William Joel "Bucky" Covington III, born on November 8, 1977, in Rockingham, North Carolina, is an American country music singer. Covington began his musical journey at the age of 18 when he taught himself to play the guitar and started performing at local clubs. His breakthrough moment came when he placed eighth on the fifth season of American Idol in 2006. Following his appearance on American Idol, Covington signed a recording contract with Lyric Street Records in December 2006. His self-titled debut album, produced by Dale Oliver and Mark Miller of Sawyer Brown, was released on April 17, 2007. The album debuted at Number 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and featured three hit singles: "A Different World" which peaked at number 6, "It's Good to Be Us" at number 11, and "I'll Walk" at number 10. Covington released several more singles including "I Want My Life Back", "Gotta Be Somebody", and "A Father's Love (The Only Way He Knew How)", which were later included on his 2012 album Good Guys. Despite the closure of Lyric Street Records in April 2010, Covington continued his career, signing with E1 Music's Entertainment One Nashville label in October 2011. His second studio album, Good Guys, was released on September 11, 2012.
