Sunday news: PDA, polls and the power of priorities...

By request, Bucky Covington takes a moment at the Big Spring Jam in Huntsville in this great shot by our friend Buckyflowers. You can enjoy her beautiful slideshow of Big Spring Jam images right here. Thanks so much, Buckyflowers!

Sunday morning's starting off pretty quietly--but by all accounts, the scene at Wild Adventures in Georgia was anything but quiet yesterday. Dierks Bentley's Throttle Wide Open tour takes a mini hiatus from now until Thursday, when Dierks, Bucky Covington and Luke Bryan are set to rock the Palace of Auburn Hills, near Detroit [tickets]. (That's a major climate shift from the tour's opening dates in sunny Florida!) As last night's Palm Beach Post concert review by Janis Fontaine points out, this is a hot, hot show--and as word of mouth spreads about this killer bill, the competition for good seats is heating up, too. If you're lucky enough to have a concert date near you, hop on over to Ticketmaster and snag your seat now. Don't miss out!

Chart news: A little switcheroo and a big word of caution today--Bucky's single "It's Good to Be Us" is now #16 on the Mediabase weighted chart and #15 on the Top 500 (it was the other way around this time yesterday.) But look closely at the very thin line that separates the weighted #16 from #17! That right there is a visual reminder of just how important our requests and "Top X at X" votes can be. They're vital. Call your local DJ and/or favorite syndicated radio host today after the pre-recorded countdowns are over, and let them know that you love hearing "It's Good to Be Us" on the radio...

Upcoming shows: A reminder--tickets for most stops on the Throttle Wide Open tour are available at Ticketmaster. (Check Dierks.com for more information about non-Ticketmaster shows.) Tickets for the Jackson, TN Dierks Bentley concert on April 3rd are offered at the City of Jackson site, and you'll find general admission tickets for Bucky's 2/22 headlining date at The Machine Shop in Flint, MI at www.etix.com

On the tube and around the net: It's pretty quiet online, too--however, the rockin' romantic, motocrossed goodness of Bucky's music video for "It's Good to Be Us" is always a bright way to spend your surfing minutes! Click here or hit that button to enjoy it at CMT. We're looking for lots of photos from Bucky's first Throttle Wide Open shows to turn up online soon--if you're a member of Bucky's official fan club, hop over to the message boards to see a few rioght now. (And if you have some concert photos you'd like to show off on the blog, feel free to write--I'd love to hear from you!)

Edited to add a link to The Covington Times, who were updating just as we were writing! Head over there now for a great backstage shot from the GAC Christmas special, a sweet Rocky Covington portrait by Buckyroo, and some fun notes about Bucky's Florida shows...

Vote for Bucky: Ahh yes...voting. There's been a bit of spirited discussion lately on the topic of voting, polls, and the like, and it's easy to understand why. Most of Buckymania's regular readers are devoted Bucky Covington fans, but we're also real people--with real jobs/businesses/practices/school schedules, real family obligations, and often, really limited time. I'm fortunate enough to have a home-based business (currently in its slow season) that allows me to blog, vote and work, but for those who commute, chauffeur kids, and the like, it's even harder to squeeze all the Bucky-related "to dos" into a busy day.

What's the solution? Prioritize!

Bucky Covington dances up a storm at the WGAR Country Jam in Cleveland; photo by the very talented Trish. Thanks again, Trish!

I'll begin by putting my mantra out front--being a fan is all about fun. It's fun for us when Bucky's video wins on Power Picks, or his song tickles our ears on the radio, or a glowing concert review of one of his exciting shows hits the wires. The smorgasabord of support options spread out before us--fan club contests, video voting on three different national cable countdowns, local radio requests, nationally syndicated show requests, "Top X at X" and "pick or flick" challenges, magazine surveys, awards voting, and more--all of that is really about keeping the fun going.

Bucky's fans link, list and nag (let's be honest!) each other about all of the above, but we're realists, too--not every single fan will have time to do every single thing on the list, every single day. The trick to making sure that what we can do makes a big difference is to stop and think about which will have the biggest impact on Bucky's career, short term and long run. Not every fan will answer that question the same way, of course, but it's important to ask ourselves that question every time we sit at the computer to vote, or pick up the phone to request.

(Photo by Aaron Crisler/Music City Update.com)

My own way of answering is simple--if what I'm about to do has a chance of reaching new fans, non-fans or people who haven't yet heard Bucky (but would enjoy him if they did!) it moves up the priority scale for me. That means radio requesting (both local and syndicated shows--I'm a nightowl, so After Midnite is my favorite), video voting on both CMT and GAC's countdowns, and the beloved "word of mouth" chatting I do online and in real life with people who love music in general, letting them know how much I've enjoyed Bucky Covington live and on CD. Always remember that somewhere in the world, someone is hearing "A Different World" or "It's Good to Be Us" for the very first time today. Is it because you requested or voted? Could be...

And if a support or voting option has a chance of helping to get Bucky's name out there in a positive way, I'm all over it! Things like a #1 Billboard finish, or a 2008 CMT Music Award (ahem!) get picked up by the country music press and general news outlets like CNN, MSNBC and the like. Country Weekly is the only major national country music publication on non-specialty newsstands these days, so when he's in a survey there, that moves to the "important" column.

Even things we didn't vote on--for example, his red carpet smiles and presenting gig at the CMA Awards, his CMA Fest concerts, and his fun guest-hosting duties on CMT Insider and Music City Madness--got him lots of positive press attention. So imagine how proud and happy we'll feel when things we do have a hand in creating--like that upcoming "belt-buckle award moment" and the reports of screaming, excited, happy crowds in future concert reviews--hit the mainstream news. That is motivation!

Long story short--don't feel bad if you can't do it all, every day. In a perfect world, we all could--but we live in the "real" one, where sometimes, we have to make choices. Spending your support time where it's most beneficial to Bucky and most enjoyable for you will keep the fun of being a Bucky Covington fan going strong for a long time--and years of fun is what it's all about.

Speaking of fun and support, here are some options for right now. The 2008 CMT Music Awards first round polling is a sweet way to thank him for the joy, the music and the good times. (Not to mention how much fun it'll be to see that award-winning smile in repeats all summer long!) Register and vote right away--and tell everyone you know to do the same!

Gone Country Magazine's "favorite country Idol" poll is still going strong and is as wild as ever--hop in and have fun. The Idol Thoughts consolation round ends today at 11:57 p.m., so get those last minute-votes in!

We'll wrap up the news with the daily video voting links--show "It's Good to Be Us" some affection at GAC's Top 20 Country Countdown, at CMT's Top 20 Countdown and CMT's Pure Country Pure 12-Pack, where Bucky should stage a big comeback next week...

More soon--have a great Sunday!