Monday news: ABC special, a "vote-in", and more...

Bucky Covington strolls out to greet fans before his Lycoming County Fair show earlier in July; photo courtesy of the_mumbler, who shares more beautiful shots and videos from the concert here. (Thanks again for your kindness!) 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 , WalMart Music and Target, hear the full version of his single "A Different World" at CMT and GAC, 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.

Today's the day! The ABC "CMA Music Festival: Country’s Night to Rock" special airs tonight at 9:00-11:00 p.m. ET, and while the presence (or lack) of a performance by Bucky is still in question this morning, it's fairly safe to assume we'll get at least a glimpse of him during the two-hour program--and a whole lot of great music by Brooks & Dunn, Martina McBride, Brad Paisley, Kellie Pickler, Sugarland, Rascal Flatts, Carrie Underwood, and Reba McEntire with Kelly Clarkson, among many others. If you missed the online "webisode" featuring a little chat with Bucky on his tour bus, head over to ABC.com and enjoy it now.

ABC is said to be featuring CMA Fest tie-ins all day, including a Good Morning America visit with Bucky's friend Kellie Pickler, along with likely highlights during the afternoon soaps. (And if you missed the Orange Country Register article about the special tonight, give it a good look; Bucky's listed and pictured as a performer on the show there, so we'll keep hope alive...)

We'll also keep hope alive at the AboutCountry Awards poll--Bucky's debut album is nominated for "Album of the Year", and the voting ends at 3 p.m. PACIFIC time today. (That's 6 p.m. ET!) We'll do a Power Picks-style "vote-in" today at 12 noon ET, and another from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET. Each and every vote is appreciated, so join the fun later--and feel free to click the banner below right now, as well.

Click the image to vote for Bucky Covington in the second round of the AboutCountry "Album of the Year" poll, now through July 23rd.
Vote as often as you like, and feel free to repost this graphic at your website or MySpace.

On the charts, Bucky's "A Different World" starts the day in the sweet spot it occupied last night--it's #7 on the weighted chart and #8 on the Top 500 as of the a.m. Mediabase report, with bullets on both. Keep requesting "A Different World" at your favorite local and streaming country stations, and support Bucky's beautiful video for the song at CMT's Top 20 Countdown and GAC's Top Twenty Country Countdown, too. (That weighted chart is still full of opportunity today, isn't it?)

Monday also means album sales tallies are in order--the Hits Daily Double estimates will get rolling for the week at approximately 7:30 a.m. Pacific, with the final estimates posted tomorrow afternoon. Last week, Bucky Covington came in at #11 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart--is a return to the Top Ten imminent? Stay tuned and see...

Finally, if you haven't been to the Bucky Truck Stop at Rawkhands lately, stop over there now--Sunscreen has added some fun updates you're going to love!

More very soon--have a great Monday morning...