Big and Rich's John Rich photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Nashville.
March 24, 2008 - During its first five seasons on the USA Network, "Nashville Star" helped several artists get a leg up in country music, including Buddy Jewell and Miranda Lambert.
This year, the show moves to NBC, where Billy Ray Cyrus will host and John Rich has been tabbed as one of the judges. The initial auditions were completed in Music City this weekend, with 6,000 people lining up on Friday for their chance to be among the 10 finalists, and John predicts "Nashville Star" will become a huge thing for the genre.
"We know we have the fan base and that artists in this genre have staying power," John told The Tennessean. "And seeing 6,000 people standing in the sun with guitars says something about country music. This show is going to be a sledgehammer for country music. My goal was never to be a reality show guy, but we're going to find country music's next major star."
John will write and produce the winner's first single, which will be released through a contract with Warner Bros. Records.