Final Ten Contestants Announced for Season Four of Nashville Star  2/3/06

USA Network Introduces Ten Incredibly Talented New Characters to Its NASHVILLE STAR Lineup; Season Four Premieres Tuesday, March 14 at 10:00 PM (ET/PT)

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Feb. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- NASHVILLE STAR, the nation's top-rated country music series, has named its 2006 cast it was announced today by Jeff Wachtel, USA's executive vice president of original programming. The cast of ten was handpicked from tens of thousands of country music hopefuls in a search that took NASHVILLE STAR through 18 markets nationwide. The season premiere will air in an all-new star-studded fashion on Tuesday, March 14, 2006 at 10:00 PM (ET/PT).

"This year's finalists probably represent the highest level of overall talent we've ever seen on the show. With great voices and unique personalities, we have ten real contenders to be America's next NASHVILLE STAR," says Wachtel.

The talent pool was greater than ever this year with audition numbers doubling and some of the nation's top music critics helping make the final decisions.

Sandi Davis, music critic for the Daily Oklahoman, helped judge in Oklahoma City and noted: "The caliber of talent who made it to the finals was amazing. We even had a guy show up from Germany! I truly believe the show found their next NASHVILLE STAR right here. I can't wait to tune in and see the show."

The talented final ten are as follows:

Matt Mason: Born in Pleasantville, IN, this 20 year-old is such a "country boy" he doesn't even have email. Matt's first performance was at Tootsie's Orchid Lounge in Nashville and was attended by the legendary Hank Williams, Jr.

Monique LeCompte: Monique is a 23 year-old power vocalist who is dead set on becoming a star. She is from Grand Terrace, CA and was raised by her grandparents who both recently passed away. Monique works three jobs to make a living and still finds time to pursue her dream of being a country music superstar

Jared Ashley: A Hobbs, NM native, Jared brings his "been there done that" attitude to the show. Jared joined the US Navy right out of high school and served two tours in the Persian Gulf. He says he is ready to rival Dierks Bentley for most frat houses played in America and has spent the last 6 years looking for his big break.

Shy Blakeman: Shy is a high-energy, southern-rock-infused 25 year-old from Laramie, WY bent on changing the boundaries of country music. After being shot in the face in an attempted car jacking in 2002, Shy approaches every show as though it may be his last.

Jewels Hanson: The self-proclaimed "Female Travis Tritt" from Freemont, CA quit her high-paying corporate job for a shot at Nashville fame and fortune. The 31 year-old says she never wants to work a desk job again. 

Chris Young: Chris is a multi-talented 20 year-old with a flair for singing, song-writing and dancing. Chris considers himself an expert at Line Dancing and Hip-Hop. He is from Murfreesboro, TN and has a fan club of hundreds who follow him religiously across the country.

Nicole Jamrose: A 33 year-old mother of two from Schererville, IN, Nicole brings her folk-infused sound to the show. Nicole's Nashville Star auditions marks her one and only contention for any talent show title and was blown away to find out that she will be one of the ten finalists.

Kristen McNamera: A 20 year-old beauty from Napa Valley, Kristen brings a spirited personality and a heart-tugging life story along with her powerful voice and self-written songs. With a boyfriend in the US Army awaiting deployment to Iraq, Kristen plans on wearing a yellow ribbon in every episode in support of the US troops abroad.

Casey Rivers: Casey is a native of Lindale, Texas and hopes to follow in the footsteps of Lindale's other NASHVILLE STAR alum, Miranda Lambert. Casey is 23 and claims he briefly dated Miranda in high school. He has already shared the stage with country music greats Loretta Lynn and Willie Nelson.

Melanie Torres: Melanie is the 28 year-old ex-beauty queen from Terries,NM with a voice to kill. She is bilingual, speaking English and Spanish, and wore the Miss Albuquerque crown in 2000. After passing on the tiara, Melanie moved to Nashville with nothing in her bank account destined to make it big.

As previously announced, the winner of NASHVILLE STAR 4 will receive a recording contract from the RCA Label Group, home to multi-platinum superstars Alan Jackson, Kenny Chesney, Martina McBride, Brooks & Dunn, Brad Paisley and Sara Evans among others.

For photos of the season four contestants of NASHVILLE STAR, as well as photos from previous seasons of the show, please log on to the NBC Universal Media Village at http://www.nbcumv.com/.

NASHVILLE STAR is created by Reveille and executive produced by Ben Silverman ("The Biggest Loser," "The Office") and H.T. Owens ("The Restaurant," "30 Days"). Jeff Boggs serves as executive producer in association with Reveille again for the second year. The show is produced by Jon Small ("Garth Brooks Live From Central Park," "Billy Joel Live at Yankee Stadium") and his production company, Picture Vision, alongside co-executive producer Mark Koops ("The Restaurant," "Blow Out").

REVEILLE develops produces and distributes new and non-traditional programming formats for television and motion pictures across a variety of genres, including comedy, drama, game, and reality for American and international markets. In addition to selling television formats for independent producers such as NBC Universal Television Studios (USA Network, Sci Fi Channel), BBC Worldwide, Renegade and Princess Productions, Reveille sells its own produced program formats such as "The Restaurant" (NBC), "Blow Out" (Bravo) and "30 Days" (FX). Reveille also distributed the internationally renowned, award-winning "911" documentary and is a world leader in creating integrated marketing opportunities for leading advertisers, developing alternative financing paradigms and selling and distributing television formats in markets worldwide. Reveille has produced projects such as, "Coupling," "The Restaurant", "The Biggest Loser" and "The Office: An American Workplace" for NBC. Cable projects include "Blow Out" for Bravo, "The Club" on Spike, USA Network's "Nashville Star," the Morgan Spurlock project "30 Days" for FX Networks and MTV's "Date My Mom."

USA NETWORK is cable television's leading provider of original series and feature movies, sports events, off-net television shows, and blockbuster theatrical films. USA Network is seen in over 89 million U.S. homes. The USA Network Web site is located at www.usanetwork.com. USA Network is a program service of NBC Universal Cable a division of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience.

SOURCE USA Network

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