Bucky Covington

Avril Hammers Nine Inch Nails For Billboard's #1

25 Apr 2007 12:14:00 EDT

'American Idol' veteran Bucky Covington opens in the album chart's #4 spot with his debut LP.
By Chris Harris

Avril Lavigne's The Best Damn Thing
Photo: Arista

Whether they knew it or not, fans of both Avril Lavigne and Nine Inch Nails played instrumental roles in what's been one of the year's most-talked-about races for Billboard's albums chart peak. With new LPs from both artists hitting stores last Tuesday, the question of who'd come out on top was on the minds of music industry experts.

This battle royale between the bubbly pop-punk princess and venerated industrial-rock icon Trent Reznor injected some much-needed excitement into what was a rather anemic week for album releases. Those in the know called it all week — Lavigne's third LP, The Best Damn Thing, did outsell Reznor's Year Zero, and now we know that the race wasn't such a close one.

With more than 286,000 copies sold during its first week at retail, Lavigne's Thing trounced sales of Year Zero by close to 100,000 units, scoring Avril the second chart-topping opening of her career, according to the latest SoundScan figures. Mrs. Deryck Whibley's sophomore set, Under My Skin, also bowed at #1 in 2004, but with 380,000 copies scanned. Nine Inch Nails' latest settles for second best, having racked up close to 187,000 in sales; the band's 2005 effort, With Teeth, debuted at #1 with 272,000 units grabbed up, and 1999's The Fragile also entered the chart at #1, with 229,000 scans.

Now That's What I Call Music! 24 — featuring contributions from Beyoncé, Fergie, Nelly Furtado and Nickelback — falls two positions to #3, selling another 68,000 copies its fourth week in stores. Following at #4 is the self-titled LP from Bucky Covington, one of the finalists from season five of "American Idol." The disc scanned close to 61,000 copies, and was one of just seven albums to debut on this week's chart.

The rest of the week's fresh faces included country crooner Clay Walker, whose Fall bows at #15 with 32,000 units sold. Lumidee's Unexpected scanned more than 16,000 copies to finish at #44. Reggaetón duo Rakim & Ken-Y's Masterpiece, the "Commemorative Edition" of the pair's 2006 LP, debuts at #116 with 7,000 sold, while claiming #171 with nearly 5,000 copies sold is Tragedias Reales de la Vida, an album from late Mexican singer Beto Quintanilla, who died last month.

Martina McBride's Waking Up Laughing follows Bucky Covington at #5, climbing three spots thanks to week-three sales of more than 55,000. Dropping three places to #6 is Akon's Konvicted, selling 52,000 units. Daughtry, the first, eponymous outing from Chris Daughtry's rock collective, follows at #7 after selling another 52,000 and change, while Tim McGraw's Let It Go finishes at #8 with more than 51,000 scans.

Carrie Underwood's Some Hearts surges ahead five chart positions this week, returning to the top 10 at #9 with 45,000 sales. And rounding things out at #10 is Timbaland Presents: Shock Value, which drops five spots with close to 40,000 copies sold.

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New Releases: Nine Inch Nails, Avril, Pink, Bucky Covington & More

17 Apr 2007 06:00:00 EDT

Also due Tuesday: Fightstar, Hold Steady, Priestbird, Comas, Page McConnell, DJ Shadow, Six Feet Under.
By Kurt Orzeck

Nine Inch Nails' Year Zero
Photo: Nothing Records

Trent Reznor is old enough to be Avril Lavigne's dad, but that doesn't mean they can't duke it out in the ring ... er, record store. Reznor and Lavigne have been defined throughout their careers as iconoclasts, and now it's time to see which rebel can yell the loudest — Lavigne, on her third studio LP, or Reznor, on Nine Inch Nails' fifth.

NIN fans have been in bliss since Reznor announced that he'd already completed a new album just two years after releasing With Teeth — it usually takes him five or seven to get around to making a new one. And he gets an extra pat on the back for coming up with an illustrious, apparently well-thought-out concept: Year Zero depicts a future society poised on the brink of Armageddon, and there's a deliciously enigmatic marketing campaign to go along with it.

