Playlist

For those of you keeping track of songs, here's what Melissa Lawson and Gabe Garcia sang tonight on the Nashville Star finale:

Melissa -- Rascal Flatts' "My Wish" and Sugarland's "Something More."
Gabe -- Brad Paisley's "Celebrity" and Alan Jackson's "Gone Country."
Melissa and Gabe -- A duet of Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes' "(I've Had) The Time of My Life," from Dirty Dancing.
Melissa, Gabe and Shawn Mayer -- Performed "Achy Breaky Heart" with show host Billy Ray Cyrus.

And as previously mentioned, Melissa sang her new single, "What If It All Goes Right" after she was crowned the new Nashville Star.

Photo: Gabe Garcia and Melissa Lawson (Courtesy of nsidenashville.com).

No matter what the outcome of tonight's Nashville Star finale would've been, Melissa Lawson and Gabe Garcia were already winners.

The relentlessly image-conscious music business, country or otherwise, would have probably discarded Ms. Lawson immediately because she's not model thin. Yet it's in her realness - her looks, her story, her talent - that the heart of true country music beats. She represents most of the women out there that connect with the genre, the working mothers, the wives and the churchgoers. She proves that life experiences are the ultimate tools needed to sell a song.

Similarly, Mr. Garcia, the Hispanic-American from Lytle, Texas who pursued his dream to honor his late father, is an example of the genre's reach. There haven't been that many Latinos as country music stars (I can only think of three), so he's already a rarity that succeeded.

How refreshing that the Top 2 contestants on Nashville Star circa 2008 speak for the everyday masses, not the celebrity elite.

Photo: Gabe Garcia (John Russell/NBC).

Melissa Lawson, the expressive singer inspired and supported by her husband and five children, was crowned the sixth season winner of the country music talent competition tonight during the show's hour-long finale. She proved victorious over fellow Texan Gabe Garcia, who came in second place, and Iowa's Shawn Mayer, the third place finalist. As she sang her new single, the John Rich-produced "What If It All Goes Right," a steady stream of confetti threatened to thwart her performance. But Ms. Lawson, always the consummate pro, never flinched. She was all smiles surrounded by fellow contestants and her family. The 32-year-old won a recording contract with Warner Bros. Nashville, a Toyota Tundra and a shot at country music stardom.

Photo: Melissa Lawson (Vernon Bryant/DMN).

The Nashville Star tour, featuring the top four finalists Melissa Lawson, Gabe Garcia, Shawn Mayer and Coffey, rides into Fort Worth's Billy Bob's Texas Nov. 1, it was announced today. Ticket prices and an on-sale date will be announced this week.

Tonight, of course, is the Star finale. Either Ms. Lawson, Mr. Garcia or Ms. Mayer will be crowned the sixth Nashville Star. Stay tuned at 9 p.m. on NBC-TV (Channel 5).

Photo: Melissa Lawson performing at Arlington High School (Vernon Bryant/DMN).

I would have ended up in bed Friday night nursing the fresh bump on my head, bemoaning loss of my favorite left shoe and complaining that the music sounded like it belonged in someone's garage.

But, alas, I did not because Coheed & Cambria delivered a truly amazing show at the House of Blues.

The crowd stood mostly still while Russian Circles opened with their purely instrumental show. The three musicians are very talented but without vocals it felt more like an intrusion of band practice than a show. The Secret Machines played more mellow music that didn't seem to fit with the other two sets and made us all a little sleepy.