Erika Jo

• Genre: New Country
• Hometown: Angleton
• Erika Jo Website

About

Nashville Star is so much cooler than American Idol. Not only are the judges a lot kinder with their criticisms, but nobody says, "Seacrest! Out!" And in addition to landing a recording contract, the champion also gets a Chevy Silverado pickup. That's what the soulfully-voiced Erika Jo drove home from the final show of the 2004 season, when over a million viewers voted her the top contestant, over finalists Jason Meadows and Jody Evans. The funny thing is, this was her second go at the show. She was booted off the 2003 season. Hailing from Angleton, Tex., Jo grew up singing with her father's country covers band. In fact, her family loved country music so much that they moved to Nashville when Jo was only two years old. Then, 16 years later, she took home the contract (and Chevy) from Nashville Star. Her self-titled album debuted in June of 2005 on Universal South Records with the witty "I Break Things" rolling off as her first single.

- Eric Shea