"It takes place about 15 years in the future. Things are not good," Reznor recently wrote on his blog. "If you imagine a world where greed and power continue to run their likely course, you'll have an idea of the backdrop. The world has reached the breaking point — politically, spiritually and ecologically. Written from various perspectives of people in this world, Year Zero examines various viewpoints set against an impending moment of truth."

Among the 16 tracks are "Meet Your Master," "The Great Destroyer," "My Violent Heart," "The Beginning of the End" and "Zero-Sum." That's Reznor for ya — always chipper.

If Lavigne's The Best Damn Thing is a concept album, it's a, uh, pretty loose one. "Everything Back but You" is about bad spelling, while "Girlfriend" — surprise — is about wanting to snatch up someone else's man. Don't expect her to dig all that much deeper on "Runaway," "Keep Holding On" and, ahem, "I Don't Have to Try." But Avril fans who have waited three years for The Best Damn Thing are still in for a treat: a deluxe limited-edition with bonuses galore is dropping as well.

Also on the pop front this week is Pink's first DVD, "Live From Wembley Arena - London, England." We have no idea where the concert footage is taken from, but we do know that it was taped December 4 and that a hefty 20 performances are featured, including "Dear Mr. President," "The One That Got Away" and "I'm Not Dead."

As far as chart contenders go, though, there are really just two more to take into account this week. Bucky Covington is hoping to pull a Taylor Hicks — or even just an Elliott Yamin — with his self-titled LP. The fifth-season "American Idol" finalist is trying to appeal to Tim McGraw and Travis Tritt fans with country tunes like "Back When We Were Gods," "Ain't No Thing" and "Bible and the Belt."

That leaves Fightstar, the post-hardcore Londoners who have sold more than 50,000 copies of their Grand Unification debut, which would seem to be a good thing unless they're planning to go the way of the Darkness, et al. The album has already spawned two singles abroad — "Paint Your Target" and "Grand Unification, Part 1" — and while the band could count on those to do some damage Stateside, a spot on one of this summer's metal tours would certainly give Fightstar a lot more exposure.

Also this week:

· Snoop Dogg, Jim Jones, Shaggy, N.O.R.E. and Pitbull pump up Unexpected, the second album by Spanish Harlem, New York, rapper Lumidee. You may have already heard some of it, as her cover of "She's Like the Wind" — by Patrick Swayze! From "Dirty Dancing"! — has already been making the rounds on radio.

· Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante and Fugazi bassist Joe Lally bring back their Ataxia project for AW II — although that could be the first you've heard of the project, as it's been kept on the down-low. The band's much-delayed second LP represents the second half of its January 2004 sessions.

· Another guy from a band you may have heard of is stepping up with a new one this week, although Page McConnell moved on years ago from the defunct Phish. His first, eponymous solo release — which he's been hammering away at for two years with Phish drummer Jon Fishman — was recorded in Vermont and Brooklyn, New York, and features "Complex Wind," "Maid Marian" and "Close to Home."

· The Hold Steady are hoping to coast on their buzz a little while longer with a new EP, Live at Fingerprints — but the darn thing's so limited that it'll probably only satisfy the hard-core aficionados. The five acoustic tracks featured on Live at Fingerprints were recorded in October at the Long Beach, California, record store and, as such, will only be available in select indie shops.

· And oh yeah, those dudes Tarantula A.D.? Well, they're now going by the name Priestbird — no, not because another band had the previous name, but because, according to a press release, "The band felt an overall change was in order." The heavily layered In Your Time features all three bandmembers singing for the first time, playing a combined dozen-plus instruments (forks included!) and was recorded by none other than Black Crowes engineer Chris Ribando. Go fig.

Song Title of the Week:

"Sad Panda Clown's Lament" from Dolly Varden's The Panic Bell

Other Notables:

The Eames Era's Heroes and Sheroes: With their song "When You Were a Millionaire" already having snuck its way onto MTV's "I'm From Rolling Stone," the Louisiana rockers are hoping some of the other 16 tracks on the disc get 'em a little more exposure. After all, they deserve some good luck: The Eames Era were hit head-on by a National Guard truck as it was driving to provide hurricane relief post-Katrina. Not coincidentally, the album title is a phrase New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin used after the catastrophe.

