Nashville Star is an American reality television singing competition program that aired for six seasons, from 2003 to 2008. Its first five seasons aired on USA Network, while the last season aired on NBC. Its five seasons on USA made it the longest-running competition series on cable television at the time. In Canada, the show aired on CMT through season 5, but moved to E! beginning with season 6. CMT in the United States reaired each episode in season 6.
Thomas Bradley Cotter is an American country music singer who won the 2004 season of Nashville Star a talent competition on the USA Network. Signed to Epic Records that year, he released his debut album Patient Man, which produced three singles on the Billboard country charts, including the No. 35 "I Meant To". An independent EP, Continuity, followed in 2007.
Joe Logan Diffie was an American country music singer and songwriter. After working as a demo singer in the mid 1980s, he signed with Epic Records' Nashville division in 1990. Between then and 2004, Diffie charted 35 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, five of which peaked at number one: his debut release "Home", "If the Devil Danced ", "Third Rock from the Sun", "Pickup Man" and "Bigger Than the Beatles". In addition to these singles, he had 12 others reach the top 10 and ten more reach the top 40 on the same chart. He also co-wrote singles for Holly Dunn, Tim McGraw, and Jo Dee Messina, and recorded with Mary Chapin Carpenter, George Jones, and Marty Stuart.
Tony Wade Hayes is an American country music artist. Signed to Columbia Records in 1994, he made his debut that year with his gold-certified album Old Enough to Know Better. Its title track "Old Enough to Know Better", which served as his debut single, reached number one on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. He released two more albums for Columbia Nashville: On a Good Night in 1996 and When the Wrong One Loves You Right in 1998. Later albums were released on Monument Records and independently. In addition to "Old Enough to Know Better", Hayes reached top ten on the Billboard charts with "I'm Still Dancin' with You", "Don't Stop", "What I Meant to Say", "On a Good Night", and "The Day That She Left Tulsa ".
Rascal Flatts was an American country music group founded in 1999 in Nashville, Tennessee. The group consisted of Gary LeVox, Jay DeMarcus, and Joe Don Rooney. DeMarcus is LeVox's second cousin, a brother-in-law of country music singer James Otto, and a former member of the contemporary Christian music duo East to West. LeVox and DeMarcus are both natives of Columbus, Ohio.
Keith Anderson is an American country music artist. Before signing to a record deal, Anderson was one of several co-writers on "Beer Run ", a duet by Garth Brooks and George Jones, released in late 2001. Anderson was signed as a recording artist to Arista Nashville in 2004. His debut single "Pickin' Wildflowers" was released that year, as the lead-off track from his debut album Three Chord Country and American Rock & Roll. Counting "Pickin' Wildflowers", the album produced a total of four hit singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, and was certified gold by the RIAA.
William Matthew Currington is an American country music singer and songwriter. Signed to Mercury Records Nashville in 2003, he has released seven studio albums for the label: his self-titled debut (2003), Doin' Somethin' Right (2005), Little Bit of Everything (2008), Enjoy Yourself (2010), We Are Tonight (2013), Summer Forever (2015), and Intuition (2021).
Jamey Johnson is an American country music singer and songwriter.
William Joel "Bucky" Covington III is an American country music singer. He placed eighth on the 5th season of the Fox Network's talent competition series American Idol. In December 2006, he signed a recording contract with Lyric Street Records. His self-titled debut album, produced by Dale Oliver and Mark Miller of the band Sawyer Brown, was released on April 17, 2007. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, and produced three hit singles on the Hot Country Songs charts: "A Different World" at number six, "It's Good to Be Us" at number eleven, and "I'll Walk" at number ten. Three more singles: "I Want My Life Back", "Gotta Be Somebody", and "A Father's Love ", were released for an unreleased second album, titled I'm Alright, and later included on his 2012 album, Good Guys.
Billy Wayne Yates is an American country music artist. He has released ten studio albums and has charted four singles on the Billboard country charts, including "Flowers" which reached number 36 in 1997. Yates also co-wrote George Jones' singles "I Don't Need Your Rockin' Chair" and "Choices", which were released in 1993 and 1999 respectively. Other artists who have recorded Yates' work include Ricochet, Ricky Van Shelton, and Kenny Chesney. In addition to his work as a singer and songwriter, Yates is the owner of the songwriting and publishing company Smokin' Grapes, which was founded in 2006. Yates' musical style is defined by neotraditional country and honky-tonk influences, and has been favorably compared to artists such as Gene Watson.
