(NBC Photo by John Russell) Shawn Mayer of May City leaves voters with the performance that will decide the winner of season six of the country music competition "Nashville Star."

Daily Reporter Staff

Somewhere in New York City on Friday afternoon, 21-year-old Shawn Mayer was sitting on a ledge doing phone interviews and looking out a window down to the congested streets below.

And if the "Nashville Star" finalist finds out she didn't receive the top number of votes when season six comes to an end Monday, it doesn't sound like she's going to find one of those tall buildings to jump off.

The NBC country music competition series auditioned 45,000 performers and 12 of the acts performed on a stage in front of television cameras and a panel of tough-love judges. Now there's only three contestants left: Mayer has outlasted Las Vegas performers, a sisters trio, a Navy engineer and a male clothing model among others en route to the show's final episode.

Her call back to Spencer came after an appearance on "The Today Show."

"It went so well, but it really felt like I blinked and it was done," she said. "It happened so fast, but it was great. It was my first time seeing New York and it's so big and it makes me feel so small."

Calls in the two hours after the July 25 episode have already decided who the next "Nashville Star" is. Mayer, 28-year-old Gabe Garcia of Lytle, Texas, or 31-year-old Melissa Lawson of Arlington, Texas, will receive a Warner Bros. recording contract and a chance to perform at the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing

"I'm nervous, but I'm so happy to have made it this far that I don't need a title to prove to anybody that I've come a long way," she said.

These talent show competitions don't announce their winners with a whisper, so Mayer has had a busy week -- in addition to extra media obligations, she's had to learn five songs for the big-production season finale.

Mayer isn't terribly nervous, however. Since the votes are in, the pressure is off: "I have a little less weight on my shoulders because the competition is done," she says.

In all honesty, she didn't think she'd make it this far. And, she wasn't alone in that analysis.

"Here she is in the final three -- I would not have bet on that at the beginning of the show," said John Rich, an industry insider who cowrote "Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)."

Rich, along with songwriter/producer Jeffrey Steele and accomplished soloist Jewel are judges on the show who provide sometimes caustic feedback to the performers. Their opinions don't eliminate the acts -- but they can sway the viewers at home who use their computers, cell phones or land lines.

"I was shocked that she made the final three and Ashlee Hewitt (a Minnesotan who finished fifth on the show) did not," Rich continued. "But I think there's something about Shawn Mayer that translates through that television camera better than what Ashlee Hewitt was doing."

Coffey, a charismatic 29-year-old single dad from Los Angeles was the contestant who finished fourth and fell just short of the season finale. The judges have anointed Garcia and Lawson frontrunners throughout much of season six. They use phrases like "dark horse" and "wild card" when talking about Mayer.

"I'm so grateful to be in the top three with two great artists who have gotten nothing but praises the whole show," Mayer said. "Gabe is just straight-up country. I absolutely love his voice. He reminds me a lot of George Strait. That's something that is really needed in today's country music."

Melissa just has a remarkable voice, according to Mayer.

"She's such a strong woman that it's nice to be able to share the stage with them," Mayer said. "To be seen as the same level as them is really moving to me. I'm so thankful to have made it this far that I don't think what happens on Monday is going to get me down at all. In my mind, I don't need a title to prove to everybody -- I already feel like I've won."

Rich served as Mayer's mentor between episodes for the first half of the series. His no-nonsense approach wasn't a good match for the sometimes-stubborn, sometimes-emotional girl from Osceola County.

"Shawn is a hard head and John Rich is a hard head," Rich said. "We're both a couple of knuckle heads and very determined, directional, tunnel-vision-style individuals."

Mayer's reaction to Rich's to-the-point candor caused one of the splashiest story-lines of the season when the field was reduced from eight to six in the July 7 episode. Rich was abruptly "fired" by Mayer. She has worked with Steele since the mentor change.

"That was a very gutsy call on her part and probably the right call to make," Rich said. "As I explained to her, just because somebody, like myself, has a reputation of writing hit songs and producing hit records -- and you have had a lot of success and momentum with you -- doesn't mean you work well with everybody."

A lot of the creative process in music comes down to chemistry between people, he explained during a conference call with reporters Friday afternoon.

