When "Nashville Star" premieres on NBC on Monday, June 9, at 9 p.m., the search for the next country recording star will be featuring a special performance by SEAN BENNETT during the military auditions aboard the Iwo Jima, courtesy of the show's new host, BILLY RAY CYRUS.

Billy Ray was doing a show for the troops in Alaska the first time he met Sean. The young military man approached him and asked him to listen to a CD he and a buddy had made. Sean explained that he had just returned from Iraq and "Redneck Town" was an original song the two of them had written and recorded.

When Billy Ray learned that there were going to be military auditions for this season's "Nashville Star," he insisted that Sean be invited to Virginia to tryout. That is when the producers learned the whole story.

Sean and his buddy were with the rest of their platoon when a grenade was thrown through the window of their bunker. Sean's buddy -- and duo partner -- threw himself on the grenade to save everyone else.

When Sean learned of the invitation to audition, he told the folks at "Nashville Star" that he wasn't sure if he could ever perform the song again. That's when Billy Ray offered to sing the song with him.

Sean didn't make the final cut to compete in the Top 12, but for more on this moving story from the premiere of "Nashville Star," tune in to tonight's ET. Then catch the talent competition when it begins next Monday.