As many people reading this already know, last night on Nashville Star it all came down to finalists Rob and Russell:
Just kidding! These are crew guys who were standing in for Melissa Lawson and Gabe Garcia during the finale rehearsal taping yesterday afternoon. But you have to give them kudos for how they emoted, as they pretended to hear Billy Ray Cyrus announce the results...
In all seriousness, the real winner was Melissa, proud mother of five. And not only did I predict she'd win in my blog last week, I declared her a frontrunner back when the season began. Once again, just call me Miss Cleo!
Surely John Rich--Nashville Star judge, Melissa mentor, and the man who'll produce the winner's album--must be pleased with these results. He certainly seemed in good spirits in this preshow interview, taped just moments before the finale began; not only was he dressed to the nines for this special occasion, but he freely admitted that he still has a little crush on his protégé:
Later that evening--only minutes after Melissa was named the victor (sorry, Rob and Russell)--I was ushered into the NStar green room along with a pack of fellow media hounds. There, Melissa was unsurprisingly in an equally fantastic mood. In this four-part post-finale interview, the new Nashville Star discussed her future prospects working with John, how it feels to be so crushworthy, and how she plans to handle parenting a Partridge family-sized brood while touring the country in a Partridge Family-style bus:
Congratulations, Melissa! You're one hot mama.