Country artist Buddy Jewell's smile lights up his whole face. And he's still smiling, despite losing the major-label recording deal he'd dreamed of for years.

"I look at it like this: God gave me that first record deal. If He wants me to have another one, He'll give me another one," Jewell says. "I thought I had exhausted all my avenues for getting a record deal, then God gives somebody this idea to do a reality show based on country singer/songwriters, and there's the door. And I walked through it."

Some might say he ran through it. Over 8,000 people tried out for the first season of USA Network's country talent competition Nashville Star, with Jewell among a dozen finalists selected to compete in the nine-week tv series. In 2003 viewer votes propelled Jewell, then 41, to stardom as the show's first winner. The prize, a recording deal with Sony Music Nashville/Columbia Records, resulted in a self-titled debut CD that went gold (over 500,000 sold), spawning two hit singles ("Help Pour Out The Rain" and "Sweet Southern Comfort"), award nominations, and touring.

A long and winding road
Though success was sweet, it came after nearly 20 years of dead-end roads. Fortunately, there were sparks of hope—a 1991 regional talent contest win and a 1992 stint on TV's Star Search. In 1993, Jewell moved with wife, Tené, and son Buddy III to Nashville to pursue his dream.

The family expanded with the births of daughter Lacey and son Joshua. Meanwhile, Jewell was turned down by one record company after another. Along the way he recorded two independent CDs and became a successful Nashville demo singer, one of many anonymous vocalists who record demonstrations of songs pitched to other artists.

"I quit counting [demos recorded] at 4,000," Jewell recalls. "By the time the show came along, I had come to the realization that I probably wasn't going to get a record deal, because for ten years no one would give me one. I'd been conditioned by Nashville—"You're too old." I didn't think I had much of a chance.

Jewell's disappointment warred with hope. "I remember saying, 'God, why did You bless me with this talent and I'm not getting to use it on a grander scale?'" he admits. "I always had this deep belief there was something else for me."

Just being himself
In addition to Jewell's rich voice, savvy viewers picked up on his overtly Christian comments during the competition. His self-penned "Help Pour Out The Rain," a show favorite that became his first hit, was inspired by daughter Lacey, who once asked her dad if God would let her "help pour out the rain" when she got to heaven. One line in the song about "seeing Jesus face to face" was unmistakable in its Christian content.

"No one ever told me to tone it down," Jewell says. "It's nothing I did to gain or not gain votes. I figured, here's my chance to tell the world I'm a Christian and not be ashamed of it. I looked at it as just being myself."

Jewell's Christian faith also endured testing. Like many musicians, he began singing in church and committed his life to Jesus as a teenager. Yet he wound up battling alcohol and drugs.

"When I found out my mom and dad were divorcing in the middle of my senior year of high school, it broke my heart and spirit. It was the catalyst, sending me on a path of 13 years of drinking and drugging," he confesses. "I had gotten away from church, devotions, and a prayer life.

"I was spiritually and emotionally bankrupt. Alcoholics Anonymous helped me get back on the right path. My relationship with God is much stronger now."

Married to Tene since 1988, Jewell adds, "God gave me a great wife. She stuck with me through some really dark times. She said God put it on her heart to stay with me. Thank God she did—she's my rock."

Jewell's first CD was an instant hit. But even then he was philosophical about his sudden rise to fame.

"I remember walking onstage the first time I played one of those festivals with 100,000 people," he recalls, laughing. "I thought, This is what I dreamed of! In my fantasies, those 100,000 people were there to see me. In reality, there were ten acts [on the bill], [country superstar] Alan Jackson was closing the show, and they were there to make sure they had a good seat for Alan Jackson!"

Finding "God's spot"
Jewell's sophomore CD, "Times Like These," was released in the spring of 2005, prompting one reviewer to remark that Jewell had "made the transition from Nashville Star novelty to premiere country artist." The video for the album's first single, a romantic ballad called "If She Were Any Other Woman" that praises a life partner, contained a surprise for fans and Buddy—Tene. The video storyline called for the singer to come home and get into bed with his wife, asleep under the covers. Jewell says, "I didn't want kids watching me crawl into bed with another woman. I didn't feel comfortable with it." It turned out he didn't have to: the record label asked Tene to do the video.

Jewell says the industry looks at how many previous albums you sold and expects you to sell 10 percent of that in your first week. "If I sold 600,000 on the first one, I should sell 60,000 the first week [on the second]. I sold 26,000 the first week, and the [promotion] machine shut down."

In November 2005 he was notified that Sony Nashville was dropping him. On his website, Jewell wrote that God "has always provided for my every need through His glorious riches in Christ Jesus," adding, "His blessings have always been overly abundant to my family and me."

"I had a feeling it [losing the record deal] would happen after 'If She Were Any Other Woman' didn't explode to the top of the charts," he admits. "But God's got a spot for all of us, and I think my spot is doing what I'm doing. That's what keeps me going."

Losing his record deal also allowed him to spend quality time with his father, who died in May 2006. Rumors are now swirling in Nashville that Jewell is on the verge of signing a production deal with a major Nashville label. But no matter what happens, Jewell has a message for everyone who has a dream: he doesn't intend to give up, and neither should you.

"I'm very excited at the prospect of what God has in store for me. The important thing to remember is the minute you quit the game is over," he says.

He adds, "I'm not so sure God didn't bring that show into existence to give me the opportunity I have. I believe He loves me that much. I believe he loves all of us that much."

Audtrey T. Hingley is a writer in Mechanicsville, Virginia. For more info about Buddy, visit www.buddyjewell.com.

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