1/21/2008 Stephen L. Betts Nashville Star will soon return to TV screens, but the show is moving from USA Networks to NBC for the upcoming sixth season. Other changes taking place this season: duos and groups will now be able to compete, and the minimum age requirement has dropped from 18 to 16. The show's producers have also expanded “country” to include Americana and other roots style music, running the gamut from George Jones and Tammy Wynette to Joe Ely, Sheryl Crow, and the Marshall Tucker Band. No airdate has been confirmed, but auditions will begin next month in 20 cities across the U.S. The competition will continue to be taped in Nashville. NBC has announced that Nashville Star will be a part of its “All-American Summer" lineup, which will lead up to its coverage of the Olympics in August. Although the hosts and judges have not been confirmed, the two-hour season premiere will feature a casting special in which producers take viewers behind the scenes and introduce them to the best (and worst) talent vying to be Nashville’s next big thing.
