Gone Country Is Rich in Ratings

/31/2008 Stephen L. Betts CMT's Gone Country ratings are big -- no, make that rich! The show, hosted by John Rich of Big & Rich, drew more than 10.5 million total viewers during the premiere and repeat telecasts this past weekend. The premiere ranks as the network's highest-rated series debut since the launch of The Ultimate Coyote Ugly Search in 2006. The first episode of Gone Country introduced the seven singers - Bobby Brown, Carnie Wilson, Dee Snider, Diana DeGarmo, Julio Iglesias Jr., Maureen McCormick and Sisqo - to each other and to viewers. The first night the show’s participants were in town they ate a meal catered by Nashville's famed Loveless Café. John says most of the artists on Gone Country eat healthy but, given the chance to sample real southern cooking, they “threw it down, man. We put some grease down them, and I think they enjoyed it.”