By April MacIntyre Jul 10, 2008, 3:43 GMT
Nashville Star said goodbye to Tommy Stanley and Pearl Heart on Monday night.
NBC announced that next week, episode six, another double elimination will occur and the theme will be Love Songs, along with some insight about the contestants’ love lives as well.
Episode seven, the final four are going to visit the contestants’ hometowns and perform both an original song and a cover tune. Episode eight, July 28 is the season finale.
The night began with Tommy Stanley and Melissa Lawson being called, one was the top vote getter and one was the bottom and going home.
Tommy Stanley was sent home.
Melissa Lawson sang "Danny's Song." She looks great, working out and getting healthy, John and Jeffrey love her.
Sophie & Laura destroyed "Walkin' After Midnight." Judges want these cry-babies to go home too.
Gabe Garcia sang "Somebody Like You" and nailed it. He’s the top dog in this contest.
Shawn Mayer sang "The First Cut is the Deepest" and did okay, enough to make Rich pause for a moment.
Coffey sang "Proud Mary," and the judges have had a cud full of him.
Ashlee Hewitt performed "Take the Money and Run," not loving her performance, pretty girl though. Judges were so-so.
Pearl Heart did a great rendition of "Ain't Going Down." They were terrific.Unfortunately they too were voted off the show.
Monsters and Critics joined a few journalists and spoke to Tommy Stanley and Pearl Heart post-show.
Tommy, I have a disconnect with what John Rich was saying, that you were on the line between pop and country. You sounded pretty country to me. I was wondering if you had any comments?
Tommy Stanley: Yeah. My comment to that is pretty much John Rich being himself on TV. , he’s trying to get the real, , the real true country out of someone. And I can really see that. I can understand where he’s coming from.
But he’s really got to do is look at what he’s doing and, , while driving Bentleys and wearing cow fur on his (slacks), that’s pretty much what he’s got to do.
And he’s got to think about what he does in music and what other people are trying to do in music, and become country. And it’s so amazing how he has changed country music in so many ways, like being, , Music Mafia. It’s so amazing.
And it’s kind of how I want to, I want to bring in country music and that’s what’s so cool about it that he’s doing that style. And I want to bring that country music also.
Pearl Heart, I’m sorry to see you guys go, too. I love your harmonies.I was wondering how you felt about your experience with the judges - with Jewel, Jeffrey and John, and if you had opinions about that you’d like to share?
Amy Krechel: All three of the judges - every time they critiqued us on something we made sure that we worked on it. And we tried to - we strived to improve each week that we were on the show and we’re still going to do that.Being eliminated from the show - we’re still going to work hard and...improve on areas that that we need work on. And these people know what they’re doing. They’ve done this a long time, so they’re smart people.
What country music was the inspiration for you growing up that you latched onto, that you loved?
Courtney Krechel: The first country song we ever listened to when I was really little, it was Life’s a Dance by John Michael Montgomery and that’s what really got us hooked on country music.
The Dixie Chicks were a big inspiration to us. We started back in 1998 which is when the Dixie Chicks were first coming out and...they were definitely a big inspiration to us. And like Kenny Chesney, we love how his career is going and his work ethic. And Reba McEntire and George Strait and Garth Brooks - they’ve all got awesome careers and they know that without their fans they’re nothing and we want to model their careers. We hope to be like them someday.
Tommy -- what about you? What did you listen to when you were growing up?
Tommy Stanley: When I was young I was - I felt that - close to nine, eight years old, I had a cassette tape. It was Ropin’ the Wind, Garth Brooks and I had - it was - it pretty much made me want to perform. It made me want to be a better performer, a better singer than I am.
And everything about that cassette just changed my life, saying that oh my god, look at Garth Brooks. He’s jumping ten feet off a stage onto a ladder just in front of people right over their face, .
Like he could really hurt himself but he doesn’t because he loves singing. He lives to entertain. He lives for the music and that’s - he lives for the dream. And that’s what I want to do.
And I’ve seen myself through the years, developing and seeing other people develop in the music industry. And I want to be - it’s just a great experience coming this far and being a part of this.
Jewel said that the show wouldn’t be the same without you. What did having her as a mentor do for your music?
Tommy Stanley: Well having Jewel as a mentor was another step for me. I saw how Jeffrey Steele and how John Rich did their mentoring which they did so good at. And well the one thing that I really was happy about the way Jewel did her mentoring, she let you be the musician.
She stepped in and said whichever song you do - she didn’t choose a song, she didn’t say hey, I was thinking this song is better. She said, this is a great direction. you choose this song, but still if you do this song you got to do that.
