ABCABC’s Nashville returned for a third season Wednesday night with the answers to quite a few questions from last season’s cliffhanger.
Closeted country singer Will Lexington and his new wife, Layla Grant, decided to get a divorce after he came clean about being gay. Unfortunately, the producer of their reality show, Gina, has the footage of Will’s private confession, and tells them they have to continue their sham marriage or basically pay the network back for the cost of the show.
In order to get over the heartbreak of learning his girlfriend Juliette Barnes cheated on him with record label exec Jeff Fordham, Avery Barkley headed out on a road trip out of Nashville to Mississippi with ex-girlfriend, Scarlett O’Connor, and her ex-boyfriend, Gunnar Scott. In the end, the three of them sorted out their problems after Avery got into a bar fight and headed back to Music City.
Avery will be shocked to learn Juliette is pregnant once he gets back home, though. Juliette had a breakdown while singing Patsy Cline‘s “Crazy” for a group of movie executives, but the suits liked her vulnerability portraying Patsy. She has a good shot at getting the role, but the doctor brought in to make sure her meds were regulated told her she would be delivering either Avery or Jeff’s baby in about nine months.
As for the reigning Queen of Country Music, Rayna Jaymes, she ultimately decided to stick with her engagement with fellow superstar, Luke Wheeler, over getting married to her long-time love, Deacon Claybourne. While thinking back on her stormy relationship with Deacon, Rayna realized Luke had been there for her all along when Deacon let her down.
A heartbroken Deacon performed a song he’d written for Rayna titled “I Know How to Love You Now,” during a live radio broadcast from the Bluebird Café. He knew she didn’t show up for the performance, that she’d turned him down for Luke.
Charles Esten, who plays Deacon on Nashville, actually co-wrote “I Know How to Love You Now,” and performed it live on Wednesday night’s broadcast. It’s the first time one of his self-penned songs has made it onto the show.
Charles tells ABC News Radio, “For me to know that something I wrote was able to get past the (Laughs) quality control that they have on this show, it wasn’t an easy thing. It’s the third season, and I sort of like that. It means that, hopefully, it means I earned it a little bit.”
He co-wrote the song with “Strawberry Wine” singer Deana Carter, and it ended up being the perfect soundtrack to Deacon and Rayna’s love story.
“I know that Deana and I put a whole lot of work and heart into it,” Charles says. “So, this is just unbelievable to get to do this.”
Florida Georgia Line performed their new single “Dirt” at the end of the show with Charles onstage as if they were performing with his character Deacon at the Bluebird cafe.
The new songs from ABC’s Nashville are now available for download at iTunes. The show returns next Wednesday night at 10 Eastern time.
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