BUCKY COVINGTON - BUCKY COVINGTON
Season-five “American Idol” finalist Covington convincingly mixes a large helping of Southern-fried rock with a dash of country on his Lyric Street debut. Opener “American Friday Night” is an energized look at Smalltown USA, while the first single, “Different World,” currently No. 24 on Hot Country Songs, continues the theme with a nostalgic look at growing up in simpler times. The driving “Empty Handed,” which conjures the Eagles’ “Life in the Fast Lane,” stands in contrast to the gospel-tinged “Hometown” (”Lord, I hope heaven’s a lot like my hometown”), and that’s a good thing. “Bible and the Belt” is a full-fledged Southern rocker that has concert anthem written all over it. The album’s lone ballad, “I’ll Walk,” has a hook you can see coming a mile away, but will probably be a high school slow-dance favorite. Billboard
