Shawn Mayer vies for top 10 spot on Nashville Star

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The northwest Iowan who clapped at piglets, picked up wrenches and hopped on fire trucks in video footage made it through a nervous episode of "Nashville Star" on Monday night.

She'd already outlasted Charley Jenkins, who sang "I Like It, I Love It," and became a judges' cut at the end of the the June 9 premier episode. The 12-to-11 cut was the only one left to judges John Rich, Jewel and Jeffrey Steele.

Mayer is a regional favorite from May City, an unincorporated O'Brien County town of about 45 residents north of Hartley. The finalist sang "Take Another Piece of My Heart" and had to wait a week to find out if she received enough calls from the television audience to make the cut from 11 to 10.

Las Vegas trio "Third Town" took the bullet in Monday's episode, so Shawn was safe.

She wasn't confident about her chances, though, and that could be a problem. Mayer has been well-placed in the balcony when the NBC show goes to commercial and she looked really nervous as the pool of still-vulnerable singers began to thin. Six of the 11 acts had already been deemed "safe" for another week by the time Shawn's name was called.

Footage centering on each act's song choice and work with the judges aired before the performance. Producers showed Shawn working with John Rich (of the duo Big & Rich) when she said she wanted to prove she wasn't just another bar singer. (Rich was perhaps her harshest critic a week earlier when he said he heard a girl "singing at a bar, not going for a major record deal.")

Rich, who is working with the female solo acts, had his doubts again when Mayer told him her song choice was the iconic George Jones standard "He Stopped Loving Her Today." Shawn told him she didn't want to go out playing it safe.

"Shawn Mayer is going after something so dangerous, if she pulls this off, she's going to a whole new level in this show," he said. "She's going to be someone to contend with."

She did a decent job with the song. It was a little warbled for my taste, but thankfully on key (we'll get to you in a minute, Justin Gaston). I don't think we've yet heard the Shawn Mayer song that will fire up the causal viewer and push her deep into the competition yet.

Perhaps the most promising sign from Monday night is that all three judges seem to think she has that kind of potential:

* Steele told Shawn "you have the talent" but shouldn't go for "Star Search" notes at the expense of the lyrics. He said she was walking on "sacred ground" and he wasn't sold on the performance. Steele is mentoring the duos and trios in the competition.

* Shawn's mentor, Rich, told her when George Jones sang that song "it was a moment in time in country music and American music."

"You tackled Mount Everest, basically, tonight. I thought you climbed halfway up there. I thought you did good. You didn't do great, but I think there's greatness in you to come and I respect your ability to go after something that tall. What a challenge, and I commend you for that."

* Jewel is mentoring the male soloists and was the first judge to comment.

"I saw you crying during that song," she told Shawn. "How bad do you want this?"

"John (Rich) called me a crybaby but these tears aren't fake," she answered. "I'm so thankful to be on this stage. Every day I want to kiss it and say thank God I'm here and thank you guys so much."

Jewel said Shawn will have no problem demanding enough of herself. Her problem will be finding a way to be kind to herself.

I agree. She seemed so nervous and overwhelmed at times during Monday's show, yet she has one of the better voices. If she can somehow find a little swagger and accept that she belongs there, she could go deep into the show.