Season 1 (2003)
Season 1 was broadcast on USA Network and presented by Nancy O'Dell. Judges were country music historian Robert K. Oermann, record label executive Tracy Gershon, and singer/songwriter Charlie Robison.
The standings for 2003 were:
| Place | Name | Sex | Age | Hometown | Week Eliminated |
| 1 | Buddy Jewell | M | 41 | Osceola, Arkansas | Winner |
| 2 | John Arthur Martinez | M | 41 | Marble Falls, Texas | Finale (May 3, 2003) |
| 3 | Miranda Lambert | F | 21 | Lindale, Texas | Finale (May 3, 2003) |
| 4 | Brandi Gibson | F | 21 | Arlington, Kentucky | Week 8 (April 26, 2003) |
| 5 | Brandon Silveira | M | 24 | Hanford, California | Week 7 (April 19, 2003) |
| 6 | Amy Chappell | F | 27 | Hutchinson, Kansas | Week 6 (April 12, 2003) |
| 7 | Jamey Garner | M | 32 | Chester, Illinois | Week 5 (April 5, 2003) |
| 8 | Prentiss Varnon | M | 22 | Uvalde, Texas | Week 4 (March 29, 2003) |
| 9 | Travis Howard | M | 32 | Chalybeate Springs, Georgia | Week 4 (March 29, 2003) |
| 10 | Tasha Valentine | F | 21 | Albuquerque, New Mexico | Week 3 (March 22, 2003) |
| 11 | Kristen Kissling | F | 22 | Topeka, Kansas | Week 3 (March 22, 2003) |
| 12 | Ann Louise Blythe | F | 24 | San Lorenzo, California | Week 2 (March 15, 2003) |
The first winner of Nashville Star, in the spring of 2003, was 41-year-old Buddy Jewell. On the strength of his win, Jewell's self-titled album released via Columbia Records earned him a gold record and two top-five country hits in "Help Pour Out the Rain (Lacey's Song)" and "Sweet Southern Comfort", both at No. 3. With the release of a second album, Times Like These, Jewell saw declining sales and was dropped from the label. That season's runner up, John Arthur Martinez, has released several independently produced albums, and one under a major banner.
Miranda Lambert finished third. Her debut album, Kerosene, debuted on the Billboard country albums chart at No. 1 upon its 2005 release, and with a platinum certification from the RIAA, it is the best-selling album from a Nashville Star contestant. Her second album, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, is certified platinum too and has produced three more Top 20 hits, one of which ("Gunpowder & Lead") reached No. 7 in 2008. Her third album, Revolution, which is also certified platinum, gave her her first No. 1 "The House That Built Me". At the 2010 Academy of Country Music Awards, Lambert won 3 awards including Top Female Vocalist, Video of the Year for 'White Liar' and Album of the Year for 'Revolution'. She was also named Female Vocalist of the Year at the 2010 Country Music Association Awards. She is widely considered to be the most successful contestant in the history of the show, although Season 4 winner Chris Young has more No. 1 country singles (five) than Lambert (three).
Read more about this topic: Nashville Star
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)