Aspiring country music stars no longer have to be the novelty act on American Idol, as they now have a show of their own.
Created by the producers of American Idol, CMT's Next Superstar is a mix of Idol and Big Brother as contestants must display both vocal talent and cunning to be in the running.
After nationwide auditions, five male and female contestants will be cooped up in a Nashville home, dubbed the Music Mansion, where they will live and compete against one another.
Each week's contestants have to impress a revolving array of celebrity guests and a studio audience with performances and music business challenges. After an audience count, the bottom two will be forced into a singing duel with the judges deciding the winner.
National viewers will have a chance to join in the voting, however, when the competition gets down to two finalists.
The executive producer, Nigel Lythgoe, is keen to dispel the notion the show is a twangy spinoff of American Idol.
He insists Next Superstar will be more "down and dirty" as opposed to the "shiny floor show" on American Idol.
"This isn't some show in Hollywood," he said on CMT's website.
"This is going out to the people. This is going out to the biker bars. This is going to the military camps. This is going out into areas where they're going to have to work."