Late news: "Idol Gives Back", a red-carpet rave-up and more...

Bucky Covington's debut CD is in stores now, and his music video is available for online viewing at CMT.com and Yahoo Music. You can buy Bucky's album at Amazon, Best Buy , iTunes 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 ordered while supplies last at his official site or via his official fan club.

Tonight's Idol Gives Back special is over here on the East Coast, but our opportunity to give goes on. Click here to visit AmericanIdol.com and find out more about American Idol's charity initiative, then make plans to help right now--there's an on-site donation option to make it even easier to give. (And after you've given generously, enjoy their exclusive video interview with Bucky from earlier this week...)

Speaking of video, here's a fun artifact from last week's CMT Music Awards--StarStyle.com was on hand to cover the red carpet fashions, and Bucky was among the celebrities who spoke for the cameras. (Stay with it all the way to the end--some very lucky listener gets a sweet serenade!)

Bucky's #1 country album is still making news this evening--there's a snarky but affectionate take on his success in today's Charlotte Observer (reprinted from a Zap2It.com article), and a more straightforward piece is available at Country Standard Time. And Rodney Ho of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution was at Bucky's Kicks 101.5 show Wednesday night; look for an interview with Bucky on his American Idol Blog soon.

A quick reminder--voting for this week's CMT Pure Country Pure 12-Pack video countdown ends Wednesday at midnight EST--depending on when you read this, there might still be time to get a few votes in! A number one video for this week's Number One album would be an awesome kickoff to your American Friday Night...

Finally, a big thank you to the nearly 5,000 people who visited Buckymania today! Buckymania was chosen as Blogger.com's Blog of Note for April 25th--a huge surprise and a true honor. I wanted to clear up a misconception that seems to have popped up over the course of the day--this blog is an unofficial fan site, and I'm not affiliated with Bucky Covington, his record label, his management or American Idol. I'm just a blogger who tuned into the Idol semifinals quite by accident, was struck by a truly distinctive, wonderfully authentic country voice, and wanted to do whatever I could to help a uniquely talented singer get the chance he deserved. The fact that a record number of people came by on the very day that Bucky Covington got his first Number One country album is a synchronity that will make me smile forever. I hope you got a chance to check out his chart-topping album online--and I hope you'll come on back!