Who Won Nashville Star? America Chooses a Nashville Star Winner

America anxiously awaited the announcement by Billy Ray Cyrus on Monday to see which Nashville Star finalist America would crown as the winner of the next Nashville Star reality television show. So, who won Nashville Star - Melissa Lawson, Gabe Garcia, or Shawn Mayer? All in all, it was a good night for Texas as Melissa Lawson and Gabe Garcia, both from Texas, emerged as the two Nashville Star finalists. In the end, America crowned Melissa Lawson from Arlington, Texas as the Nashville Star winner.

We can look forward to Shawn Mayer also having a successful country music superstar future since music fans love the sassy, sexy style Shawn brings to country music. Shawn Mayer is like Natalie Maines and Shania Twain combined. Although Shawn took a while to really develop her strength and style on Nashville Star, she took the competition seriously and fought her way to the top three Nashville Star finalists. I have to admit, by the end of the show, I became a Shawn Mayer fan. Her voice and appearance improved, she has a Texas-born Natalie Maines attitude, a Pat Benatar female punch, and the beauty and sass of Shania Twain.

As the suspense to find out who won Nashville Star built through the first half hour of the show, Melissa Lawson and Gabe Garcia painfully belted out a duet of I've Had The Time of My Life. The song choice for the duet was a mysterious and awkward choice for the Nashville Star finals, but it was obvious that both Nashville Star finalists believed that this competition was in fact the time of their life! Once Melissa Lawson was named the winner of Nashville Star, she gave a tear-jerking performance as she sang her recorded song What If It All Goes Right. Joining her on stage at the end of her dreams-come-true song were her husband, her five children, and all of the Nashville Star contestants.

We can also look forward to superstar success from Gabe Garcia. Country music now has a new Hispanic Hijo with a pure voice of country gold. Texas sure knows how to turn out their country music superstars as Gabe Garcia is destined to follow in the superstar footsteps of Texans John Rich, George Strait, and Rick Trevino to name a few. By the way, it was great to see John Rich sporting a Texas Longhorns cap while producing Melissa Lawson and Gabe Garcia's Nashville Star winning songs. Congratulations to a great season of Nashville Star and to Melissa Lawson! To view a video recap of Melissa Lawson's winner announcement and the Top 10 Gabe Garcia video performances, click here.

You can buy Melissa Lawson's recording of the John Rich produced song, What If It All Goes Right, and view Nashville Star touring dates and locations by clicking here.