Wednesday news: "It's Good to Be Us" buzz, Power Picks, Bo Bice interview and more...

Bucky Covington takes a moment on stage in this great shot by our friend Happydays; click here to see more of her photos from the Birmingham show. Thanks again, Happydays!

First things first--let's face those charts head on. Bucky Covington's "It's Good to Be Us" is #11 on both the Mediabase weighted and Top 500 listings this morning, with two quite invisible bullets. Last night, at the end of the countdown post for the CMT Music Awards, the current hit single (and its chart fortunes) got a brief mention, and there's a discussion in progress in the comments section.

During the agonizingly slow chart run for "A Different World"--a run that included several plateaus and a few retrograde motions on its way to the Top 5 spot--the general (but not universal) consensus was that it's always a good thing to solidly support Bucky's current single no matter what's happening on the charts, right up to the day when the next single is released and the current single goes recurrent. That was the thought that was in the forefront of my mind as I replied in comments this morning, but the Bucky fans at The Covington Times have issued an intriguing challenge that is definitely worth talking about. "How much do you want to see 'It's Good to Be Us' in the Top 10 for more than a couple of days?" they write. "It will not matter if Montgomery Gentry and Dierks both pass him as long as we get the bullet back to a positive number."

Hmmm. As of post time, we've got no add date listed for "I'll Walk" (it's pretty clear we're all very much looking forward to supporting that one when it's time!) , the CMT Awards voting ends on Friday, and his very high-profile award win (ahem! Register at CMT and vote now) happens on Monday, which means more people might be lookin' for Bucky on the radio next week.

Could "It's Good to Be Us" make a little chart-comeback history with a requesting/voting surge? Pop over to the Times and talk it over. If you have an AIM screenname, you can comment at The Covington Times--just log in and you're good to go.

Here's the rest of what's happening:

Rocky Covington and Bucky Covington share a microphone and a song at the Glass Cactus in Grapevine, Texas, 1/19; photo by the very kind AmaTexMom. Click the image to see more of her gallery at her site, Bucky Fan Pics. Thanks, AmaTexMom!

Upcoming shows: Tonight's the night in Illinois! Bucky and his excellent band are the headliners at the Williamson County Pavilion in Marion; check for any remaining tickets at www.wcpavilion.com, or if you're local, stop into Black Diamond Harley Davidson in Marion, Clayship Guitars in Carbondale or Main Street Records in Mount Vernon. Have fun!

Bucky joins Dierks Bentley and Luke Bryan tomorrow for a Throttle Wide Open show at the Elliott Hall of Music at Perdue University in West Lafayette, IN (tickets here) and on the 11th, they'll play the Braden Auditorium at Illinois State University in Normal (tickets at Ticketmaster; students ticket at the Braden Box Office in the Bone Student Center.)

Tickets for most of Dierks Bentley's Throttle Wide Open dates are available now at Ticketmaster--check Dierks' official website for details on non-Ticketmaster events.

By special request, here's Bucky having a very good time with "A Different World" at a radio station event last year; video caputured by the talented SCBuckyroo. Thanks!

On the tube and around the net: Bucky Covington and Southern rocker Bo Bice have had lots of mutual fans right from the start, and Bo mentioned Bucky in this excellent interview at TV Squad today. (Bo's album, See the Light, is available at iTunes, at WalMart and via his official site.) We mentioned that chart challenge at the Times this morning, and Midask 9's It's Good to Be Us has some beautiful (and musical) encouragement for you, too--a must-read. Thanks also to her for her alert about tomorrow's CMT Power Picks matchup! "It's Good to Be Us" faces a very familiar opponent tomorrow at 11 a.m. ET--we'll post a reminder in the morning, too.

Vote for Bucky: We'd love a nice surge on the video charts, too! Give Bucky some lovin' at GAC Top 20 Country Countdown and at CMT's Top 20 Countdown.

The 2008 CMT Music Awards voting ends Friday, and there still could be a few people in your city/state/continent/hemisphere who might not have heard about it. (Hmmm...am I a little punchy, here? I think so.) Register at CMT and vote now---and recruit as many friends, co-workers and neighbors as you can!

More soon, and thanks for bearing with my latest tech troubles!--Winnie