American Friday night, 3/16

Bucky Covington performing at the Wildhorse Saloon during the "Live from CRS-38" showcase on 3/1; photo by the very kind Happydays. Thanks again! (You can see more of her great shots from Nashville here.) Bucky's new music video is now available for online viewing at CMT.com and Yahoo Music. You can pre-order Bucky's debut CD at Amazon, Best Buy and Target, hear the full version of his single "A Different World" at CMT, or enjoy samples of four songs from the CD at Bucky's official MySpace.

A few odds and ends from around the net this Friday night:

It's official--Bucky's "A Different World" is the reigning champion at CMT's Pick or Flick. He's up against a veteran hitmaker this week and he'll need our help to stay in the lead for a third straight victory. Vote now through Sunday and give him a boost! Here's the scoop:

Use your mobile phone to send a text message to vote for your favorite of the two Pick or Flick videos on this week's Top Twenty Countdown. The Pick or Flick video with the most votes will go on to be featured on next week's countdown as Champion.

To vote, text the word PICK to 72430. You'll receive a ballot with this week's choices. Check this page and watch Top 20 Countdown for the final results. (Standard rates apply, 99 cents per vote.)

Keep checking the show's page to view the latest voting results, and have fun!

The excitement of Bucky's 3/9 Grand Ole Opry debut lingers on...and now, you can enjoy it online. WSM has archived the whole show; click the "Friday Night Opry" link to listen in. (And you might even be part of the show if you were there...the cheering's that loud. Enjoy!)

And here's a short entry (and a fun photo) from a blogger in Spokane who ended up getting an unplanned interview with Bucky--nice surprise, yes? He was on hand during Bucky's visit to CatCountry94, where Bucky stopped in for a chat before his Low Dough Show at Dixie's yesterday evening. The station doesn't have an audio archive on site, but I'll keep a look out for any Spokane-related media, and I promise to share what I find...

Finally, it isn't quite Saturday yet, but we can still get a jump on that syndicated-show request thing--Blair Garner's very popular After Midnite show might be more inclined to give "A Different World" a little airtime, now that Bucky's got the toe of his boots into the Top 30. (You'll remember that Country Weekly editor David Scarlett gave Bucky's upcoming CD much praise during a recent After Midnite news segment--so at least we know they're aware of the song!) After Midnite reaches a huge audience, and it's a great way to share the song nationwide; so click that contact link on the show's site and call or write in a request.

Edited to add results from tonight's dueling countdowns: Bucky jumped into the Top 10 on GAC's Top Twenty Country Countdown--congratulations, Bucky! (Feel free to click that link and get a headstart on next week's voting.) A friend reports that the pre-commercial teaser went something like this: "Up next....a new artist soars into the top 10 after making his Opry debut this past weekend." After the break, Bucky's strong support at his first Grand Ole Opry performance got a sweet mention, too. He'll be back at the Opry on April 7th, by the way; this performance will air live on GAC, so get ready to enjoy more of Bucky on country's greatest stage! (Many thanks to Marzy for the GAC results.)

On CMT Pure Country's Pure 12-Pack, Bucky came in at #3 tonight; a bounce back to #1 is only a heartbeat away, so be sure to cast your votes now for next week's countdown.

More soon--see you later!