Bucky Covington News

CMT is devoting two December dates to a talent show intent on finding "the best unsigned country act in America."

The network has chosen Bucky Covington to host. The online-voted Music City Madness: The Road to CMT airs December 4 and 11 at 10 p.m. ET/PT.

American Idol finalist and beloved country boy Bucky Covington recently completed filming his latest music video. It's for for the single, “It’s Good To Be Us.”

The video was shot at Ballance MotoX in Bowling Green, Kentucky - and it's pretty darn cool, featuring tricks performed by freestyle motocross riders.

“I’ve been on the road so much so this is a good excuse for me to get some riding in,” said Covington. “Actually, it’s such a high-energy song and so I thought the speed of motocross and freestyle would be a great fit for the music video.”

Freestyle Motocross champion Cowboy Kenny Bartram makes a cameo appearance in the video, displaying some of the ramp skills that led him to become one of the top athletes in his sport.

“I was excited to shoot the video and especially work with [director] Trey again,” said Bucky. “but I’ve got to say that I was the most excited to finally get to see someone do some more of these stunts live more than anything else.

Kenny was amazing – he did tail whips, superman and knock off jumps – I was totally blown away.”

Bucky Covington will co-headline the Raisin' the Bar tour with rising country act Jason Michael Carroll, along with support band Cole Deggs & The Lonesome.

The 19-date tour starts Oct. 25 in Corpus Christi, Texas, and ends December 8 in Baltimore.

The dates and locations are:

Oct. 25, Corpus Christi, Texas
Oct. 26, San Antonio
Oct. 27, Katy, Texas
Oct. 28, Tulsa, Okla.
Nov. 1, Minneapolis
Nov. 2, W. Des Moines, Iowa
Nov. 3, Menasha, Wisc.
Nov. 9, Milwaukee
Nov. 10, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Nov. 16, Raleigh, N.C.
Nov. 17, Nashville
Nov. 23, Charlotte
Nov. 24, Greenville, S.C.
Nov. 30, Kansas City, Mo.
Dec. 1, Fort Worth
Dec. 5, Clifton Park, N.Y.
Dec. 6, Burgettstown, Pa.
Dec. 7, Allentown, Pa.
Dec. 8, Baltimore

Not even the forces of nature can stop an American Idol star; at least they couldn’t stop Bucky Covington and the Nashville Stars on Friday in South Carolina.

Thousands of fans came out, brushing off the rain and ignoring the distant rumble of thunder, to catch a glimpse of the former American Idol star and the Nashville Stars on stage at the William A. Floyd Amphitheater in Anderson.

Melissa Campbell of Anderson said she decided to brave the elements simply because of boredom.

“We really had nothing else to do tonight,” Mrs. Campbell said. “I’m just upset that they made us wait so long to finally get in.”

Elizabeth and Herb Elhers of Anderson said they also had the opportunity to see Covington on American Idol.

“I really thought Bucky was a pretty good singer,” Mrs. Ehlers said. “He got really far in the competition, but I thought he was good enough to make it to the final pair.”

Mr. and Mrs. Ehlers said before the concert Friday that they planned on braving the storm as long as the lightning remained at a distance.

“I really hope after this show Bucky moves on to something bigger and better,” Mrs. Ehlers said. “He deserves it.”

With more than 220,000 units scanned since the release of his chart-topping debut CD, Bucky Covington takes the lead as this year’s best-selling debut country artist.

According to Nielsen SoundScan, Covington has scanned an average of 16,000 units each week and has remained inside the top 12 on the Top 75 Country Albums Chart since its release in April.

The lead single, “A Different World,” has climbed to #7 on the Billboard chart and is quickly charging towards the top 5 and beyond. The tune is currently reaching a weekly audience of over 23.5 million listeners.

It’s been a busy year for this American Idol favorite, whose touring schedule has kept him on the road for most of it. Tomorrow, Bucky will take a brief break from his touring with a visit to Idol Camp in Northfield, Massachusetts. At Idol Camp, a summer camp for aspiring performers ages 12-15, Bucky will participate in a Q&A session and perform for the attendees.

Following his visit to Idol Camp, Bucky’s upcoming tour dates include Charlotte, Milwaukee and St. Louis, plus additional shows opening for Sawyer Brown in Dekalb, Illinois, Hutchinson, Kansas and at the Detroit Lakes WE Fest.

Covington’s self-titled CD debuted at #1 on Nielsen SoundScan’s Country Top 75 Chart with not only 2007’s biggest unit debut from a new country artist, but also the best first week sales and highest Top 200 debut for any new male country artist since Billy Ray Cyrus in 1992.

Bucky Covington hit another career milestone this week when his debut single “A Different World” cracked the Top 15 on the country radio charts, reaching a weekly audience of over 17 million listeners.

Bucky will have the chance to celebrate his first Top 15 single at CMA Music Festival this week with the very people who make it possible: the fans.

“Country music fans are the best,” said Covington, “and I can’t wait to see everyone this week and shake their hands and tell them thank you for all their continued support.”

The star of Bucky Covington continued to rise as this week the video for his debut single “A Different World” reached the #1 spot atop CMT’s Top 20 Video Countdown.

Also this week, the video returned to the top of CMT’s fan-voted online Pure Country playlist, where it debuted at #1 in March of this year.

The American Idol Season 5 finalist is fast establishing himself as country music’s hottest new artist, having sold in excess of 140,000 copies of his self-titled debut CD since its release last month. Bucky Covington debuted at #1 on Nielsen SoundScan’s Country Top 75 Chart on April 25, with not only 2007’s biggest unit debut from a new country artist, but also the best first week sales and highest Top 200 debut for any new male country artist since Billy Ray Cyrus in 1992.