Tammy Cochran is an American country music artist. Signed to Epic Records Nashville in 2000, she released her self titled debut album in 2001, followed a year later by Life Happened. These two albums produced a total of six chart singles for her on the Billboard country charts between 2000 and 2003, of which the highest-charting was "Angels in Waiting" at No. 9. A third album, Where I Am, followed in 2007.
Jeffrey Lee Herndon, known professionally as Jeff Carson, was an American country music artist. Originally a session musician in Branson, Missouri, and later a demo singer, he was signed to Curb Records in 1995, releasing his self-titled debut album that year, followed by Butterfly Kisses in 1998 and Real Life in 2002. He charted 14 singles on the Billboard country charts, including the Number One hit "Not on Your Love", the Top Ten hits "The Car" and "Holdin' Onto Something", and the Top 20 "Real Life ". He retired from music in 2009 and became a police officer.
4 Runner is an American country music vocal group founded in 1993 in Nashville, Tennessee. The group initially consisted of Craig Morris, Billy Crittenden, Lee Hilliard, and Jim Chapman. Signed to Polydor Records Nashville, the quartet released its self-titled debut album in 1995. It featured four charting singles on Hot Country Songs, the most successful being "Cain's Blood" at No. 26. Billy Simon took Crittenden's place just before a second album for A&M Records, which was not released despite producing a chart single, and the group broke up afterward. Morris, Chapman, and Hilliard reunited with third baritone singer Michael Lusk to release their next album, Getaway Car, on the Fresh label before disbanding a second time. The group reunited a second time in 2023 with a lineup consisting of Morris, Chapman, Hilliard, and Morris's son Sam. Shortly after their reunion, Hilliard left as well, with Herbie Chapman taking his place.
Larry Stewart is an American country music singer, best known for his role as lead singer of the country pop band Restless Heart. In 1993, Stewart left the band in pursuit of a solo career, recording four solo albums and charting eight singles on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts before reuniting with Restless Heart in 2002. His highest-charting solo single was "Alright Already", which peaked at No. 5 in 1993.
Shane Allen Minor is an American country music artist. Signed to Mercury Nashville Records in 1999, Minor released his self-titled album that year, and it produced three hit singles on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. Although he was dropped from Mercury's roster in 2000, he has continued to write songs for other artists, including the No. 1 singles "Beautiful Mess" by Diamond Rio, "Brand New Girlfriend" by Steve Holy, and "Live a Little" by Kenny Chesney.
David Brent Nail is an American country music artist, and frontman of the band David Nail & The Well Ravens. In 2002, he debuted the single "Memphis" from an unreleased album for Mercury Records Nashville. Five years later, he signed with MCA Nashville, for which he has released four studio albums: I'm About to Come Alive, The Sound of a Million Dreams, I'm a Fire, and Fighter plus two extended plays, 1979 and Uncovered. The albums have produced seven chart entries on Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay, including two that have reached No. 1: "Let It Rain" and "Whatever She's Got", plus the top 10 hit "Red Light".
Buddy Jewell is the third studio album by American country music singer Buddy Jewell. The album was Jewell's major-label debut and his first album since winning season one of Nashville Star. As part of the Nashville Star prize, the album was produced by Clint Black and recorded entirely in ten days.
Gloriana was an American country music group founded in 2008 by Cheyenne Kimball, Rachel Reinert (vocals), and brothers Tom Gossin and Mike Gossin. Prior to the group's foundation, Kimball recorded as a solo artist. The original lineup recorded one self-titled album for Emblem/Reprise Records in 2009, which included their first chart hit, "Wild at Heart". Kimball left before the release of the band's second album A Thousand Miles Left Behind, which produced their highest-charting single, "(Kissed You) Good Night", along with the top 20 "Can't Shake You". After a third album, Three, Reinert left as well, effectively disbanding the group.
"Help Pour Out the Rain (Lacey's Song)" is a song written and recorded by American country music artist Buddy Jewell. It was released in May 2003 as the lead-off single from his self-titled debut album. It peaked at number 3 on the United States Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart and at number 29 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song was the highest-debuting single by a new country artist since the inception of Nielsen SoundScan in 1990.
Dan Easton Corbin is an American country music singer. He signed to Mercury Records Nashville in 2009 and released his self-titled debut album in March 2010, featuring the two number-one hits "A Little More Country Than That" and "Roll with It", as well as the number-14 hit "I Can't Love You Back". His second album, All Over the Road, was released in September 2012. Its first single, "Lovin' You Is Fun", was released in February 2012. The album's second single, "All Over the Road", was released in January 2013. As of 2021, he had sold over 500,000 albums and over 5 million singles. His song "Are You with Me" became an international hit in a remix version released by the Belgian DJ and record producer Lost Frequencies.
