ROCKINGHAM – Bucky Covington, the former American Idol contestant on arguably its most star-studded season the show ever had, has been invited to the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame.
A native of Richmond County, Bucky first appeared in the national spotlight on American Idol’s fifth season alongside Chris Daughtry, Taylor Hicks, and Elliott Yamin, and went on to garner major success and become the bestselling debut artist of 2007.
Now Bucky will add to his list of accolades with his induction on October 19 into the NC Music Hall of Fame.
“It’s a huge honor to be recognized for something like this…that special,” he said. “It all started from me just wanting to play a guitar, and since I started in North Carolina, I am just so happy to be honored.”
When asked where his music career started, Bucky answered, “You know, I remember just wanting to play the guitar, so I would perform at the Golddust and just try to make a name for myself. Next thing you know, I was auditioning for Idol, and now I’m living the dream in Nashville.”
While Bucky grew up in the Richmond County area, he now resides in Nashville, Tennessee, where he not only still performs regularly, but also owns a successful body shop, Covington’s Collision Center.
“I grew up working in my dad’s body shop, Covington Body Shop in Hamlet,” he said. “So while I am very much focused on my music, I wanted to start a business too and we are already planning to expand.”
Covington’s Collision Center is located in northern Tennessee and, as he noted, plans are to launch another location in the near future. He resides on a farm just outside of Nashville, not too far from his business location. Despite his successful business venture and music career based in Tennessee, Bucky has not forgotten where he came from and is very appreciative of his hometown.
“I love North Carolina…it’s home,” he said. “I do like Tennessee, and I don’t know if I’ll always stay here, but North Carolina will always be special to me.”
When asked what he missed most about North Carolina, he replied, “You know, the hardest thing to get used to is not being able to go to the beach in a day.”
During the exclusive interview, it was clear how much Bucky appreciated his hometown and Richmond County. “I remember my time on Idol…what a whirlwind. Getting to perform beside Stevie Wonder and so many other great artists, it was incredible. I even remember hanging out at Billie Bob Thorton’s house, and it was so cool. But the coolest thing, really, was the hometown getting behind you. I never got to see it directly, but I knew about it and appreciated Richmond and Scotland counties and the area for getting behind me. Idol was a transition period for me, but I was happy living in Richmond County. I never wanted to leave.”
Bucky certainly stays busy between family, music and the business, and despite the fact that he has performed several concerts in the last 30 days, he has limited his touring performances in 2017 to focus on new albums. His Greatest Hits album will debut in 2018, and he plans to write another original album after his Greatest Hits album is released.
Bucky and his wife, Katherine, have a two-year old daughter, Kennedy. His father, Gene Covington, still lives in Richmond County and owns and operates Covington’s Body Shop to this day.
“When Bucky and Rocky (brother) left, we finally got some good help,” he said jokingly.
Bucky is inarguably regarded as one of the most successful North Carolina-born musicians in the last twenty years, and it was clear in our exclusive interview that he has not let that “get to his head”. Bucky continues to pay tribute to Richmond County and the surrounding area for their support of him as he climbed to the top of the charts after Idol.
In our last question, we asked, “You seem so busy, performing, recording, running your business, spending time with family. What do you do in your free time?” His response: “lately…sleep.”
Bucky will be inducted into the NC Music Hall of Fame on Thursday, October 19 at a ceremony in Kannapolis, NC. For VIP and general admisson tickets to the event, click here.
For more information on Nashville-recording artist Bucky Covington, visit buckycovington.com.