Tuesday news: Power Picks, "Flintstone sticks" and more...

Bucky Covington and Don Medlock (on bass) hit a soulful note at the State Theatre in State College, Pennsylvania, 8/11; photo by the very generous Happydays. Click the image to enjoy her Photobucket album of shots from the show. Thanks again, Happy!
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. A copy of Bucky Covington can be ordered through his official site or via his official fan club.

Bucky's video for "A Different World" will face a head-to-head challenge on today's CMT Power Picks, which begins at 12 noon ET; click here to go directly to the Power Picks main page. Bucky's matchup is the eighth challenge of the show (third from last) --at noon, hit the "Vote Now" button, keep that voting window open and get ready to mouse-click away...

And while we're on the topic of challenges and such, it's best to keep those dialing fingers limber...with the official release date of "It's Good to Be Us" just around the corner, now's a good time to keep an ear out for your local radio station's upcoming songfights, pick-or-flicks, country challenges...whatever they're called in your neck of the woods, Bucky's upcoming hit is likely to be a part of them soon. (Exciting days ahead!)

Bucky's current hit, "A Different World" is gracing the Mediabase weighted and Top 500 charts at #6; the expected superstar pole-vault happened last night, and while seeing the new Brooks & Dunn smash in that #5 spot caused a sigh this morning, the title of their latest seems apropos. Bucky Covington, Mark Miller, Jennifer Hanson, Mark Nesler, Tony Martin, the great people at radio, and all of us who loved and supported this song so much--we're proud of the hit we built. Keep requesting "A Different World"--there's no such thing as too much Bucky on the radio! It's a joy to hear him on the air and to see him on GAC's Top Twenty Country Countdown and CMT's Top Twenty Countdown--and letting the country stations and channels know we're still feeling that joy in a big way will give Bucky's next single a huge boost right out of the gate.

A couple of fun facts to ponder as we head into a new season: Bucky Covington is the second most searched artist at GAC.com this month, and his not-quite-released follow up hit is #137 with a bullet on the Mediabase Top 500 this morning. (Thanks to Dixie for chart news.)

It's a joy to see Bucky, Rocky, Don, Shaun and Hans live in concert, too--and they're winning hearts on stage and off. Click here for an affectionate recap of the Mountain Days show in Dayton by a devoted fan of another talented North Carolina ex-Idol. (We love the story of the sweet gift Rocky Covington gave to a young admirer who'll treasure that creative musical instrument forever, no doubt. Awww!) And at Dewey Beach last week, Bucky kindly teamed up with our friend Pizzi to send a special message to AmaTexMom, who had planned to be there but couldn't attend the show due to illness. (We'll second their very heartfelt sentiments--feel better soon, Laura! Our thoughts and prayers are with you.)

Finally, here's a chance for those who missed out on those early autographed copies of Bucky's CD to win one and do a good turn at the same time, via a group of goodhearted Ace Young fans. From their comment at Bucky's MySpace: "Bucky fans, look what we have up for bid this week! Come on by to try for your SIGNED copy and help out an amazing charity while you're at it! Love, The BeanieBabes4HighrollersWithHeart Team." Stop by their MySpace for all the details, and good luck!

More later--have a terrific Tuesday!