Friday odds and ends (and a big thank you!)

Before the news sweep, here's a big thank you to the nearly 2000 people who visited Buckymania yesterday--a record! Bucky Covington's future is looking brighter than ever, and it's an honor and a pleasure to help his brand new fans keep up with the journey. If you haven't done so already, be sure to bookmark Bucky's official site and his newly remodeled official MySpace, and hang on tight--the best is yet to come...

A quick TV reminder to start things off: according to the Richmond County Daily Journal a few days ago, Bucky will be appearing on TV Guide Channel's Idol Chat tonight. (The show airs at 9 ET/8 CT in most areas, but check your local cable listings to be sure.)

And speaking of TV, rumor has it that the beautiful music video for Bucky's "A Different World" could pop up online at CMT.com--most likely linked from his profile--as early as late next week! It's a good idea to register there soon; you'll definitely want to watch the video at the site once it becomes available for streaming. Actually, there's a lot to do at CMT at the moment--the 20 Questions for Bucky Covington feature is still accepting submissions (so get your questions in soon!), the listening party for Bucky's single is still in progress on his profile there, and his message board is hopping with longtime fans and brand new ones, too. (CMT's becoming quite the hangout, y'all...)

On the radio front, the list of stations playing Bucky's single is getting longer every day, and that sweet, sweet Top 40 spot is so close we can taste it. Is one of those stations near you (or a favorite on your streaming list?) This is the weekend we can make it happen-- and "good phones" are the key. Call and request today, and Kix Brooks might be announcing Bucky Covington's name on American Country Countdown before too long.

Here's a little bit of radio-request trivia I learned that might help: stations playing a new single by a new artist are often more receptive to requests made after 7 p.m. So if you're winding down with your favorite country station in the evening, pick up that phone and you might get lucky. (The vast majority of those songfights and challenges took place in the evening hours--perhaps that's the "new song" test slot formally and informally? Could be...)

And as always, a reminder to email your request to country@wkml.com for tonight's WKML "Top 5 at 6". Bucky held the Number Three spot yesterday--it'd be fun to start the weekend with a strong Number One showing on the countdown tonight.

More news later--see you then!