With his last single “I Want My Life Back” stalling inside the Top 30, Bucky Covington quickly returns to the airwaves with a song that at first may seem like an unlikely choice for a single, Nickelback’s 2008 hit ballad “Gotta Be Somebody.”  Choosing a song that already was a pop and rock smash hit as a cover has been done before and while the results have been mixed at best, it’s not as if Bucky Covington and other artists haven’t been singin’ this one out on their tours already and it won’t be the last song written by Chad Kroeger (Nickelback’s singer) to make its way to the Country charts. 

Why will more Chad Kroeger songs hit country airwaves? Quite simply he already writes songs that fit within modern country music’s definitions.  The songs are hooky, the lyrics are relatable –if a bit generic– and the melody does what it should do, get in your head and make the song memorable (which can be good and bad).  As for how “Gotta Be Somebody” translates from rock opus to country opus, there are fiddles and banjo to help remind people that they’re listening to a country song and rather than just be ‘accents,’ they are prevalent throughout the song. 

Whatever you may think of Bucky Covington or Nickelback, there’s no denying a hit song and it’s even better when it’s easily listenable and worth listening to over and over again. In fact, the only problem I have with Bucky’s version is that the song is ‘loud’ –even if it’s not as loud as Nickelback’s original– and quite honestly Bucky’s voice is much more amenable to my palate.