By Mike Hughes
Gannett News Service

The contestants for Nashville Star: (standing, from left) Brandi Gibson, Prentiss Varnon and Buddy Jewel, one of three finalists; (sitting, from left) Travis Howard, Kristin Kissling, Brandon Silvera, Jamie Garner, Tasha Valentine, John Arthur Martinez, another finalist, and Amy Chappell; (sitting on floor, from left) Miranda Lambert, the third finalist, and Anne Louise Blythe. (USA Network photo) | ZOOM |

Under the surface of country music, it seems as if there are deep pools of anonymous talent.

That's clear as Nashville Star prepares to announce its winner (10 p.m. Saturday, USA Network). Viewers cast their votes last Saturday, but the remaining three finalists feel they're already winners since the show has brought many of them instant fame.

Until recently, all were obscure.

"I was famous in a half-county area," jokes John Arthur Martinez, 41.

Buddy Jewell, 42, had second-hand fame, cutting demo tapes for songwriters that became hits for other people. Now he's becoming known himself. "I'm an overnight, 10-year success," he says.

Only Miranda Lambert has moved quickly. At 19, she's been flung into the national spotlight.

"Wow, I'm on a reality TV show," Lambert says. "It's sure to cut four years off the time it takes (to be known)."

The show started with 8,000 people auditioning. Twelve contestants were selected. Now that's down to three, and viewers have cast their votes. The winner will land a deal for a Sony album that Clint Black will produce. And all 12 contestants will return to perform, as will Black, Jo Dee Messina and Trace Adkins.

The final three people illustrate country's range. This isn't the cutesy turf of American Idol, which has an age ceiling of 24.

"It's really surprising that they picked the youngest person and the two oldest ones," Lambert says. "But we've all become close friends."

Her life experiences are slender so far. "I had a real job in a department store," she says, "but only for two weeks. I hated it."

So she focused on her music and now Nashville Star. It's the first time she's lived away from home.

Martinez, by comparison, tried an alternate career. In his hometown of Marble Falls, Texas, he was an English teacher and tennis coach, singing at night.

"My wife could tell I needed to change," he says. "She said, 'You're not going to be happy if you don't try this full time.' "

Martinez has four stepchildren, an independent record label (Jam Records) and a career as a singer-songwriter in English and Spanish. He's expanded beyond his half-county of fame.

Jewell, originally from Osceola, Ark., has had a number of part-time jobs, including as a bouncer. He also had one previous crack at fame: A decade ago, he won two rounds of Star Search and landed a record development deal.

That sputtered and he's spent his time making, by his count, 4,000 demos for songwriters. Usually, he couldn't guess which songs would be the hits.

"When I sang, 'Write This Down,' I thought, 'Well, it's OK.'

"Then one morning, the alarm goes off and George Strait is singing it. I'm thinking, 'Hey, I recognize that song.' " Now he hopes to link with the same songwriters for his own singles.

Family life goes on with his wife, Tene, and their children, ages 13, 9 and 2. She's a beauty consultant who didn't have any say when the Nashville Star stylists trimmed Jewell's hair.

"I didn't mind," Jewell says. "I came to Nashville to cut records, not grow hair."

Meanwhile, no one messes with Lambert's look. With long, blonde hair and a cute face, she could just as easily settle into Idol.

The Lindale, Texas, native's roots, however, are pure country.

"I started in church," she says. "I always could sing harmony."

She got serious about her singing at 17. Two years later, she and the others are working with Black as a mentor.

"He's just a cool guy," Lambert says. "And he knows what he's talking about."