We have as the host...Leann Rimes! Yay! We have joining her...Cledus T. Judd. Booooo. The guest that we have is...Nashville Star's original season 1 winner, Buddy Jewell! Yay!!!! Of course, with the new age lowering thing, if they had that specification in this season, then Buddy would never have gotten to be Nashville Star. Boooooo. Buddy sings very well - well enough, hopefully, to have the producers rethink this strategy. Yaaaaaaaay!

We see the 6 remaining finalists, we see the judges, and we Leann trying to do damage control from last week's surprising dismissal by having the judge's confirm that it was her anger and diva-ness that got her eliminated, and not the bad video job that happened two weeks ago. Uhhh....not very convincing.

We will see first...Jayron Weaver! He talks about his Christianity and how he puts it in country music as he sings his song, 'Should Have Been a Cowboy'. He actually sounds much more country than gospel and this is the best that I have heard him. He has a Kenny loggins/Richard Marx sound to him which is nice. The audience agrees, as they eat it up. Jayron says that with the least experience, he feels like the underdog. Anastasia wants to see more grit in his country as she gets booed down by the audience.  Bret tells him to get used to playing in front of 5,000, while Phil says what Anastasia wanted to say a little better - namely, bring the passion.

Since we only have 6 performers left, we get...video montages! Whoopie! The first one - the people who auditioned who mangled the lyrics, belly flopped, sang out of pitch and didn't make the broadcast. No mention as to whether or not Chris Wylde tried out.

Need more space-filler? No problem - we get the return of Buddy Jewell! He talks about the sadness when people were eliminated, and then the elation of getting a record deal and winning the competition, He says that he can live out his dream, thanks to his fans and Nashville Star (awwwwwbarf). The advice that he has - be good to the fans - they will be good to you. Well put.

Leann teases the audience by calling Erika Jo over. She says that everyone has been a great influence on her. After the audience yells at Leann for doing that, Leann says that singer #2 will be...Jason Meadows!

Jason appreciates being considered George Strait. He talks about his similarities, and then talks about how he isn't George Strait. He certainly sounds like him as he sings 'Down on the Farm'. He does a good job, and although I can't tell him apart from anyone else, I don't see him going anywhere. Jason thinks that stage presence is very important, and Bret agrees, telling him that he has it going on. Phil says that he gives him a great job, and Anastasia thought he was solid too, though telling him to back away from the ditties. Despite being misheard (probably intentionally) from Bret,  she has a point - lets hear something different from Jason.

Cledus talks to Jody about his change to a ballad - and how bad that was. Jody says that he brought it to his fans and that hopefully they liked it. Cledus asks Jason if is microphone piece makes him look like Britney Spears. Wha? Jason says that he appreciates the compliments. Will anyone say that Jason sounds like Jason? I will say this - Britney, in my opinion, is more entertaining than...Cledus T. Judd.

Leann calls over Justin, and notes that despite the wishes of Anastasia (and me) that he is still here. He thanks his audience (the same group that he insulted a few weeks ago) and I want to retch.

Getting to the half-way mark, we see that singer #3 is...Erika Jo! That's someone who I do want to see, as Erika Jo hopes that her fan base is strong enough to keep her going. As she sings 'You're No Good'. She was a little pitchy at the beginning, and this isn't as strong as she has been, but she is still solid and the audience screams for her. Doing more damage control, Erika says that everyone gets along good and she and Tamika cleared the air before last week. Phil is impressed about her youthful performance and Anastasia calls her very strong (both of them, apparently overlooking her pitch), though she tells Erika to improve her physical image. Bret sees a young superstar ready to burst out - but he wants to hear 'Black Velvet' next week. Phil wants her to wear black velvet next week. Yowsers.

Oh look - more bad singing - from the same singers in the first montage. Next!

It's time for leann to call Jenny over. She says that last week wasn't her best performance, but she loves her song, adding that she hopes she did well enough to stick around. WHo will be sticking around? Justin David! (Yuck.). He talks about his connection with his dad and the fiddle that he received from him around 13 years ago. He plays the fiddle and singe 'Baton Rouge', and like Erika Jo, he is also pitchy all over the place. He plays the fiddle, well though, and I thought the fiddle sounded much better than him. Leann talks to him about his instrumental playing, and he tells the audience that he hopes that they had as much as he did, adding that he just puts himself out there. Well, Justin has an ego the size of Texas, doesn't he? Anastasia says that she digs him (to the laughter or Phil and Bret) and suggests that he and Jody should form a band. Bret says that he comes into his own, while Phil, who says that his voice isn't the best in the competition, says that what he does is hard, and he respects that. Not exactly ringing endorsements...

Cledus talks about being in the final 2, as Jenny and Jody have both been down there before. Jenny says that she still has strong legs, while Jody says that he wouldn't mind being in a band with Justin...and Cledus. Wha? Cledus asks Jody if he is going to break out Latino music. Wha?? Can we vote out Cledus instead?

Unfortunately, we can't, and it's down to Jody and Jenny. They both say that they had to be themselves, and they both say that their fans will carry them. The person who is leaving is...Jenny Farrell. Jenny says that she is disappointed, but she says that she will see them all on the road.

With that, Jody sings 'Since You've Been Gone', and we hear the same old Jody, which isn't bad, if you like the Elvis Costello stuff. He does a very good job, and he is even technically better than 2 of the singers tonight. Bret says that he's glad the old Jody is back and he adds that he wants a Nashville Star, so bring it. Phil is happy that Jody is still there and is bringing his thing, while Anastasia (who likes him as well as he likes Justin) says that Pro Tools will not solve his problems (and gets another chorus of boos).

So who did good in my book?

Jason
Jayron
Jody
Erika
Justin

Well, that's a surprise. Both Erika and Justin were pitchy all over the place, and my already dislike for Justin puts him on the bottom. This was Erika's worst performance as well, and...you don't think that she could leave in an upset vote, could you? Join us in 7 days to find out.