Long before she was topping the charts, Miranda Lambert was an undiscovered artist hoping for a shot at her dream. The door of opportunity opened when she made it on to Nashville Star, the reality singing show that aired for six seasons between USA and NBC.
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Lambert made her debut in the inaugural season in 2003, and while she wasn’t crowned the winner, she did make a lasting impression on the audience. At the ripe age of 19, Lambert was fresh from Lindale, Texas, when she auditioned with “Greyhound Bound for Nowhere,” an original song she wrote with her father and fellow songwriter, Rick Lambert.
“People sometimes don’t take me seriously,” she asserted. “I haven’t been through a whole lot of tough times in my life.” The future superstar explained how her parents were private investigators, and the “broken relationships” and “heartache” that she witnessed in the victims of domestic violence who would stay with them helped inform her songwriting. “I’ve heard it my whole life and so I understand how people feel,” she said.
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“Greyhound” is about a woman having an affair with someone who’s married. Armed with an acoustic guitar, Lambert crooned over a steel guitar-tinged, twangy melody, The sun’s going down on my misery/Another day gone by with broken dreams/That telephone I hear ringing/I keep wishing it was you/On a Greyhound bound for nowhere. Her voice as sweet as strawberry wine, coupled with her beautifully crafted song and humble stage presence, made Lambert a standout and she advanced to the next round.
Lambert placed in third in season one, her performances on the show catching the eye of an executive at Sony Music Nashville, Tracy Gershon, who convinced the label to sign her. Lambert is one of the most successful contestants in the show’s history, having released eight studio albums under Sony, nearly all of which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. “Greyhound Bound for Nowhere” ended up as a deep cut on her 2005 major label debut album, Kerosene. Lambert departed the label in 2023 after 19 years.
Chris Young and Kacey Musgraves were also Nashville Star contestants in seasons four and five, respectively. Young was named the winner of season four in 2006.
Photo by Adam Hagy/Getty Images for ABA
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