“Bucky” Covington was born in Rockingham (Richmond County) NC to Gene Covington and Deborah Gates on November 8, 1977. During the 2005-2006 seasons of American Idol, Bucky Covington & his twin brother auditioned in Greensboro, NC individually.
His Covington ancestry can probably be traced back into Anson County.
During the 2005-2006 seasons, Bucky Covington & his twin brother auditioned for American Idol in Greensboro, NC individually. Of the two, Bucky advanced to the final twelve. On March 22, 2006 Bucky remained in the bottom three, along with Lisa Tucker and Kevin Covais. On April 12, 2006 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.
William Joel “Bucky” Covington was born in Rockingham (Richmond County) NC 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 Richmond County.
At the age of 18, Covington taught himself how to play the guitar and began performing at clubs. He is also a bassist & drummer & songwriter. Over the years, Covington has expanded his talents, both country & 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 currently Rocky is in a super group of rising stars called “The Scarecrows”.
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.
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 Record Groups 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 (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 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. 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 number six, followed by "It's Good to Be Us" at number eleven and "I'll Walk" at number ten.
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 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 Fathers 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. 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.
After American 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. Covington became engaged to Katherine Cook in 2011.
On October 10, 2014, Covington's fiancée, Katherine Cook, gave birth to their daughter, Kennedy Taylor Covington.
Photo posted below of Mr. Bucky Covington in "The American Idol Experience" motorcade at Walt Disney World.
Posted Aug 13, 2026, 4:42 PM UTC