Season 3 (2005)
Nashville Star began its third season on March 1, 2005. The host was LeAnn Rimes and Cledus T. Judd was co-host, but credited as "Special Correspondent". Sara Evans substituted for Rimes during episodes 7 and 8 due to vocal cord injury. Judges were singer/songwriter Phil Vassar, record label executive Anastasia Brown, and singer/songwriter (and Poison frontman) Bret Michaels.
The standings for 2005 were:
| Place | Name | Sex | Age | Hometown | Week Eliminated |
| 1 | Erika Jo | F | 18 | Mt. Juliet, Tennessee | Winner |
| 2 | Jason Meadows | M | 33 | Calera, Oklahoma | Finale (April 26, 2005) |
| 3 | Jody Evans | M | 28 | Donaldson, Arkansas | Finale (April 26, 2005) |
| 4 | Jayron Weaver | M | 22 | Dallas, Georgia | Week 8 (April 19, 2005) |
| 5 | Justin David | M | 31 | Marshfield, Missouri | Week 7 (April 12, 2005) |
| 6 | Jenny Farrell | F | 35 | Albuquerque, New Mexico | Week 6 (April 5, 2005) |
| 7 | Tamika Tyler | F | 33 | Coffs Harbour, Australia | Week 5 (March 29, 2005) |
| 8 | Casey Simpson | F | 19 | Cerritos, California | Week 4 (March 22, 2005) |
| 9 | Christy McDonald | F | 29 | Tabor City, North Carolina | Week 3 (March 15, 2005) |
| 10 | Josh Owen | M | 19 | Brownsboro, Texas | Week 2 (March 8, 2005) |
The 2005 winner was 18-year-old Erika Jo from Mount Juliet, Tennessee — the first female and youngest overall winner. Her victory was watched by the show's largest-ever USA Network audience, when over three million people tuned in to see the finale on April 26. It marked the first time the show ranked among the top ten cable shows of the week.
Erika Jo's self-titled album debuted at No. 5 on the country album charts, but quickly fell out of the top ten, selling just over 118,000 copies in the year following its release. The video for the first single, "I Break Things", initially received heavy rotation on CMT and GAC, but the song was largely ignored by country radio and only reached No. 53 on the Billboard Magazine country charts. One subsequent single ("I'm Not Lisa") was released, but it also failed to attract substantial attention. She was later dropped from the Universal South roster. Erika Jo occasionally makes concert appearances and has become a semi-regular performer on (but not a member of) the Grand Ole Opry since her victory.
Second-place finisher Jason Meadows released an album 100% Cowboy via the independent Baccerstick label in 2008, and although the album charted, none of its three singles did. Fourth place Jayron Weaver went on to form with Delnora Reed a duo named Blue Eyed Grass.
Read more about this topic: Angela Hacker
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