Buddy Jewell Launched His Country Career on ‘Nashville Star’
Nashville Star might’ve been the ugly stepsister of American Idol, but many country stars who are now household names owe their careers to the USA/CMT show. Running for six seasons from 2003 until 2008, Nashville Star had a setup almost identical to the other singing competition.
In its first season, it officially launched the career of Buddy Jewell, who’d been on the fringes of making a breakthrough but hadn’t quite “made it” yet. Read more about Jewell’s time on the show and his career, plus which country music artist is arguably the bigger star since their time on Season 1 of Nashville Star.
Buddy Jewell won Season 1 of ‘Nashville Star’
Nashville Star launched a year after American Idol, and often drew unflattering comparisons given it was basically the same format of show — just geared exclusively toward country music fans and would-be stars. The winner received a record deal and the chance to perform at the Grand Ole Opry, among other things. Judges including Blake Shelton (before his days on The Voice), Jewel, and John Rich lent their talent and star status to the cast over the years, serving as mentors to the contestants.
By the time Jewell became a contestant on the first season of the reality show, he’d already relocated from Arkansas to Nashville in an attempt to find success as a country music artist. According to Country Now, he was already recording covers of songs like George Strait’s “Write This Down” before going on the show and quickly became a fan favorite to win.
Buddy Jewell’s first studio album was a hit, but the country singer faltered from there
Jewell signed with Columbia Records upon winning Season 1 and released his self-titled album that same year. It debuted at No. 1 on top of the Billboard Country Album chart. Top singles from that album called “Sweet Southern Comfort” and “Help Pour Out the Rain (Lacey’s Song)” were both from that release.
Times Like These, Jewell’s second studio album, released in 2005 and charted at No. 5 on the Country Album list. Jewell has gone on to release a total of eight studio albums with middling success overall.
Though music is his first pursuit, Country Now also reports that in the intervening years Jewell became the owner of the Peace, Love, & Little Donuts in Nashville.
Miranda Lambert placed third on Jewell’s ‘Nashville Star’ season
Jewell might have been the winner of Season 1, but he’s arguably not the biggest country music star to come from that season. Miranda Lambert placed third that year but now has surpassed Jewell in terms of longevity on the country music scene.
The “White Liar” songstress gained attention from Sony Music executive Tracy Gershon while on the show. Gershon convinced the label to sign Lambert to a record deal, who took country music by storm with her debut album Kerosene in 2004.
In 2022, she won the Academy of Country Music’s Entertainer of the Year, per People, one of the top honors in country music. She also released her ninth studio album, Palomino, in April.