The Greyboy Allstars' What Happened to Television?: Indie luminary Inara George crops up on this album as part of the guesting Living Sisters trio, but the 14-year-old Greyboy collective itself features the even more reputed Karl Denson (of Tiny Universe note) and Elgin Park, who scored "Donnie Darko" and TV's "Freaks and Geeks." You may have heard the first single, "How Glad I Am," before — it's previously been covered by Aretha Franklin, Nancy Wilson and many others.

Watchers' Vampire Driver: This Chicago quintet pulls from reggae, new wave, soul and punk but also manages to utilize traffic cones, light bulbs and pylons for its distinct sound. That blend has attracted guests James Chance and the Eternals' Wayne Montana for the Watchers' second effort, which features the keyboard-laden "Science Theme" and raucous "We've Got a Witness."

New Releases:

· 1997 - A Better View of the Rising Moon (Victory)
· 7 Sons of Soul - Witness (Verity)
· Joseph Arthur & the Lonely Astronauts - Let's Just Be (Lonely Astronaut)
· Ataxia - AW II (Record Collection)
· Aurah - Etherea Borealis (Very)
· Black Tide Revue - Code Fun (Gearhead)
· Scott Blasey - Travelin' On (High Wire)
· Christopher Blue - Room Tones (Sarathan)
· Stan Bock - Your Check's in the Mail (Oa2)
· Lloyd Brown - Said and Done (Cousins)
· Brian Buckley - For Her (Sonic 360)
· Guy Clark - Live From Austin, TX (digipak; New West)
· The Comas - Spells (Vagrant)
· Bucky Covington - Bucky Covington (Lyric Street)
· Cowboy Junkies - At the End of Paths Taken (Zöe)
· Dolly Varden - The Panic Bell (Undertow)
· The Eames Era - Heroes and Sheroes (self-release)
· Elk City - New Believers (Friendly Fire)
· Estuary - The Craft of Contradiction (Ibex Moon) [Buy]
· Fightstar - Grand Unification (enhanced; Trustkill)
· Todd Fritsch - Sawdust (Diamond Music Group/ Spinville)
· The Greyboy Allstars - What Happened to Television? (Sci Fidelity)
· Richard X. Heyman - Actual Sighs (Turn Up)
· The Hold Steady - Live at Fingerprints (limited-edition EP available in select independent stores only) [Buy]
· Hot Club Sandwich - Green Room (Modern Hot)
· Lady Saw - Walk Out (VP)
· Avril Lavigne - The Best Damn Thing (deluxe limited edition with DVD due same day; RCA) [Buy]
Read: "Don't Know How To Spell 'Avril Lavigne'? Prepare To Be Scolded"
· Lumidee - Unexpected (TVT)
· Daniel Lee Martin - On My Way to You (Chin)
· John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers - The Palace of the King (Eagle)
· Page McConnell - Page McConnell (Legacy)
· Kate McGarry - The Target (Palmetto)
· Messer Chups - Hyena Safari (Aerocccp)
· The Nields - All Together Singing in the Kitchen (Nields)
· Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero (Nothing) [Buy]
Read: "Nine Inch Nails' Year Zero Preview: Beginning To Solve The Mystery"
· The Noisettes - What's the Time, Mr. Wolf? (enhanced; Universal)
· The Old Soul - The Old Soul (Friendly Fire)
· Priestbird - In Your Time (Kemado) [Buy]
· Rock Plaza Central - Are We Not Horses (Yep Roc)
· Paul Rodgers - Live in Glasgow (Eagle)
· Matthew Ryan - From a Late Night High Rise (RED)
· DJ Shadow - Bay Area EP (limited edition; Universal Motown) [Buy]
· Ryan Shaw - This Is Ryan Shaw (One Haven)
· Six Feet Under - Commandment (Metal Blade)
· Swati - Small Gods (Bluhammock)
· Pam Tillis - Rhinestoned (Thirty Tigers)
· David Torn/ Tim Berne/ Craig Taborn/ Tom Rainey - Prezens (ECM)
· Until June - Until June (Flicker)
· Waking Ashland - The Well (Immortal)
· Clay Walker - Fall (Curb)
· Watchers - Vampire Driver (Gern Blandsten) [Buy]
· Watermelon Slim and the Workers - The Wheel Man (Northern Blues)
· The Wedding - Polarity (Word)
· Various artists - "Hot Fuzz" soundtrack (Cherrytree/Interscope)

