Quick Thursday news: Power Picks today, and more news on the way...

By request, Bucky Covington on stage at Billy Bob's Texas back in December; photo by our very kind friend AmaTexMom. You can see more of her beautiful concert shots at BuckyFanPics. Thanks so much, AmaTexMom! 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.

Bucky Covington's "A Different World" is one of the contenders during today's CMT Power Picks video-challenge show. The program starts at noon ET, and Bucky's matchup will happen near the top of the hour; click here to go directly to the Power Picks main page, hit the "Vote Now" link, and stand by to cast your vote for Bucky...

I've got an mid-morning appointment today (sigh!), but we'll be back later with a full update. In the meantime, here's a quick look at what's happening now:

Chart news: A familiar number is back for an encore today, as Bucky's "It's Good to Be Us" holds on strong to the #20 spot on both the Mediabase weighted and Top 500 listings again this morning. That bullet could definitely do with a bit of plumping though--keep requesting, everyone! We've got our sights on Top 10 now--and past experience shows that we've got the dedication to help make that happen...

Upcoming shows: A reminder that tickets are on sale now for the following tour stops: Bucky and his fantastic band will rock the Glass Cactus in Grapevine TX (near Dallas) on January 19th (tickets) ; and the Pullo Performing Arts Center in York PA on January 25 (tickets here).

You can also snag your seat for those exciting Dierks Bentley dates (featuring Bucky Covington and Luke Bryan as openers) right away: enjoy Dierks at The Palace of Auburn Hills near Detroit on 2/12 (seats available at Ticketmaster) and catch his 2/23 concert at the Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek, MI (tickets here). For links to lots more on Bucky's 2008 concerts, check out the Tour Info section in our sidebar, and bookmark Bucky's official tour page for the very latest.

On the tube and around the net: Bucky's video for "It's Good to Be Us" airs this evening at about 9:36 ET on GAC-TV. Watch "It's Good to Be Us" at CMT.com, and give Bucky's video some love at GAC's Top 20 Country Countdown and CMT's Top 20 Countdown. (Pure Country Pure 12-Pack's on hiatus for the day--stop in again tomorrow!)

This morning's post at The Covington Times is graced by a fun Idol-era fan snap of Bucky, a beautiful Big Spring Jam photo of Bucky and Rocky by Buckyflowers (with links to more of her lovely shots) and an enjoyable look back--hop over there and have fun!

More (much more) very soon. See you later today!