She let you pretty much choose what song and let you be pretty much the musician - just pretty much to how you’re going to do through life. you’re going to have to choose your songs through life and what’s good and what’s bad.
You have to make those decisions and she let us pick. And that’s what I respect her a lot on and with her mentoring sessions and all.
Can you talk about being a musician on the Kitty Hawk and how that helped your fellow comrades as well as helping you get through hard times?
Tommy Stanley: Yes, definitely. Being in the Kitty Hawk was a big experience for me and even when I do go back, it’s going to be a great experience. Just being a part of what I have been and before - it’s the before and after. It all affects.
I mean, I remember sitting on the ground in my (birthing) where everyone sleeps. They’re sleeping. It’s like 47 degrees being that it’s, , 120 degrees down in the pit- it’s - we love the cold, but we’re always in the heat so, - but whenever I play guitar down there they always sit around or even if they’re sleeping they don’t bother me - just let me play in there.
They’re so supportive, in every situation that I’m in and everything that’s going on in their lives. I like to hear the stories and it helps me to write better songs and allows me to be a better person, and have better character about the world and how I’m seeing things.
It’s just a great experience at all.
Pearl Heart, Did you talk to Jeffrey Steele after the show about future plans or can you talk about what your plans kind of include?
Angela Krechel: Jeff has been so supportive of us. I mean, I’m so happy that he was our mentor. We just have a special connection with him and like he told us that on the show that call him up and get - knock on his door.
And we talked to him after the show about that and we’re all over that. I mean, we’re going to start working tomorrow. We’re ready to just start working really hard. We want to make it - you guys can chime in. It’s just the beginning for Pearl Heart.
Courtney Krechel: As far as our work ethic, every week we take in what the judges say and we really enjoy the challenge of the songs. Like Love Shack was a really big challenge for us and we took it in, and we really worked on it.
We worked on it like every hour of every day. And the same with this past week or actually like from Love Shack on, we worked really, really hard every day to improve and to make it come across on stage.
And Jeff noticed that and he - I’m glad that he noticed that because we’ve always been really hard workers and it’s - I think it’s something that you have to have when you’re in the music industry.
What does it mean to have the approval of the people that have already made it in the industry?
Amy Krechel: And I think it is so neat that all the other contestants have said good things about us. I mean, we were all like a family here and everybody is rooting for each other. And I think that’s really, really cool and it’s really rare,And with the judges, I mean, these people have been doing this a long time and they know what they’re talking about and it makes me feel so good that they believe in us. They know that we can do this.
And this is not the end of the road for us, I mean, it’s the end of this show and we’re eliminated now, but it’s not the end of the road for our music career. This is just the beginning.
What separated you from Third Town?
Angela Krechel: See the thing about Third Town was the judges told them that they don’t have an identifiable lead singer and that’s the difference between us and Third Town because we do have one.
Courtney is our lead singer. I mean, Amy and I could sing lead, too. But it just - I think a trio needs to have an identifiable sound like when you hear the Rascal Flatts, it’s then because you hear Gary LeVox’s voice.
And like the Dixie Chicks with Natalie Maines, that that and I think it’s important for a trio to have a lead singer just so people can know them, .
Tommy, what did it mean last week to not only see your family and your shipmates, but to also have the chance to perform for them?
Tommy Stanley: Well it kind of brought me back pretty much to back being on the ship and even being on my, , the back porch performing for my family all those years that I have.
It was a great experience especially. Every second with them was amazing and seeing my father again, he was - , I hadn’t seen him in a year, it was - just every second was - I mean, he’s thanked god for every second he was with me and it was just such an amazing experience.
And I couldn’t be happier, to spend that - to spend time with my family, with my other family which are the contestants because they’re so cool and it’s been a hard road because they’d see Pearl Heart go.
I was upstairs at the time and seeing them go was so hard for me because they’re like my sisters to me - because I have three sisters and I love them so much.
And seeing them love music as much as I do, it’s more emotional to see them go because I want them to make it just as much as I want to make it. And it’s almost even more I want them because I care for them so much. And it’s hard.When you look back at everything,
I’ve been in Guam, Malaysia, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan - all those things add up because you’ve been everywhere. You’re like oh my god, I’m seeing a lot of the world and I want to see more of it, . And that’s just on a whole different level with the Navy. But with me as a (kid), it’s another whole side. It’s just a whole new experience and I can’t wait to see what the music industry has for me and holds for me, and the same as Pearl Heart. I mean, they’re amazing.
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