Bucky Covington
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American Idol Season 5 finalist Bucky Covington's self-titled debut hits stores this week - and the Lyric Street Records album is already garnering rave reviews.

Here's what a few of the nation's toughest critics are saying about Covington:

Dallas Morning News: "Easily the best country album by an American Idol contestant."

Miami Herald: "The most cohesive album to come out of the franchise yet."

Entertainment Weekly: "The North Carolinian with the throaty drawl could sell everything-from the cheeky to the weepy. And he does." B+

Associated Press: "Covington delivers. His gritty growl comes alive…[and he sounds like the star he could evolve into…

Wow. Rave reviews, indeed. Expect this CD to compete with Daughtry on the music charts next week.

The following review is courtesy of Entertainment Weekly ...

The day after Bucky Covington got the boot from American Idol, Sawyer Brown frontman/producer Mark Miller phoned him. He saw something we didn't: With the right songs, the North Carolinian with the throaty drawl could sell everything — from the cheeky to the weepy.

And he does, on Bucky Covington, his versatile debut. While we acknowledge his softer side, it's the tracks with teeth-grinding bravado bubbling below the surface (''Back When We Were Gods'') or boiling over (''The Bible and the Belt'') that make us believers. Sing those hillbilly blues, son. B+

Once again, let's turn it over to former American Idol favorite, Bucky Covington ...

My album comes out in a little over a week, and I've got to admit I've been a little more nervous lately. We've already seen some great reviews, from people who've written about it and sent us an email. So I'm really excited, but there's a bit of nervousness in there. I'm really interested to see what it's going to do. I hope it does well.

The first song on the album is called American Friday Night. It was written by Tom Douglas, who wrote another song that I love, Collin Raye's Little Rock. Tom lives across the street from my producer, Mark Miller. Tom was sitting outside one day, so we stopped by and Mark introduced me. Tom's got this beautiful house. So I was shaking his hand, but I was looking at this house of his. I said, "Man, that is a great song you wrote."

I mean, it was an extraordinary house.

A little while later, Tom sent us a disc of songs, and American Friday Night was one of them. As soon as I heard it, I knew it had the drive and I could immediately relate. In a small town, the only thing there is to do on a Friday night is the high-school football game. Anywhere else you go is dead. So, like it or not, you go to the football game.

We recorded the song the day after he sent it to us, and there was a film crew there to do an interview, so in the background, of course, you could hear us recording American Friday Night. A couple days later, Tom was at a Halloween party, and he hears his song on the news. He called Mark: "Mark, have you already cut that song?" Mark said: "I told you we were ready. The song was good, so we did it." Tom was kind of blown away by that.

I've been doing a lot of press lately –- I had a big media day last Wednesday. I've got to say, the country press has been pretty nice. When you're on Idol, you've got pop critics and rock critics, anybody and everybody writing about you. If they didn't dig country music, there was no telling what they were going to write about me.

The hardest interviews are the ones where you feel like you have to drag it along, where you almost have to drag the questions out of the reporter. But with country interviews, nine times out of 10, I'm talking to people who've got accents like I do. So they can understand me. We're off to a good start.

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It's time to hear from former American Idol contestant, Bucky Covington, again. Take it away, Buck ...

My album comes out in just two weeks. I've already told you about a few of the songs - maybe you've even heard me sing them. For the next couple of weeks, I'll tell you about some of the others.

I've got one song on there that I wrote with Mark Miller and Hobie Hubbard. Mark's a big basketball fan, and he had this idea for a song - Carolina Blue, since I'm from Carolina. But we didn't write it about basketball. It's a song about being out in L.A., chasing your dreams, watching everything fall into place, where everything's coming to you except the girl back home who you miss so much. So the idea of the song is she's the reason I'm Carolina blue.

I wrote five or six songs, but I just had too many good songs coming at me. There are extraordinarily good songwriters in Nashville, and, bless their hearts, they sent me great stuff. When I hear a great song, I can't turn it away just because I didn't write it. I wanted a strong album any way I could get it.

Also, I think going with these other guys' songs made the album diverse. It kept it moving around.

There's one called Back When We Were Gods. You know, when you're in high school, and you're hanging out with all your buddies. You don't have a care in the world. You're doing your thing. You're just having fun. When I heard Back When We Were Gods, it said all that. That's what you felt like when you were back in high school. You could do what you wanted, when you wanted, and however you wanted to do it. Nothing mattered, and Back When We Were Gods said it just right.

I think I've mentioned one called The Bible and the Belt. But I don't think I've told you when we got it.

The night before we were going to go into the studio for the first time, we sat down to write out a list of the songs we were going to start recording the next day. We were in the office - it was probably 8 o'clock at night - and we were going through all the songs, listening, coming up with what we wanted on the album. One of my producers actually heard The Bible and the Belt around 6 o'clock and had to run over to this place and grab it so we could all listen to it. Then it actually made the cut.

