Nashville Sausage Fest

A disturbing trend continued on this week's Nashville Star, as Kristen McNamara became the third consecutive woman eliminated from the show. Judge Phil Vassar summed things up: "This is becoming a sausage fest."

Tonight, contestants performed original songs, and only one of them benefited from it. Chris Young proved that he can write as well as he performs. He's also embraced the fact that he's a hunk, and the camera loves him for it. Now if he'd only embrace the fact that he still has all his hair, he might keep his cowboy hat off for a while.

His slow tune showed off his vocal range, including a nice falsetto. Tonight's guest judge, music producer David Foster, was impressed. He told Chris, "I'm betting you're going to win this thing."

All of the other contestants had trouble writing melodies that suited their voice. It's as if they focused all of their energy on the instruments, and didn't think of their voice as a separate, if not more important instrument.

Jared Ashley took the worst beating from the judges for his tired, redneck-themed song. He gave the first performance of the evening, and Anastasia Brown said, "I'm stunned that you're here, and one of them is going home."

Anastasia reiterated her opinion when she told Kristen, "America made a mistake tonight." It's hard to disagree, as Jared has yet to do anything to distinguish himself. But, with recent history on his side, he'll stick around next week and Nicole Jamrose will be sent home.