Wednesday news: Mrs. Jones, Power Picks, Idol Tonight, Jimmy Kimmel and more...

(Photo © 2007 Grand Ole Opry; photo by Billy Kingsley, Hollo Photo- graphics.)

By request, Bucky Covington on stage at the Grand Ole Opry, April 7th. Bucky'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 at his official site or via his official fan club.

Here's a big sweep of the news for an extremely busy Wednesday morning:

The second part of Mrs. Jones' exclusive interview with Bucky has just been posted. Enjoy Bucky's answers to some very creative fan-submitted questions, and a funny "rapid-fire round" that'll definitely make you smile. And if your question wasn't answered during the Mrs. Jones interviews or at Bucky's MySpace, guess what--you've got a brand new chance to try again! Bucky will be interviewed on the syndicated Lia show tomorrow (Thursday, 4/19); email her your question for Bucky via her website today, and be sure to include your telephone number. (Sounds like the answer could be pretty personal...)

While we're on the subject of radio, here's a quick look at the Mediabase charts; Bucky's holding steady at #22 on the Top 500 and sits at #23 on the weighted chart as of post time, but things could be quite different by the time you read this! Many country stations have added "A Different World" to their playlists and to their "Top X at X" countdown ballots this week--so if you haven't checked your local station's site in a little while, check again! (And it can't hurt to request "A Different World" while you're there...)

Hardcore chartgazers might enjoy a bit of Mediabase trivia--Bucky's also on the charts with "American Friday Night" (#72, 60 spins), "The Bible and the Belt" (#135, 9 spins), "Carolina Blue" (#146, 7 spins), "Back When We Were Gods" (#227, 3 spins), "I'm Good" (#404, 1 spin) and "I'll Walk" (#419, 1 spin). He's also sharing the Country charts with some unlikely Idol companions--Daughtry's Top-40 hit "Home" (#138), and Sanjaya Malakar's "Besame Mucho" (#238). All righty, then...

Turning to the TV scene, you can catch Bucky on the TV Guide Channel's Idol Tonight at 8 p.m. ET; Bucky will also be in the audience for the American Idol country night results show this evening. (We're hoping Ryan stops by for a chat.) Bucky also filmed two "CMT Outsider" man-on-the-street segments tied to the CMT Music Awards earlier this week; they'll be posted on CMT Loaded at CMT.com today. Bucky's video for "A Different World" also has a CMT Power Picks video challenge matchup today at 12 noon ET against Rodney Atkins' "If You're Going Through Hell"; we'll post another reminder closer to showtime, but for now, limber up those mouse-clicking fingers.

And a repeat "last call" to Bucky's West Coast/Los Angeles area fans: some free tickets for Bucky's April 19th mini-concert on Jimmy Kimmel Live tomorrow are still available, but you'll need to request them ASAP. The indoor mini-concert happens at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood on Thursday night. Click here to register and request your free tickets right away. You can also call 1-866-JIMMY-TIX to order tickets and get the latest word on availability. (Yes, I do have an ulterior motive, here--I think it would be awesome to see a big bunch of genuine Bucky Covington fans in front of that stage while he's singing live for the first time in a long time on national network TV. The price is right, and the show is going to be amazing. If you can get there--be there!)

In print news, another pair of CD reviews are in; C. Eric Banister of Country Standard Time was less than thrilled with some of the songs, but had good things to say about Bucky's vocals; and Jonathan Takiff of the Philadelphia Daily News gives Bucky a B in his very quick new-release roundup. And here's a writer who might share our bias when it comes to her good friend Bucky Covington--Mandisa gives Bucky and her Season 5 companions a sweet high-five in her latest MySpace blog post, and Bucky Covington was her "currently listening to" entry of the day.


Finally, a few flat-out fun odds and ends to wrap things up--check out this funny, sweet love-fest for Bucky at the AmericanIdol.com boards, where the dazzling audio banner ad for Bucky's new CD inspired a lot of "wow, he's great" sentiment and one very witty Dr. Seuss homage. There are also a few new goodies at Bucky's official site today--two fresh T-shirt designs in the store, and the final Bucky Nation contest announcement. BuckyNation, Bucky's official street team, is free to join. It's also a great way to support Bucky and win some excellent prizes--including the Grand Prize, a phone call from Bucky and an autographed guitar. Join now and maybe you'll be chatting with Bucky soon...

And last but most certainly not least, here are the voting links-- give Bucky a round of debut-week applause at CMT's Pure Country Pure 12-Pack video countdown and at GAC's Top Twenty Country Countdown today. (It would be great to celebrate Bucky's CD release with a couple of video chart-toppers!) And remember our friends at WKML with a request for Bucky on tonights Top 5 at 6--write them at country@wkml.com, be sure to put "Top 5 at 6" in the subject line, and ask for "A Different World" today.

More soon!