Heartland -- UPI Arts & Entertainment

NASHVILLE, March 6 (UPI) -- Brandon Silveira had never performed a day in his life when he auditioned in Fresno, Calif., for "Nashville Star," the latest in a long line of reality-based/talent show programming to sweep American television.

Eight thousand wannabes later, Silveira, 24, is one of 12 finalists who will spend the next few weeks in Nashville vying for the coveted grand prize of a recording contract with Sony Music, as well as national television exposure to potentially millions of viewers.

Silveira, a native of Hanford, Calif., in the agricultural-dominant part of the Golden State, and his compadres are the cast of "Nashville Star" -- which premieres at 9 p.m., Eastern and Pacific, Saturday on cable's USA Network.

The show's format blends elements of "American Idol," "Star Search" and "Real World" in what will be USA Network's first foray into this type of programming.

"We've never attempted anything like this," said Elizabeth Porter, vice president of alternative programming for the USA Network, speaking from her Los Angeles office.

"We didn't feel like the country audience had been served in a really broad way," Porter said, referring to similar programs exposing other musical genres.

One look at the high ratings that country music awards shows usually receive helped to convince the cable network of country music's broad-based appeal, she said.

"(This show) will put people in front of (television viewers) who are probably more representative of the population," Porter said.

Indeed, open-call auditions in every region of the United States produced 12 finalists who come from seemingly every walk of life and every corner of the nation. They range in age from 19 to 44. One is a father of four who owns a small record label in Texas, another is a young dispatch operator from Mayfield, Ky. One contestant makes his living as a performer in New York City while another works part-time as a Patsy Cline impersonator in Phoenix. A handful already had moved to Nashville to chase their dreams, and, for some, like Silveira, this is their first trip to Music City where the dream of singing professionally might never have been more than that.

Silveira was working on a farm at his father's agricultural pest control business when his friend, Curtis Marsh, told him about the "Nashville Star" auditions in nearby Fresno. One year after graduating with a degree in crop science from California Polytechnic Institute in San Luis Obispo, Calif., Silveira and Marsh had been hanging out at nights, writing songs.

"About six months before the contest, Curtis and I had been writing a couple of songs, just playing around because we were bored," Silveira said recently while en route to Nashville in his car. "We thought we had some good songs."

Silveira and Marsh tried out with 300 to 400 other hopefuls in Fresno. Silveira sang 30 seconds of Hank Williams' "Lovesick Blues." Silveira made the cut to 30; Marsh didn't. For the next round, Silveira sang "Family Tradition" by Hank Williams Jr. and "Fine Women," a song he and Marsh had written. He moved to the top 10. His winning performance included a full rendition of "Lovesick Blues" and "Dusty Old Road," another original by Silveira and Marsh.

Now that Silveira and the others are in Nashville, they will move into a large house, where they choose roommates and live in a fully wired atmosphere that captures nearly every minute.

Saturday's premiere episode will show the process to this point, where the viewers will meet the 12. The following eight shows will begin the culling process as first celebrity judges and then audience members determine who moves on from week to week.

"What we've done is build it, we've set it up, but it's truly in the audience's hands," Porter said. "We, along with them, will be waiting to see what happens."

Nancy O'Dell, co-anchor of "Access Hollywood" on NBC, will host the show, with celebrity judges including Lucky Dog (a Columbia/Sony imprint) recording artist Charlie Robison; Tracy Gershon, veteran music industry professional who currently is an A&R consultant for Columbia/Sony Records; and Robert K. Oermann, veteran country music journalist and TV personality who frequently appears on cable's Country Music Television's "Inside Fame" and cable's A&E's "Biography" shows. Clint Black also has signed on to produce the winning album and serve as mentor to the contestants.

Popular country singers Brad Paisley and Wynonna have agreed to be a part of the show, with other surprise country artists coming on board for various segments as the show evolves, Porter said.

Silveira said he has "no real game plan" for succeeding on the show. "I'll just see how far the show takes me," he said.