That’s right -it’s almost that time, next week is the Nashville Star finale! So who are the final three? We have to wait a while to see, as each of the final four get to show us what happened on a visit home, sing a song, then only the final three will sing a second song selection.

Hope ya’ll voted the right way! Cuz I know I did, right? Right.

After everyone gets to sing once and show off the visit home - and how many of you awww’d when Melissa’s first stop was home with her boys and changing diapers? - we get to discover who the final three are.

First named… Shawn. Hm. i’m perplexed, but then again, I was perplexed about her and Coffey last week, so between the two…. anyway, she sings better then ever, I think, and maybe it’s a good choice after all.

America is saved from my wrath when Melissa Lawson is named next and she blows the roof off with “Jesus take the wheel” and gets a standing ovation from John Rich. Richly deserved, too. Of anyone, I think she has the pipes to make it in this business, and deserves the chance.

Last up…. Gabe! Alrighty, I can get behind this trio, then. Coffey (and his massive pit stains… ew, man, just ew…) is going home tonight, and I think it’s really past time. He is a hell of a showman, but he’s just not got the pipes for the long haul, not yet.

So - what are you all waiting for? GO VOTE FOR MELISSA! I mean, go vote. Yes. (grin) Video’s to come as soon as they’re available!

It’s original song night on Nashville star, and surprise, surprise, Coffey is back on top by Viewer votes. I don’t understand it, really, as his voice isn’t as strong as the others. he has stage presence though, and maybe that’s what is pushing him through. His song, Southern Man, has pretty catchy lyrics as well, so I figure he’s a sho-in for the finals at this point. Rich isn’t a fan, still, but the other judges are.

YAY! Melissa is up next and she’s only been writing for a few months, but her ballad is traditional and strong - Ready to Stand. It’s somewhat typical, but sometimes that’s what the crowd wants - and the judges love it too.

Gabe makes it into the automatic finalist spot last, and sings his original song “Lost Weekend. It’s something straight up radio, I think I could listen to any channel and hear it. He gets nagged, again, about his need to connect with the audience.

Ashley and Shawn are in the bottom two, and they both get to sing. Ashlee sings Mike’s Hard Lemonade, which is really pretty good - better then the others tonight, I think. Which naturally means she’s in big trouble tonight.

Shawn’s song is “Not looking back” which gets her very emotional - though it’s extremely typical, and the worst of the bunch.

Which, as I expected, means she gets a second chance. After a 15 minute delay (not really, but it was LONG) Ashlee is eliminated.

And the winner is crowned! After three months of training and 6 episodes, we have a winner for Celebrity Circus, and it’s none other then the always sexy Antonio Sabato Jr.! He fought his way past the natural showman, WeeMan, the gorgously limber natural Stacie Dash to come home with the coveted Wheel of Death trophy.

Though the best part of the evening were the professional performers - and I don’t mean Blu Katrell’s singing either. Heh.

Congrats, Antonio - may you forever find reasons to take your shirt off and do this:

It’s love song Monday, with out top six dwindling to five, and a lot of snarky judging to go with it. This week, we find Sophie and Laura in the bottom two along with Shawn Mayer, and America finally got it right and sent the duo home. They’re too young and soft to really be able to compete at this level, let alone dive headfirst into showbiz. The most surprising thing about the ouster was John Rich’s outright confirming that NBC had a huge role in picking the finalist. He said they made some questionable choices, and I think they know what they’re talking about. Sophie was dressed down for ‘disrespecting Jewel on national television’ and responded as any teenager caught would. She didn’t realize she did it, she apologized, and they still hammered her for it, and that, along with their still growing talent that needs work, makes me glad to say goodbye. I hope they keep singing, but they really weren’t ready for this at all.

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Finals and breaking a world record right on stage? What more could we ask for in a finale?! First up - we have to find out who had the most votes last week in order to perform this week and it’s Stacy Dash! Am I the only one who thinks she has this thing in the bag?