Notable Reissues and Archival Material: · AC/DC - Stiff Upper Lip (Epic) [Buy]
· Bob Diddley - The Definitive Collection (Geffen)
· José Feliciano - The Best of José Feliciano (RCA/Legacy)
· The Flying Burrito Brothers - The Definitive Collection (Geffen)
· Howlin' Wolf - The Definitive Collection (Geffen)
· Michael Penn - Mr. Hollywood Jr., 1947 (Legacy) and Palms & Runes, Tarot & Tea: A Michael Penn Collection (RCA/Epic/Legacy)
· Slade - In for a Penny: Raves & Faves (Shout! Factory) [Buy]
· Superdrag - Changin' Tires on the Road to Ruin (Arena Rock) [Buy]
· Various artists - Hard to Find 45s on CD: Volume 9 - 1957-1959(Eric Collection)
· Various artists - I Fall to Pieces: 10 Timeless Country Songs (Varèse Sarabande)

Music DVDs: · Byzantine - "Salvation" (Prosthetic) [Buy]
· Ella Fitzgerald - "The Legendary First Lady of Song" (Image)
· Pink - "Live From Wembley Arena - London, England" (La Face) [Buy]
· Weather Report - "Live at Montreux 1976" (Eagle Vision)

Coming Attractions:

April 24:
· Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare (Domino) [Preorder]
· The Nightwatchman - One Man Revolution (Epic)
Read: "Nightwatchman, Rage Reunion Have Morello Fired Up For Political Fights"
· Porcupine Tree - Fear of a Blank Planet (limited-edition version due same day; Atlantic)
Read: "Porcupine Tree's Wilson Talks Complex New LP, Project With Opeth's Akerfeldt"

May 1:
· Tori Amos - American Doll Posse (special edition comes with DVD; Epic) [Preorder]
Read: "Tori Amos Forms Anti-Bush Posse By Mutating Into Greek Goddesses"
· Ne-Yo - Because of You (Def Jam) [Preorder]
Read: "Ne-Yo Getting To Know Jennifer Hudson While He Waits For Britney"
· Various artists - "Spider-Man 3" soundtrack (Record Collection)
Read: " 'Spider-Man 3' Soundtrack Features Killers, Snow Patrol"

May 8:
· Björk - Volta (Atlantic) [Preorder]
Read: "Tsunami, Timbaland Help Shape Bjork's Forthcoming Volta"
· Bones Thugs-N-Harmony - Strength and Loyalty (Full Surface/ Interscope)
Read: "Bone Thugs Dropping Two New LPs; Second Disc To Feature Dre, Kanye, Mariah"
· Mike Jones - The American Dream (Ice Age)
· Elliott Smith - New Moon (two CDs; Kill Rock Stars) [Preorder]
· Bobby Valentino - Special Occasion (Def Jam) [Preorder]
Read: "Bobby Valentino Looks Out For The Ladies With New Album, Jean Line"

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'American Idol' Top 10 Add 20 More Shows To Summer Plans

25 May 2006 09:01:00 EDT

The 59-date Idols Live tour kicks off July 5 in New Hampshire, runs through September 24 stop in Pennsylvania.
By Gil Kaufman

"American Idol" season five top 10 finalists
Photo: Ray Mickshaw/Fox

With newly crowned champ Taylor Hicks still basking in the glow of his win Wednesday night, the "American Idol" TV juggernaut isn't the only 800-pound gorilla in the franchise. The American Idols Live Tour has added 16 fresh stops and tacked on second shows in four markets to make it one of the summer's biggest outings.

The now 59-date tour will kick off with a pair of shows in Manchester, New Hampshire, on July 5 and 6, then hit Worcester, Massachusetts, for a two-fer on July 7 and 8, before doubling up a week later in East Rutherford, New Jersey (July 13, 14) and Uniondale, New York (July 15, 16).

The additional September dates will keep the 10 finalists — Paris Bennett, Bucky Covington, Chris Daughtry, Taylor Hicks, Mandisa, Katharine McPhee, Kellie Pickler, Lisa Tucker, Elliott Yamin and Ace Young — on the road through a September 24 date in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, at the Wachovia Center, according to a press release on the official "Idol" Web site. Tickets for the new dates will go on sale Saturday.

American Idols Live Tour dates, according to the show's official Web site:






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