned moving forward in the competition, for now he seems well on his way to becoming that role model.

2. Laura and Sophie

Laura Fedor and Sophie Zalokar are teenage girls who have been doing nothing but sing with one another for years on end, and it shows. Their performing style and harmonizing was spot on and they gave one of the best received performances of the night by both the judges and viewers at home. My only quibble is that I felt one of them was a little louder than the other, but that can be chalked up to mic issues and is easily fixable.

1. Melissa Lawson

Hands down the top of the night was 32-year-old mother of five Melissa. She came out looking sleek and fantastic, and then proceeded to sing her butt off. She wanted to prove that you don't have to be a size six to be a star, and with her stage presence and impressive voice she did just that. Right now Melissa is the one to beat, and as long as she keeps giving performances like the one she gave Monday night, the other ten contestants are going to have a run for their money.


- , BuddyTV Staff Writer
(Photo courtesy of NBC)