The country crooners on NBC’s “Nashville Star” hit an off note in their second outing last night. Though the series continues to improve on its ratings from last year, when it aired on USA, the show saw a substantial decline in its second week of competition.

“Star” averaged a 1.8 adults 18-49 rating last night from 9 to 10:30 p.m., according to Nielsen overnights, off 18 percent from an opening-week 2.2. That’s still well ahead of what the show averaged on USA last year.

But “Star” finished fifth in the 9 p.m. hour, behind even Univision’s “Fuego en la Sangre,” and it barely topped ABC bomb “The Mole” during the 10 p.m. half hour, averaging a 1.9 to the latter’s 1.6.

Relaunching a cable show on broadcast is a very difficult undertaking, as those shows tend to be more niche and appeal to a narrower audience. While “Star” certainly will draw in country music fans, it does not have the broad appeal of a show like “American Idol,” which includes a number of different genres.

Of course it didn’t get much help from lead-in “American Gladiators,” which tied for fourth in the 8 p.m. timeslot with Univision’s “Al Diablo con los Guapos,” dropping the network to fourth for the night. 

Meanwhile, Fox was first for the night among viewers 18-49 with a 2.4 average overnight rating and a 7 share, followed by CBS at 2.2/6, ABC at 1.9/6, NBC and Univision at 1.7/5, and CW at 0.5/1.
 
At 8 p.m. Fox was first with a 2.1 for a repeat of “Bones,” while Univision and CBS tied for second at 2.0, CBS for repeats of “The Big Bang Theory” and “How I Met Your Mother,” and Univision for “Al Diablo con los Guapos.” That left ABC and NBC tied for fourth at 1.8, ABC for “The Bachelorette: DeAnna Tells All” and NBC for “American Gladiators,” and CW sixth with a 0.5 for a “Gossip Girl” rerun.
 
Fox was first again at 9 p.m. with a 2.8 for a repeat of “House,” with CBS second with a 2.5 for repeats of “Two and a Half Men” and “Rules of Engagement.” ABC was third with a 2.4 for “The Bachelorette,” Univision fourth with a 1.8 for “Fuego en la Sangre,” NBC fifth with a 1.7 for the first hour of “Nashville Star” and CW sixth with a 0.5 for a repeat of “One Tree Hill.”
 
At 10 p.m. CBS took over first place with a 2.1 for a repeat of “CSI: Miami,” followed by NBC with a 1.6 for the second half of “Nashville Star” and "Dateline NBC." ABC was third with a 1.5 for “The Mole” and Univision fourth with a 1.4 for “Cristina.”
 
Among households, Fox led the night with a 5.1 average overnight rating and an 8 share. CBS was second at 4.9/8, ABC third at 4.0/7, NBC fourth at 3.5/6, Univision fifth at 2.1/4 and CW sixth at 0.9/2.