William Joel "Bucky" Covington III (born November 8, 1977) is an American country music singer. He placed eighth on the fifth season of the Fox Network's talent competition series American Idol. In December 2006, he signed a recording contract with Lyric Street Records. His self-titled debut album, produced by Mark Miller of the band Sawyer Brown, was released on April 17, 2007. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, and produced three hit singles on the Hot Country Songs charts: "A Different World" at #6, "It's Good to Be Us" at #11, and "I'll Walk" at #10.
Biography[]
Personal Life[]
Bucky Covington was born in Rockingham, North Carolina, to Gene Covington and Deborah Gates on November 8, 1977 - along with his identical twin brother, Robert David "Rocky" Covington. Bucky is the nickname derived from his grandfather "Buck". He graduated in the class of 1996 from Scotland High School in Laurinburg, NC. He worked at Covington's Body Shop in Hamlet, North Carolina.
At the age of 18, Covington taught himself how to play the guitar and began performing at clubs. He is also a bassist, drummer and songwriter. Over the years, Covington has expanded his talents, both country and rock. After some time, he elected to perform both original and cover material in a cross-genre vein. Rocky is also a musician and is the former lead singer of the North Carolina band Swamp Cat.
In 1998 when the Covington twins were 20 years old, they were in a minor automobile mishap. Bucky allegedly pretended to be Rocky. They were arrested for deceiving the authorities. The plaintiff failed to identify which twin was driving, since the twins were identical.
After Idol, Bucky bought a house in Franklin, Tennessee, near Nashville, which he shared with Rocky and his wife Terra. Rocky also joined Bucky's band as a drummer. On February 13, 2007, he and his wife Crystal separated after more than seven years of marriage. Their divorce was finalized some time later.
Bucky has been engaged to publicist Katherine Cook since 2011. The couple have a daughter, Kennedy Taylor Covington, who was born on October 10, 2014.
American Idol[]
In the 2005-06 season, the Covington twins auditioned for American Idol in Greensboro, NC individually. Of the two, Bucky advanced to the final twelve. On March 22, Bucky remained in the bottom three, along with Lisa Tucker and Kevin Covais. On April 12, when Covington was in the bottom three with Ace Young and Elliott Yamin, the votes went to the latter two.
In the Top 8 results show of season six of American Idol, he appeared in one of the front rows. Since being on Idol he has had his teeth capped.
Debut Album: Bucky Covington[]
In November and December 2006, Bucky Covington performed on the GAC Country Music Christmas tour, making him the first Idol from the 5th season to be part of a major non-American Idol concert tour.
Covington negotiated with Buena Vista Music Group's country label, Lyric Street Records. His debut single, "A Different World," was released to country radio on January 16, 2007, coinciding with the premiere of American Idol (season 6). Its initial debut on radio was on Sirius Satellite Radio's New Country channel in late December 2006.
His debut album, Bucky Covington, was released on April 17, 2007, to positive reviews. It debuted on the Billboard 200 at #4 selling 61,000 copies. It also debuted at #1 on the Top Country Albums chart, making the album the best opening week for a debut album by a male on the chart since Billy Ray Cyrus' 1992 debut with Some Gave All. Covington's debut surpassed the previous record held by Jason Michael Carroll's Waitin' in the Country. He performed selections from his album during a nationwide tour in 2007, and the track "Empty Handed" appeared in NASCAR 08 as part of the in-game soundtrack. Overall, Bucky Covington accounted for three singles. "A Different World" peaked at #6, followed by "It's Good to Be Us" at #11 and "I'll Walk" at #10.
Second Album[]
In January 2009, Lyric Street noted that Covington has been in the studio recording his second album. The proposed release date was September 8, 2009. "I Want My Life Back" was released as the lead-off single from this new album on April 20, 2009. It debuted at #58 on the country charts for the week of April 18, 2009 and peaked at number 32. However, before the album was released, Lyric Street Records went out of business.
Covington later signed with a label called E1 Music. His second album, Good Guys, was released on September 12, 2012. It features the singles "I Wanna Be That Feeling" and "Drinking Side of Country", a duet with Shooter Jennings.
Discography[]
Albums:
- Bucky Covington (2007)
- Good Guys (2012)
EPs:
- Live From Rockingham (2009)
- I'm Alright (2010)
- Reality Country (2010)
Season 5 |
Finalists |
ยทTaylor Hicks ยทKatharine McPhee ยทElliott Yamin ยทChris Daughtry ยทParis Bennett ยทKellie Pickler ยทAce Young ยทBucky Covington ยทMandisa ยทLisa Tucker ยทKevin Covais ยทMelissa McGhee |
Semifinalists |
ยทAyla Brown ยทWill Makar ยทGedeon McKinney ยทKinnik Sky โ ยทHeather Cox ยทBrenna Gethers ยทJosรฉ 'Sway' Peรฑala ยทDavid Radford โ ยทBobby Bennett ยทPatrick Hall ยทBecky O'Donohue ยทStevie Scott |