There’s something special about looking back at old footage of country music legends before they became household names. It’s even wilder to realize how many of them once competed in talent shows, hoping for their big break—only to lose.
Take Miranda Lambert and Kacey Musgraves, for example. Both started out on Nashville Star, yet neither walked away as the winner. Morgan Wallen? He gave The Voice a shot but didn’t even make it to the live rounds. And there are plenty more just like them.
If anything, these stories prove that winning a singing competition isn’t always the key to stardom. Yet, every now and then, one of these shows does introduce us to a future icon—and that’s probably why we keep watching.
Case in point: Alan Jackson.
Back in 1985, before he became a country legend, Alan appeared on the Tennessee News Network’s You Can Be A Star—but not as a contestant. At the time, he was working in the mailroom at TNN and happened to be in the audience. During a commercial break, he casually performed George Jones’ classic “He Stopped Loving Her Today.” No one in that room could have guessed they were witnessing the early days of a future country superstar.
As fate would have it, Glen Campbell saw that brief performance and offered Alan a job as a songwriter at his publishing company. Not long after, Jackson became the first artist signed to Arista Records. Even more incredible? One of the judges on You Can Be A Star that day was Keith Stegall—the man who went on to produce nearly all of Jackson’s albums.
Now that’s what you call being in the right place at the right time.