Bucky Covington's Big Week rolls on: Ryan Seacrest, Jimmy Kimmel and more...

Bucky Covington's debut CD is in stores now, and his music video is now available for online viewing at CMT.com and Yahoo Music. You can pre-order Bucky's album at Amazon, Best Buy and Target, hear the full version of his single "A Different World" at CMT and GAC, preview his entire CD at Clear Channel Music, or enjoy samples of songs from the CD at Bucky's official MySpace. An autographed copy of Bucky Covington can be pre-ordered while supplies last at his official site or via his official fan club.

(Edited to add a link to an interesting CD review by Jim Farber of the New York Daily News... )

Bucky graced the first twenty or so minutes of the TV Guide Channel's Idol Tonight Wednesday evening--complete with a new haircut (don't worry--most of it's still there, y'all) and a new outfit, too. If you missed the show, take heart--there are plenty of reruns in the works. You can catch a repeat of the episode Thursday at 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., and in the wee hours Friday at 1 a.m. (All times Eastern--check local listings for airtimes near you.) Bucky had some compliments for Phil Stacy's take on Keith Urban's "Where the Blacktop Ends", but I suspect that the audio highlight of the show for many of us (and for hostess Kim!) was Bucky's fun little growl...

For more of Bucky's vocal stylings, don't miss Ryan Seacrest's morning show on KIIS in L.A., where he'll drop in for a visit Thursday morning. On-Air with Ryan Seacrest airs and streams live between 5 a.m. and 10 a.m. Pacific, as far as we can gather (all corrections welcomed), and KIIS archives Ryan's celebrity guests, so there's a good chance you'll be able to catch Bucky's interview via podcast . The show also has a MySpace of its own--could be fun to leave a comment or two after Bucky's visit. (And while we're talkin' radio, remember the Lia segment with Bucky, airing Thursday night--check Radiotime for a station airing or streaming Lia near you.)

We'll also add a quick heads-up about Bucky's XM Satellite Radio Highway 16 "Driver's Ed" performance--it repeats this morning at 9 a.m. ET. Bucky's exclusive interview and performances in the AT&T blue room are a must, too; you can see them now at attblueroom.com/music. Enjoy!

Those who are fortunate enough to have the Fox Reality Channel as part of their cable lineup will have a bonus interview to enjoy Thursday evening; Bucky will be part of American Idol Extra, which airs at 6:30 ET.

Thursday night also brings us the big Jimmy Kimmel Live indoor concert on ABC-TV at midnight ET. We'll have more details on this one as the day rolls on, but in the meantime, it's pretty exciting to think of Bucky's first live evening network performance in a long while...

As of post time, we're still waiting for the Thursday a.m. Mediabase rankings; Bucky's was holding steady at #23 on both the Top 500 and the weighted charts Wednesday afternoon. And now that Bucky's CD is out there in the wild, look for Hits Daily Double news when it happens and sales chart updates on Mondays and Tuesdays. (HDD requires a brief registration, but it's a must for serious sales-chart watchers.)



Word has it that those pre-ordered signed CDs and limited edition T-shirts are popping up all over the country as Bucky's official fan club packages are being shipped this week. It's not too late to get yours! BuckyCovington.com is still offering signed CDs while supplies last, and the official fan club offers all sorts of benefits you won't find anywhere else. (And as Bucky's spring and summer tour rolls on, the meet-and-greet opportunities alone make the fan club a must-join. Click the banner above and check out the goodies...)

I'll close with those familiar voting links: give Bucky a boost at GAC's Top Twenty Country Countdown voting page and at WKML's Top 5 at 6 with an email to country@wkml.com, and remember to request "A Different World" at your local country station, too.

More later--enjoy your Thursday!