Friday news: Idol Camp video, a first-timer's recap, year-end chartgazing, an elfin treat and more...

Bucky Covington on stage at Coyote Joe's in Charlotte, North Carolina on 11/23; photo by the very kind Buckwild08, who shares more of her great concert images at Photobucket. Her videos from that rockin' evening are available at YouTube. Thanks so much fir letting us in on the fun! Bucky Covington's debut CD is in stores now, and his music videos for "It's Good to Be Us" and "A Different World" are 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 singles 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 at his official site or via his official fan club.

For Friday starters, check out this new video posted by at YouTube this morning--it's an excellent interview with Bucky Covington about his "visiting instructor" experience at Idol Camp last summer, complete with footage from his performances of "It's Good to Be Us" and "Suspicious Minds." Both the campers and the counselor had a blast, from the looks of things...

You'll have a blast in Bradenton tonight if you're anywhere in the vicinity of Joyland--Bucky's break is over, and he hits the stage this evening for what's sure to be a wild and wonderful show in the Sunshine State. Here's a quick overview if you're planning to go:

Friday, 12/14/07, 7 p.m.
Joyland IV
5520 14th St W
Bradenton, FL 34207

Website: http://1065ctq.com/
Ticket info: Tickets are $10 in advance, $15 at the door at the WCTQ studios, Carl Black GMC, Joyland, Granny's Motorsports and Metro PCS.
Directions: Mapquest
Other info: This show is sponsored by WCTQ in Sarasota; tune in for more info.


Here's a truly sweet take on the live Bucky Covington experience from a kind country music blogger who caught the Raisin' the Bar concert at Ram's Head Live last weekend and heard Bucky for the very first time:

I was in shock. I had no idea that he was going to rock the house down. He did covers such as “Drift Away”, and “Another Brick in the Wall”. There were no breaks in between songs. He would easily glide into a new song. Dancing for the crowd and encouraging them to sing along with him as he held the mic out to the audience. When he spoke to them he was funny and up beat, just like he was one of them. He threw in a Christmas song for good measure, commenting afterward that he loved that song. He was endearing and folksy, yet still was able to jam hard and seriously rev up the music. I was impressed.

(Be sure to read her full post--complete with great big photos of Bucky, Jason and Cole--at her Country Music Stories blog. We'll have a tour update in the next post; in the meantime, hit Bucky's official website, his MySpace, his Gruvr tour map and our December/January Concert Roundup--or just scroll on down--for more information on how you can be there for Bucky's next rockin' night in your hometown. A big thanks to the author for sharing her evening!)

You can share the evening with Bucky via the magic of television at 3 p.m. ET tomorrow and again at 9 p.m. Saturday, when GAC re-airs Christmas at the Tennessee. Bucky's video for "It's Good to Be Us" is some of our favorite TV fare, too; watch it now at CMT, and give Bucky some love at GAC's Top 20 Country Countdown, CMT's Top 20 Countdown and at CMT's Pure Country Pure 12-Pack.

And on the radio, Bucky's sounding great. His current single is #25 with a bullet on the Mediabase weighted chart, and a bulleted#26 on the Top 500, where an expected "superstar pole vault" happened overnight. Keep requesting "It's Good to Be Us" at your favorite local or streaming country stations, and remember those excellent syndicated country radio shows tomorrow evening. (What better song to get a party started on a Saturday night?) Bucky's bit of holiday cheer, "Santa Claus is Coming to Town", is decking the Mediabase weighted chart at #94 today; if your radio station is in Christmas gear, ask for it, too...

Billboard's year-end charts are now posted, and the proof that Bucky's had an excellent 2007 is there in black and white. According to the magazine, he's the #3 Top New Country Artist of the year, and "A Different World" is Hot Country Song #34 for 2007. Bucky's debut album, Bucky Covington, is #37 on the year-end Top Country Albums chart--very impressive for a first timer with a CD that wasn't released until mid-April! Congratulations to Bucky on a solid Year One of that thirty-plus year career he's spoken of so often...we're looking forward to a very good 2008!

We'll wrap things up for now with a giggle-inducing "it was only a matter of time" link from the very kind NCBrite; the extremely popular "Elf Yourself" site was bound to get a double dose of Covingtonian cheer sooner or later, wasn't it? Enjoy! (Thanks again to NCBrite for the sweet heads-up.)

More--including a tour update--soon. Have a fabulous Friday!