Out for a spin...

(Edited to add a link to the first "shocker!" rumors about tonight's results show. As always, keep a large grain of salt handy. And edited again to link to this absolute must-read article on Bucky--with interviews from former bandmates and local musicians--via the Fayetteville Observer .)

Ken Barnes' grudging--yet perceptive--respect for Bucky's talents is a nice counterweight to my admittedly intense appreciation for the Covington Sound. (Hey, this is a fan blog, after all.) The USA Today columnist's brief take on Bucky's "Best I Ever Had" performance is here; we disagree with Mr. Barnes about the hat, but we're with him on the sensitivity of the performance.

The Richmond County Daily Journal has all the details on yesterday's "Bucky Bash", along with a few words from Bucky's family on last night's show:

Rocky Covington, Bucky’s twin, was among the hundreds gathered on Rockingham’s Cole Plaza for “Bucky Bash,” a celebration of the “Idol” star’s success.

“Bucky rocked the house!” Rocky said. “Simon only said one good thing tonight, and guess who that was about? Our man!

“I think his vocals came across 100 percent clear tonight. If Simon can’t say something bad about you during country week, then you did something right.”

“He had me worried with his song choice,” father Gene Covington said. “But that came out good. I don’t think it could’ve gone any better. Ol’ Simon finally told the truth.

Rocky's gracing the front cover of the Journal (.pdf file) in a big way, too. Sounds like there was quite a party going on!

(As for reviews of this episode, it seems that both professional critics and the fans on the message boards agree that it was a bit of an underwhelmer. After four years of Idol, perhaps a fine-tuning of the whole "theme" concept might be in order? Nobody minds the obvious marketing tie-in nature of theme nights--it makes excellent business sense. But this season, for whatever reason, both the "good television" and "good music" aspects of the show--the elements that viewers actually tune in to see--have been dimished somewhat by the narrowness of the themes.

At this point in the competition, it might be best to let the diversely talented finalists play to their own strengths, with only the broadest of themes to rein them in. This isn't to say that we wouldn't mind a Southern Rock Night down the road...ahem.)

Off my soapbox and on to see if I can get you some better screencaps of last night's show. (Done.) See you later today--have fun!