John Rich Keeps His Hat in the Ring on ‘Celebrity Apprentice’

John Rich shined once again on this week's episode of 'The Celebrity Apprentice.' The country singer was named project manager for the men's team, Backbone, which now consists of only three players -- John, rapper Lil Jon and rock star Meat Loaf.

Last week, the men's team was full of strife regarding actor Gary Busey, who seemed to live in a separate, fantasy world he created. John called him on his "act," going so far as to tell him, "You're either crazy or a saboteur, and I don't think you're crazy." Gary was sent home, and the men's team seemed to visibly relax. When they went back to the green room, the women congratulated them, and said they got rid of the weakest link on the team. John answered, "You now have three race horses," and they're ready to compete.

This week's task featured both teams creating and producing a conceptual four-page ad campaign for Trump Hotel Collection. When it came time to choose a project manager, all three of the men seemed undecided. "It's outside my range of expertise," John told his team mates. But the Nashville resident stepped up and out of his comfort level to take on the role. Following the meeting with executives, John felt like he had a better grip on what the collection is, but marketing was a different story.

In coming up with the concept based on the slogan, "Live the Life," he said, "All I kept thinking is, 'Thank God, Gary Busey is not here, because I'd jump off the top of this building.'" Finally, the idea of the ad campaign came together, especially when it was just John and Lil Jon brainstorming the wording and graphics.

When it came time for John's team to present, they knocked the presentation out of the park, however, the executives felt they used some of the usual shots in other hotel ads, the verbage was too much and there was no call to action -- meaning, they left out contact information such as a phone number and website address.

"The judges did not like either team," said boss Donald Trump in the Boardroom. "They thought both teams did not do a good job."

The guys were told that they were "on the way to being a great concept," "definitely from the heart," "way too much copy" and "made too many demands."

When asked who the strongest player was on his team, John could not pinpoint just one. "Everyone took on Herculean tasks," he explained, having only three people did the job that it took the women five to handle the same tasks.

The executives felt there was no winner, but there was a loser, and that title went to the women's team. That meant the men's team stayed intact, and John was safe for another week. Most importantly, the singer collected another $20,000 for his charity, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

The women's team, A.S.A.P., was led by the strong, and somewhat tough, Star Jones, who tried to dominate the rest of her teammates, especially the resistant NeNe Leakes ('The Real Housewives of Atlanta'). The ladies cited LaToya Jackson as being the weakest leak, even though she had been praised several times in the past. In the end, LaToya was "fired."

Next week, it looks as though the men's team will get even stronger, while the women fight amongst themselves. The next episode of 'Celebrity Apprentice' will air Sunday, May 1 at 9:00 PM ET on NBC.

Next up for John, though, is an intimate performance in Nashville on Wednesday (April 27). An Evening With the Johns -- Featuring John Anderson and John Rich will take place at the famed Bluebird Café at 9:00 PM.

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