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Let's hear, once again, from Bucky Covington. Here's his latest message to fans:

Last week, we were in New York and Florida - it was a very busy little week. Of course, my managers, Ron and Don, would disagree. Like Rocky and me, they're identical twins – but they get to switch turns going out with me on the road. But of course I'm not allowed to switch with my brother.

In New York, we did Live with Regis and Kelly – or Kelly and Howie. Howie Mandel was sitting in for Regis Philbin after he had heart surgery, and he is a trip. We laughed our tails off in the green room. I had a great time. We did the single, A Different World, on the show, then we went off doing another song from the album, called I'm Good.

I was walking through New York with Shayne Hill and Hobie Hubbard from Sawyer Brown. We were talking about how we can't stand the horn blowing in New York. The horn blowing never changes the situation, it just makes people ill. So we're walking across the street and Shayne's on his cell phone, when a cab pulls up to, like, his knees and just nails the horn. Shayne turns around and just screams at him. Doesn't say anything else, just screams. Then we started laughing and just kept walking.

Elliot Yamin was in New York at the same time I was. He was doing a signing at Virgin Records, because his album came out Tuesday. So I went into the store, and there was a whole line of people getting their albums signed. I took my album and put it on the desk for him. We did our hellos and all that, and he went to sign my CD. I said, "No, actually, I just want my money back."

Thank goodness he's got a good sense of humor. I had him sign an album for Hobie, too. He wrote, "Hobie – good luck with your little band."

In Florida, we went down to WQYK in Tampa. (Country comic) Cledus T. Judd is a radio DJ down there in the morning, but if he hadn't opened his mouth, I wouldn't have even recognized him. He has lost, I think he said, 110 pounds. It was amazing. He's almost my size.

I also did Jeff Foxworthy's radio show on Friday. He actually said he was a fan of mine, which is good, because I'm a huge fan of his. I told a joke and got to make him laugh. Here's the joke:

There's a chicken and an egg, lying in bed. The chicken is leaning against the headboard, smoking a cigarette with a satisfied smile. The egg grabs the sheet, rolls over and says, "I guess we finally answered that question."

Now that we've got the band put together, we've been having rehearsals, just to make sure everybody knows all their parts.

Tonight, we're off for Ohio and Kansas City. I just got Mark Miller's old bus, so we get to leave the plane for a little while and take our first tour out on the bus. I've always wanted to have my own bus, so this is going to be great. So if I don't see you out on the road, I'll see you here next week!

People magazine recently caught up with the Bucky Covington about his life as a newly single man, his Jessica Simpson hair and his advice for Simon Cowell.

You announced your separation from your wife, Crystal, in February. How are you doing?
I'm doing well. For the past two years we saw it coming. We stopped getting along and then you find yourself working on your relationship more than enjoying it. It can be a lot for a woman to see her spouse gone all the time. We're still friends. We send each other text messages and jokes.

Are you dating again?
I'm just too busy. Right now, as much as I'm gone, it wouldn't be fair to anybody. I just came out of a long relationship so I'm good. I'm focusing on my album and career.

What can fans expect from the album?
A good mix of country ballads, straight country and turn-it-up rock-country. One of my songs, "I'll Walk," brings the tears out of me. It's about a girl who gets hit by a car, ends up in a wheelchair and when she's about to get married she looks up at her father and says, "I'll walk" down the aisle. There's another song, "Back When We Were Gods," about when you're young and living in the moment.

What was recording the album like?
Everybody had a great sense of humor in the studio. It was just non-stop one-liners being tossed around. Even if you did a really great job, someone would tell you that you sounded like crap just to rag on you.

What do you remember most about your American Idol experience?
When I did "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder, and Simon Cowell told me he liked my performance but that I had Jessica Simpson hair. The hairdressers asked me what I wanted. I just grown my hair, so I told them to knock it out. And they did – my hair was huge! So I'm walking around and asking the contestants, "Does this look a little much?" And they're all like, "No, it's looks good." But they're contestants, so that's what they're going to say!

What was Idol like for you?
It was amazing and a lot of fun. But it was stressful. The stress came from thinking about what's next. Is this going to be a shot at a career or is it back to the body shop I used to work at? Also, being on a show like that, you're judged by all kinds of critics. Pop critics may not dig what I do. Coming into the show I thought I was going to make the whole world love me. Then I got up there and realized how wrong I was!

Are you in touch with any of the other Idols?
I'm friends with Kellie Pickler and Chris Daughtry. I talk to Kellie the most. They've got the greatest sense of humor. Since the show we just hit it off. In my thank yous on my album I thank them individually.

What's your fondest memory of Simon?
I walked outside one time and saw Simon get into this beautiful black Ferrari – we all know Simon is loaded. He gets into his car and you hear "Vrooooom." He burnt the clutch out of it. He cannot drive a five speed worth a flip! I, personally, am a fan of Simon, but with all that money get an automatic!

It's time for our weekly blog from Bucky Covington. Read the singer's thoughts right here and now ...

