jewel

(S06E01) At 8:00 PM, I sat down with my Diet Coke, set the DVR, and got ready to take notes for my first ever American Idol Reviewcap. At 10:00 PM, I realized that my DVR didn't record one fricking minute. Not a good start. Good thing I took extensive notes during the show.

Season Six began with a stirring intro by Ryan Seacrest, making me realize that AI employs some pretty good writers. After highlighting past Idol successes and reviewing last year's Grand Finale show with Prince (Minneapolis was chosen because it's Prince's hometown), we were ready for the auditions.

(S01E09) First of all, let's all give ABC three cheers for finally giving Men in Trees a decent time slot. Actually, it's a pretty terrific time slot-- directly after Grey's Anatomy, which had more than 13 million viewers last week. That's the highest rated show on television right now and it's going to be a lead-in for Men in Trees. Spectacular! ABC has also picked up a full season of Men in Trees. It's funny, really. ABC originally scheduled Ugly Betty and Men in Trees for Friday nights and now they're both on the biggest night of television.

Singer Jewel is the next in the revolving door of celebrities who take on hosting duties for Nashville Star. Last season, it was Wynonna and Cowboy Troy (he's returning as co-host), and before that it was Leann Rhimes and Nancy ODell. Even though I swear she had gone pop, the press release from USA says Jewel grew up on country music so I guess that's all it takes. Plus she's a songwriter and musician just like the contestants on Nashville Star are supposed to be. It's an interesting career move, anyway.

Season 5 of Nashville Star premieres on Thursday, January 11th at 10 pm on USA.