Nashville Star albums usually fail after the show is over. Albums that are released by the winners usually don't sell enough copies to go gold. According to the producers of the show, the reason the albums are commercial flops is because the timing of the release of the album is too long after the season ends. In other words, if the winners of the
country Idol franchise wanted to hit big after the show, they would have to get their debuts out a lot faster. This was the goal of The Winner Is..., to give
Angela Hacker publicity beforehand. According to the show's publicist, this is not really the debut album by fifth season winner
Angela Hacker. Rather, it is almost a demo tape of sessions from the show. For that reason, most of the music on the album is covers that
Hacker performed on the show. This year, contestants recorded their live performances in full-quality full-studio versions, as well as their live performances, which meant that over half of the album was already recorded after she won. The covers on the album, which include
Barbara Mandrell's "I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool," the famous "When Will I Be Loved?," and the legendary "Strawberry Wine," are all really well done. Mostly, this is because
Hacker is a terrific vocalist who knows how to put a spin on classics and make them her own. They rarely seem contrived; in fact, since the covers are dispersed through the album they mesh with the original works, which are also well created.
Hacker has co-written all the new work on the album, mostly with
James LeBlanc. The original pieces are mostly upbeat tracks, which work well with the selection of mainly soft ballads that were previously covered. Original highlights include "Total Loss," which was originally performed by
Hacker on the show, and "Emotionless," a
pop-oriented, radio-friendly single with great riffs and catchy hooks, and sounds like a nod to
Shania Twain or
Jo Dee Messina. The final song on the album, "Hard to Handle," is a duet with brother
Zac Hacker, who finished in second place on the show. The song was performed at the finale, and received rave reviews. It does justice on record as well. Their distinct voices ice together well together. The sole problem with The Winner Is... is the actual packaging itself. The CD is covered with
Nashville Star logos and photos. In other words, the piece doesn't end up seeming like a first album from a budding
country star, it looks like a product of
Nashville Star, and nothing else.
Hacker is promoted as a direct product of the show, and doesn't get as much credit for this album as she should. This is a knock-out debut album, and (aside from
Miranda Lambert) is the best thing to come out of the television show. It's a shame the television producers are taking all the credit for it, though. ~ Matthew Chisling, All Music Guide
