Nashville Star

I have a confession to make: I watch Nashville Star.

This show makes American Idol look classy. It's hosted by Wynonna Judd and someone named Cowboy Troy. Wynonna constantly talks about herself and has this whacked-out new-age vibe, which manifests itself in her calling every other woman "sister-friend." Cowboy Troy is some sort of rapping country singer -- he calls himself a "hick-hop" artist. (I'm not kidding.) Combined, they are the most cornball hosting duo since Sonny and Cher. I'm pretty sure that there's also a dwarf who interviews the contestants who have been voted off, but I always fast forward through that part.

That being said, it is pretty awesome. There are two regular judges and a series of seemingly random guest judges. This season, the guest judges have included Naomi Judd, David Foster, Patti LaBelle, a pro wrestler, and Scott Weiland from Stone Temple Pilots. Unlike on American Idol, the guest judges are actually critical of the contestants. In one episode, Naomi Judd told someone that America made the wrong decision and she should have been voted off.

But mostly the contestants are just in a different league than those on American Idol. Even though some of them are quite young, they are much more seasoned performers. They have an episode in which all of the contestants sing songs they wrote! The guy who won, Chris Young, wrote a song you can totally imagine hearing on country radio.