Quick update, 1/25

Bucky Covington during last summer's tour; photo by Heather Loves AI.

There's a lot happening this week! Here's a quick summary of the scene so far today:

Tonight, Bucky and several other ex-Idol performers will be featured on CNN's Larry King Live; there's still time to send in a question for Bucky by filling in this form or writing to Larry.King.Live3@turner.com. Here's your chance to get a reply from Bucky himself, on live TV! Be sure to take advantage of this fun opportunity, and we'll see you here after the show...

And tomorrow at 6 a.m., the Cure the Kids radiothon gets underway--proceeds will benefit the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, and the whole event will be broadcast live from the Asheville Mall and streamed online by 99.9 Kiss Country FM. Word has it that Bucky will be doing an acoustic set at noon on Friday; will we have the pleasure of hearing "unplugged" songs from his debut CD for the very first time? Tune in and see--and find out more about the Foundation and its mission to find a cure.

Bucky Covington and Bo Bice have so many mutual fans that this beautiful new message board was bound to happen--and it's bound to be a good time, as well! Bo, Bucky & Friends is brought to you by the people behind the excellent Bo Country site, and it's just getting started this week--so hop over now, introduce yourself, and catch up on the latest conversations about two very talented Southern singer/songwriters who've captured our hearts--and our radios, too.

Speaking of radio, the Mediabase charts look about the same this morning as they did yesterday evening, again...but that little red bullet that signals an increase in spins is holding steady and looking good. "A Different World" is being heard in more places--and more often--every day. We'll keep up those requests--they're working! (And if you'd like to hear Bucky's new release right now, the "Single Listening Party" is still happening at CMT. Enjoy!)

Finally, a very belated (but heartfelt!) congratulations to Bucky's buddy Elliott Yamin, who announced a contract with RED Distribution earlier this week; his debut single, "Movin' On", will be released via digital service providers on 2/13 , and an album (in stores 3/20) and spring/summer tour are in the works. Elliott also has an official street team up and running; click here to find out how to join the fun. All the best to E!

And that other charming "man of mystery", Ace Young, is profiled on MTV.com today--unfortunately, the recently redesigned MTV site completely shuts out my old PC, but from what I can gather from Lisa B.'s helpful post at MJ's Big Blog, Ace has an album and a possible charity collaboration with Chris Daughtry in the works. (Sounds like the incredibly talented men of Season Five will be a tough act to follow...)

More later today--see you soon!

Edited to add a fun follow-up to a "test track" from a few days ago--we couldn't vote or even listen to this one, but the country fans in Indianapolis gave Bucky Covington's "A Different World" a huge thumbs up in the 97.1 Hank FM "Hank or Stank" call-in poll. Here's a bit of the blurb from the site: "Bucky Covington may need a better stylist for his hair, but 'A Different World' was a RUN AWAY hit on Hank or Stank. This is really one of the best coming of age/reflecting on your childhood songs that I've ever heard." Yes, that dreaded ancient Idol finalist portrait is posted there, but the strong showing and the excellent review merit a hearty celebration...

We can also celebrate at WKML tonight, too--zap them an email at country@wkml.com and request Bucky for tonight's "Top 5 at 6". Have fun!