Kellie Pickler and I got to be real good friends on American Idol. She's completely awesome, and I love her to death. Sometimes she'll do stuff you just can't believe.

A couple weeks ago, we were both in town and went out to eat – Carraba's, I think – and then we rode my bike for a little while before we came back to my house. My brother's wife had cooked a pot roast, so we were standing around in the kitchen, eating the pot roast with a big spoon. So when my dog, Slim, came up, Kellie took the spoon and started feeding Slim with it. Then she stuck it right back into the pot roast.

Now, it didn't bother me – I was full, so I was laughing. But after I took her home and went riding the bike a little more, I came back and the pot roast was gone. So everybody else ate after Slim!

This past week I finished my album and turned it in to Lyric Street Records. I think it's in production now, getting the booklet printed and the labels and everything put on. I can't wait to check that out. I've seen what it looks like, but I want to see one shrink-wrapped. This is for real.

Also, I put my band together. It's going to be a guy named Shaun Vells on guitar – Sarah Buxton recommended him to me; my brother, Rocky, on drums; Don Medlock is my bass player; and a guy named Hans Nelson is going to be on keys.

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Once again, Bucky Covington is reaching out to his fans. Let's see what he has to say:

Thanks to everybody who came out to the Grand Ole Opry Friday night or listened on the radio. It was a huge thing for me. Without you, it doesn't matter how good the songs are, it ain't gonna fly.

Little Jimmy Dickens introduced me as I was making my Grand Ole Opry debut. What a character. Funny jokes – as soon as you tell a good joke, I'm your best friend. And little – he's just a little ol' feller. Fits his name to a T.

When I first walked out on the Opry stage, I forgot about the circle – the one they brought from the original stage. So I walk out there, and I'm, like, "Oh, that is awesome." Because it stands out. It's older, a nice, dark circle of wood in the middle of the stage. I kept saying to myself, "It's just another gig, it's just another gig, don't get nervous." And when I started singing A Different World, I thought I was fine. But I got about to the chorus, and I thought, "Why is my knee shaking?" I had to grab the mike and start walking.

I could see a couple of my fans out in the audience. A lot of them drove in from all over the country to be here. I saw Hilda – she goes everywhere. She followed me for the last two weeks of the GAC tour I was on – saw every show.

After A Different World, I did Hometown and told the story of how we came across it.

I was listening to songs for my upcoming record, probably 250 songs or more – song after song, CD after CD. During this time I went back home to North Carolina while my producer, Mark Miller, stayed up here in Nashville, and we hoped we had the same stuff.

When I heard Hometown, I just fell I love with it. I went to Mark and said, "Have you heard this song?" He was like, "I'm not sure; I'll take a listen." This went on for two months. I'd go up to him and say, "What about Hometown?" And he'd go, "Yeah, yeah, we're still listening to songs. I could sense something was the matter, and I kept wondering, "Why doesn't he want this song?"

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American Idol Season 5 finalist Bucky Covington will make his Grand Ole Opry debut this Friday, March 9th.

Covington will perform his debut single, "A Different World," which is already generating huge fan response in its early weeks of release. He will also premiere new material from his self-titled debut CD, set for release April 17th on Lyric Street Records.

This is the third message from Bucky Covington to his fans, a regular Monday feature for awhile:

We just got finished with Country Radio Seminar here in Nashville, and I bragged about you guys all week in interviews. People say, "How are your fans?" I always tell them I have the nicest fans in the world.

When I was on American Idol, everybody had their own message board, and people would get on there and talk. If somebody wanted to be mean, they'd come on there and try to start something –- you know, like, "I think he sucks." Not once did I ever read anything where one of my fans responded by saying, "Well, I think so-and-so sucks." They always said something like, "You know, that's not what we're doing here. That's not our style." You can't ask for better fans than that.

We did a lot of radio interviews last week. And, yeah, a lot of the time you get asked a bunch of the same questions, and you give a bunch of the same answers, but, actually, it's pretty nice. Most of the time, you have to go out on the road to talk to radio. But instead of getting on a bus and going from city to city, we just went from room to room at the convention center. One thing - it's great practice on finding out what your best answers are.

Hobie Hubbard from Sawyer Brown has this thing he does. You know, a reporter can get a bio of band, but sometimes they'll just ask questions like, "Now, how many of you are there in the band?" One time, this reporter was asking crazy question after crazy question. So every time she'd ask one, Hobie would start by saying, "Now, that is a good question," and then he'd answer. She'd ask another question. "You know, that is a good question." When he got off the phone, Mark Miller asked him, "What were you doing?" "Man," Hobie said, "I got so bored, I had to amuse myself."

Peter Cooper, a reporter from The Nashville Tennessean, hung out with us. That guy's a trip. He did a big write-up that came out Friday, which was awesome. One of the radio stations was set up in a bar, so I went over there to do an interview Friday morning. When I finished, there was this lady who wanted an autograph. I didn't have anything to write on, but I turned around, and there was this huge picture of me in The Tennessean. So I just signed it and said, "There you go."

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