Personal life

William Joel “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".^[1] He graduated in the class of 1996 from Scotland High School in Laurinburg, North Carolina.^[2] He worked at Covington's Body Shop in Rockingham, North Carolina.^[3]

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 confusing the authorities. The plaintiff failed to identify which twin was driving, since the twins were identical.^[4]

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.^[5] Covington became engaged to Katherine Cook in 2011.^[6]

On October 10, 2014, Covington's fiancee, Katherine Cook, gave birth to their daughter, Kennedy Taylor Covington.^[7]

American Idol

In the 2005-06 season, the Covington twins auditioned for American Idol in Greensboro, North Carolina, 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.

Performances during Idol

Semi-finals

• February 22, 2006: "Simple Man" by Lynyrd Skynyrd
• March 1, 2006: "The Thunder Rolls" by Garth Brooks
• March 8, 2006: "Wave on Wave" by Pat Green

Finals

• March 14, 2006: "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder
• March 21, 2006: "Oh Boy" by Buddy Holly (Bottom 2)
• March 28, 2006: "Real Good Man" by Tim McGraw
• April 4, 2006: "Best I Ever Had" by Gary Allan
• April 11, 2006: "Fat Bottomed Girls" by Queen (Bottom 3, Eliminated)

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.^[8]

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).^[9][10][11] 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 number four selling 61,000 copies. It also debuted at number one 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.^[12] Covington's debut surpassed the previous record held by Jason Michael Carroll's Waitin' in the Country.^[13] 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 number six, followed by "It's Good to Be Us" at number eleven and "I'll Walk" at number ten.

Unreleased second album: I'm Alright and Good Guys

In January 2009, Lyric Street noted that Covington has been in the studio recording his second album, I'm Alright. The lead-off single, "I Want My Life Back" was released to radio in April 2009 and it peaked at number 32. In early October 2009, Covington released a cover version of Nickelback's hit single "Gotta Be Somebody" which peaked at number 51 in December 2009 after spending only three weeks on the chart. The album's third single, "A Father's Love (The Only Way He Knew How)", was released in March 2010, and peaked at number 23.

The album was expected for release on April 27, 2010. However, in April 2010, it was announced Lyric Street Records would be closing, but Covington would be transferred to another label owned by Disney Music Group.^[14] However, Covington remained unsigned until October 2011 when it was announced that he had signed as the "premier artist" for E1 Music's Entertainment One Nashville label.^[15] Covington released his second studio album, Good Guys, on September 11, 2012. Two singles—"I Wanna Be That Feeling" and "Drinking Side of Country"—were released by E1 Music in promotion of the album.

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

Guest singles

Music videos

Other appearances

• "Superstition" from American Idol Season 5: Encores (2006)