Next week, Covington will guest on ABC-TV’s Good Morning America on June 7 when the program broadcasts from Nashville for the CMA Music Festival kickoff.

Covington will join GMA Weather Anchor Sam Champion for a live report from the rooftop patio of Nashville’s Graham Central Station, overlooking the Festival’s concert venues. Covington will mark his first-ever appearance at the CMA Music Fest with two live performances: he will perform a full-band set from the Daytime Stage at Riverfront Park on June 7th, and on the 8th he will perform an acoustic set from the stage of LP Field, home of the nightly concerts.

After Music Fest, Covington hits the road for a summer of non-stop touring, including several shows opening for Sawyer Brown. SB frontman Mark Miller teamed up with Dale Oliver to produce his debut album, Bucky Covington.

This is the last diary entry of Bucky Covington to his fans. We hope you've enjoyed them ...

Here we are, after 11 weeks, coming to the end of this blog. I've had a great time doing it, and I want to thank all of my fans for checking it out and making it fun and successful.

I can't say enough about everybody in my band, everybody at Lyric Street Records, everybody at O-Seven Management and Mark Miller and Dale Oliver, my producers. The people I've got around me, they like each other and they like what they do. It's great to be surrounded by a team like that.

We just got a new bus driver. His name is John, and he drove the crew bus when I was on the GAC Country Christmas tour. He's an awesome guy, and we're very excited to have him with us.

This past week, I went out to Charleston, S.C., with my band. We played on a big boat at sunset, which took me back to when we used to camp out at Bluett Falls back near Rockingham. It really took me back, like we were sitting around a campfire, playing again. That was completely awesome. Then we went to Atlanta and played a show down there. I also went to Vegas and Utah and played some shows with Sawyer Brown.

Utah - oh, my goodness, Utah is completely gorgeous. It's like the whole place was built a year ago, everything's so clean and fresh and mind-blowingly beautiful. You know, I love to ride four-wheelers, and we've got mountains in North Carolina, but they're covered up with trees. You can't really ride, because the trees get in the way. But in Utah, it's just, like, dirt, so you could actually ride all the way up to the top of these mountains, and there's snow on top of them. I've got to go back there with a four-wheeler.

This week, on Friday night, my band and I are opening for Kenny Rogers in Roanoke, Va. Without a doubt, we are very much excited about that. My family, we were all huge Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton fans. They had that duet Christmas album, and every Christmas, we knew when we were putting up the tree because we'd wake up in the morning and hear, "I'll be home with bells on … " When I was on the Idol tour, I found that album, and I bought it again and gave it to my mom for Christmas.
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Bucky Covington’s self-titled debut CD opened at number-one on Nielsen Soundscan’s Country Top 75 chart with 61,000 units sold.

The album also entered Nielsen Soundscan’s all genre top 200 chart at #4 and is the only new country act to open inside the top five this year. This puts him in good company as only two other country acts, including Tim McGraw and Martina McBride, have debuted inside the top four on Nielsen Soundscan’s Top 200 chart this year.

With 61,000 units sold in the first week, this gives Bucky Covington the distinction of having not only 2007’s biggest unit debut from a new country artist, but also the best first week sales and highest Top 200 debut for any new male country artist since Billy Ray Cyrus in 1992.

Bucky Covington was released April 17 on Lyric Street Records. The current single “A Different World” is poised to break into the top 20 on the country radio charts, while the video is climbing CMT and GAC’s countdown shows

We've already posted a review of the new Bucky Covington album. But here's a brief track-by-track critique of each of the songs on the CD ...

American Friday Night: Sets a recurrent theme of good-old-boy rural-life nostalgia, which may reflect Bucky's background but also forms the subject matter for every third song you hear on a country album these days. So if the song itself isn't gripping (this one comes close with its rock edge, but falls short), it becomes a little too familiar.

A Different World: The single, and I'm liking it better musically in the context of the album. A bit lush in the production, but a likable song, if one better suited to a sour old coot in the 50+ demographic than someone who just came off of American Idol.

I'll Walk: Only in country music do you get tearjerkers built on clever wordplay like this. Some people can't stand 'em, but I'm fascinated by the structure and the songwriting artistry (or, if you prefer, contrivances). Built around the title declaration, the song has, in the first verse, the female protagonist saying she'll walk home after a fight with the singer; then, after a speeding car deprives her of the use of her legs, she declares in the second verse that she'll walk again someday; finally, in the last verse, she looks up from her wheelchair as her daddy prepares to walk her down the aisle to be wed to the singer, and says -- you guessed it -- "I'll walk."

Back When We Were Gods: Nostalgia for the good old high school days, but merely a routine rocker.

Ain't No Thing: A dull, overlong, overproduced rocker that's almost saved by an impassioned guitar solo.

I'm Good: More clever wordplay, attached to a sprightly Southern pop tune that reminds me a little of Arthur Alexander's oldie (the hit was by Steve Alaimo) Every Day I Have to Cry.

Empty Handed: A morality tale that's probably the best rocker on the record.

Hometown: A bucolic, nostalgic reverie that sort of lulled me to sleep.

It's Good to Be Us: Promising, rockin' celebration of carefree, penniless youth (cf. Back When We Were Gods) that's let down by a strictly ordinary chorus.

Carolina Blue: Fond reminiscence about the girl the singer left behind in Carolina when he went to Hollywood. Sounds like a future single; strictly assembly-line country.

The Bible and the Belt: Tribute to the educational value of scriptures, gospel singing and corporal punishment, the second of which threatens to overpower a fairly slight rocker.