3/28, "Real Good Man"

The moral of the story goes right at the beginning, this time. Don't believe everything you read.


All the angst this week--the nasty media comments, the judges' collective cluelessness--and Bucky goes and turns in a terrific, undeniably fun, rather...er, nuanced performance in fine, down-home voice. (Note to the Simon Cowell Parrot Club out there--we told you so.)

The interview portion was pretty much a polite dismissal of all the slings and arrows of the past couple of weeks, delivered in a self-assured Southern accent. (And speaking of the interview segments this week, whose idea was it to have the poor contestants squinting into the California sun at high noon?) The Stevie Wonder and Fifties themes were, as Bucky put it, "challenging"--but now he had a chance to pick a song because he "flat-out liked it", and to be his own contemporary, country-rock self. And that he was--oh yes.

Resplendent in a black cowboy hat, lean jeans, a beautiful dark Western shirt and a ponytail, Bucky delivered Tim McGraw's "Real Good Man" with a sly, confident flirtatiousness that turned quite a few heads this evening, if the boards are any indication. The fun dance moves, the tiny smile, the usual Bucky Covington eagerness-to-entertain--if you saw it, you'd know why I'm not quite as worried as last week, and also why I'm having a tough time putting it into words. (I still redialed like a maniac, though--hope you did too.)

Sometimes the judges--Simon in particular, since he's about as fond of male-vocal country music as I am of root canals--are in a completely different universe than the general public. This week might be the perfect example of that; Randy said nice things about the outfit and song choice; Paula and Simon critiqued Bucky's diction. (I'm an NYC-born girl who understood every word...hmmm.) The rest of the free world might have been more interested in the fact that he sang the song in a beautifully gravelly, authentically country way and looked pretty dang good up there doing it. (This isn't to say that I'm not with Randy on the outfit and the song choice...)

A very enjoyable night for Bucky fans, and a great chance to refute some of the nonsense that's floated around this week. Our guy can sing. Get used to him.

Buzz on the boards: That was a truly hot spot in a so-so show tonight. Where's the phone?
Our take: See you next week, Bucky--and bring that cowboy hat with you.