"If she felt like our chemistry was off and it wasn't giving her what she needed, it would kind of be like that in the real world," he said. "If she was an artist and I was producing her record and I wasn't making the record like she wanted me to make it, she would have to fire me in that situation, too. So, yeah, it was funny, it kind of gave everybody a kick, but on the serious side, that's really the way it goes down in the real world. You have to be willing to follow your own voice and your own heart and she told me I wasn't getting the job done, wanted to go with Jeff, and she's doing great."

But is she "great" enough to win the show? In his own, direct way, Rich doesn't think so.

"Gabe and Melissa, without a doubt, are, in my opinion, vocally, head and shoulders above Shawn Mayer," Rich said. "Just as straight-ahead singers, they're head-and-shoulders above her. I also think their stories are really, really compelling."

Lawson is a mother of five, and Rich finds that representative of a lot of listeners in country music. If her working-mom experiences come through in her music, Rich says Lawson will connect with millions.

"We don't have somebody like Melissa as a star in country music," he said. "We have big female artists that are mothers, but they became that after they were famous or as they were going in their career. They didn't show up on the scene with three or four kids."

When Rich first saw Garcia, he said the performer looked like he had just finished a shift at work.

"Just totally not prepared-looking at all," Rich said. "He didn't look like a star at all, but had a great voice."

Rich has said he watched Garcia go from being a really shy, introverted guy to a true performer on stage in the last couple of episodes. He also considers Garcia to be a potentially critical bridge between country music and the Hispanic community.

"I think going to his hometown and having 10,000 people show up to see him sing -- when 10 weeks ago he would have been there and been lucky to draw 300 people in a bar somewhere -- that has, I think made his confidence surge and you can just see it in his eyes now. You can feel a different presence around him now on and off the stage."

Rich saw something different when he began working with Mayer.

"She came in and just had a scowl on her face the whole time -- just this dark cloud hanging over her head and uncomfortable to even be around her sometimes," Rich said. "You felt like this is a girl who thinks everybody is out to get her. She's probably had a life that's been pretty rough on her. A lot of people probably mistreated her -- and come to find out, she'll tell you that: 'Yeah, I've had people kick me around my whole life, so I've got these walls that I've thrown up.' We explained to her 'you've got to tear down these walls so the audience can connect with you.'"

The two could be reunited because the judge has agreed to produce the first record with the "Nashville Star" winner. Rich expects the next collaboration to be different. Mayer and Hewitt giggled their way through the dramatic moments before Hewitt's departure. Mayer is frequently seen blowing kisses and giving the fellow contestants hip bumps during the "Nashville Star" telecast.

"I think she's gone through a lot of personal changes," Rich said. "I don't think on an artistic level, she's gone from terrible to great. I think she's pretty much remained consistent on the level of talent she's given us, but on a personal side, she feels like a completely different person. She's smiling. Those big, blue eyes are bright. She really feels like she's bringing something to the table."

Since the mentor fallout, Rich says he and Mayer understand each other a lot more. If she wins this show, Rich says, "I have no doubt that Shawn Mayer and I can go into a studio and cut a hit record."

"In my opinion, I think she's the dark horse to win it, but you never know," he said. "She's really come on strong in the last couple of weeks. I think Jeffrey Steele was a better choice as a mentor for her because he's so much more easy-going than I am. I'm so cut-and-dried and so hardcore about the way I say things. That's just the way I do it. Jeff has taken a much easier approach and I think that's what helps her in the end -- was having someone with more patience that would be easier with her in the mentoring process."

As Monday's episode approaches, Mayer still finds herself in the background. She's the underdog to co-favorites. Like her perch Friday in a New York City skyscraper, it's a spot she doesn't mind being in.

"I've always kind of been there in the shadows working, fighting my way," she said. "I'm very proud and very honored to have made it this far with all the immense talent on the show. I'm a fighter and I've fought my way here."

Even, she says, if nobody was expecting it.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR:

The season finale of "Nashville Star" airs at 9 p.m. Monday on NBC. Shawn Mayer of May City is one of three finalists who want to be named the competition's winner during the episode.

"All three of us will get to perform one song and then we'll stand up for elimination and one person is going to get eliminated," Mayer said. "The two left are going to perform their second song. Then they're going to perform a song together."

"Nashville Star," will then bring all 12 acts who started the elimination rounds back on stage for a song.

"We all get to sing together again," Mayer said. "Then they'll announce the winner and the winner gets to walk out on stage and perform the brand-new single that's going to be released."

The 9 p.m. start time is an hour later than usual for the show. NBC programming is available on local affiliate KTIV, channel 4, in Sioux City.