Idol Chatter & Voice Views

The Academy of Country Music awards show is fast approaching, and anyone who would like to see former Idol Carrie Underwood win Entertainer of the Year honors can do something about it.

Fans can vote through the final hour of the 44th annual awards show, set for Sunday, April 5, by going here.

Other nominees for the honor include Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, George Strait and Keith Urban.

Carrie is attempting to become just the seventh female to win the honor and the first since the Dixie Chicks in 2000.

She’s nominated for three other ACM awards — top female vocalist, album of the year and video of the year. She won top female vocalist at the AMCs each of the last two years.

The awards show will be broadcast on CBS, and each of the entertainer of the year nominees will perform live.

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Fans of Bucky Covington have plenty to look forward to in the coming days.

First, Bucky will release the first single off his second album on Monday. The song is called “I Want My Life Back” and was written by Frank Myers and Anthony Smith, according to a blog posted on Bucky’s MySpace page Friday.

“This song struck me the first time I heard it,” Bucky says in the blog. “It’s such an emotional and powerful song that really hits home with today’s times, and I’m proud to be able to share the positive message.”

Then, on April 10, Bucky makes his big screen debut in “Hannah Montana: The Movie.” I’m figuring it must be a pretty small role since he doesn’t make the cast list on the iMDb site.

After finishing eighth on season five of Idol, Bucky released a debut album that produced three top 20 country singles. Album number two is due out Sept. 9.

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Season seven contestant Michael Johns will release his first post-Idol single, “Heart on My Sleeve,” on Tuesday.

His new album is set for release June 2. That’s the same date Brooke White is set to release “High Hopes and Heartbreak.”

Remember, Michael also has several vocal tracks on the soundtrack, “Don’t Look Down,” including a duet with Brooke (“Life is Okay”). Learn more about the soundtrack here.

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Fresh off winning single of the year in Hawaii for her remake of the Bob Marley classic, “Guava Jelly,” Camile Velasco of Idol season three is working on her first full-length album.

The album will be released this fall under the indie label Up Above Records, according to a recent article in The Maui News.

The title: “Koy.” That’s Camile’s nickname, borrowed from a Filipino comic character. And Camile says most of the album will have a pop and R&B rather than reggae flavor.

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Kellie Pickler’s new video for “Best Days of Your Life” was posted on her blog Friday, and it’s a hoot. Make sure to keep watching until the end.

Tour buddy Taylor Swift has a key part in the video. Which only seems fair, I guess, since she helped write the song. The tune is easily one of the best off Kellie’s sophomore album.

Taylor and Kellie will be at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Md., June 11. According to Taylor’s Web site, tickets are still available.

Kellie’s one reason I’m not totally opposed to Idol’s new judges’ save. Think how much more interesting the season five Idol finale would have been with Kellie and Chris Daughtry vying for the crown, instead of Taylor Hicks and Katherine McPhee.

And, thanks to YouTube, you won’t even have to leave Idol Chatter to watch the video. Here it is, followed by a “making of the video” video. Enjoy.

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The making of video …

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