Country-music star LeAnn Rimes will take over as host of USA's "Nashville Star" for its third season.

Rimes, a two-time Grammy winner with sales of 30 million albums to her credit, will bring what USA calls an "artist's perspective" to the show, a talent search that rewards an up-and-coming country singer with a record contract. She replaces "Access Hollywood" anchor Nancy O'Dell in the role.

"As a singer and songwriter, I have great admiration for many of the budding stars who come to try their hand at performing, and can relate to the hopes and aspirations of all the contestants, no matter how good or bad," Rimes says. "'Nashville Star' is great TV -- it has drama, humor, sadness, fun and great music."

Rimes appeared on the show's second-season finale earlier this year and counts herself a fan of the show. The feeling is reciprocated by the producers.

"LeAnn is a superstar whose presence grounds the show firmly in its Nashville country music roots," executive producer Jeff Boggs says. "As 'Nashville Star' grows in popularity, we must continue to feed it creatively with big-name talent that will inspire our country music hopefuls."

The show began its audition process this week and will continue with open casting calls through November (information is available at USANetwork.com). "Nashville Star" is scheduled to kick off its third season in March.