This time the Judges pick what act they’ll perform, and Stacy’s challenge is the Trapeze Bungee once again, where she’s hoping to top her first performance. She missed the bar a couple times at the beginning, and it just doesn’t have the fluidity the first one had until about half way through then she rocks it out - but she misses the last catch too. Lots of difficulty there, but a rough performance. Judges give her 8s across the board because she stuck with it and finished.

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We start off tonight with a heart attack for Lessa! We’re told that the first two names called, one has the most votes and the other is eliminated - and they call Melissa Lawson and Tommy Stanley to the stage! Now I know that ya’ll couldn’t possibly have brought Tommy back, really? Thank goodness you didn’t, and Melissa is the top vote getter after last week! Whew! After Tommy goes, she performs Danny’s Song, which started a bit soft and nervous, but showcased her voice well in a softer style.

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This week wastes no time before a star leaves, though it’s not because of an elimination by vote - Christopher Knight fell from the trapeze and re-injured his arm. We watched a recap of ‘his journey’ and the judges showered him with praise, and how he’s an inspiration and unique. Awww. Poor old Brady Dude! That means that the competition continues - and Joey says that Chris would not have been eliminated tonight according to the vote - which means they’d better step it up, big time!

WeeMan is up first, and he’s doing Hand Balancing with Vlad. He doesn’t want to let Vlad down like he did in the German Wheel. After a visit from the smallest body builder in the world, Romeo, who’s only 20 inches tall, he was inspired to keep going, despite the limitations of their size differences. They swing in on ropes and get started with the act.It’s standard fair, and WeeMan wobbled a bit, but he did what he could do, being so short - but en the end, he did pick up Vlad, which was pretty awesome! The judges were impressed, and gave him a score of 10, 10, 10! Huh. I didn’t think it warranted that much, but alrighty.

It’s Stacy Dash’s turn, and she’s going to perform the Cradle. She took time out to go to her daughter’s Birthday party, and then it was straight to the gym once again. It’s breathtaking as they tumbled and swung and jumped and wow - nice. Lots of tricks, but the judges were a little hard on her for concentrating too hard and not making it fluid enough - but they want the Diva Dust back. Her scores: 8, 8, 8.

Next up, Antonio Sabato Jr. tackles the Wheel of Death after only 4 days of training. Heh. He was supposed to do trapeze, but it just wasn’t coming together for him after 8 weeks, so he moved to the Wheel of Death, but he says he loves being afraid. This is the event for him then! He’s in search of a 10 as he takes on the Wheel. Shirtless. RAWR. They kept cutting away from him though, but what I saw was pretty cool. He ended with a headstand on the outside of the wheel at the very top. The judges weren’t happy that he was repeating the same trick over and over, though what he did perform it was done well, but the event wasn’t his strongest event. Antonio starts getting uppity, with Aurelia and says he won’t crack her head again for her, he’s a man and won’t take it anymore. The scores: 7, 7, 8. He gets in one more shot, says he’s doing it for his kids and the fans, not for Aurelia.

We get a montage about training, and learn that they had 8 weeks to train the first act, and since then they have 4 days to meet their trainer and partner, , learn the routine, music and every week is getting harder and they’re all exhausted physically and mentally.

Next up, it’s Rachael Hunter vs. “a vicious beast in the most dangerous act we’ve ever attempted!” Why do I get the feeling - after all this buildup - that this is a clown act? How will she handle taming a raging bull? They show her training with her trainer wearing a bullshead before she has to face the bull, though they don’t show it until the performance. Joey says to stay in their seats no matter what happens, and it’s time for Rachael to fling the cape a bit - which she messes up once but then she says she’s ready and its…. nope, not clowns. It’s…. dogs. Chihuahuas.

Little dogs who end up pulling her pants off, showing ruffles. Nice. Aurielia isn’t sure what to say, but it was entertaining. They didn’t expect this type of act from her, but it was amusing and they’re speechless - except Louis of course who says it was a carcrash but he loved it. The scores: 6,6,7 - 6.3 average. She says they were a little higher then she expected, and she’s giggling and says she was just glad to make them smile.

So next week we’ll find which three stars will perform in the finale!