A North Carolina native, Buckner was a sergeant in the National Guard. “I joined the military at the age of 18, and I served for seven years before getting out. I did two tours of duty, and I recently moved to Nashville to pursue my music career,” he said. “I was a sergeant in the military police. I have been overseas to Afghanistan and Iraq.”
Buckner auditioned for the reality singing competition American Idol this past September, and made it all the way up to the final producing rounds, where he performed such songs as Florida Georgia Line’s “Cruise,” Jamey Johnson’s “In Color” and his original “Another Breakup Song.”
Regarding his plans for the future, Buckner said, “I am going to take this music career as far as it can go. I am going to take it full speed,” he said.
His original song “Tough Love,” which deals with the military, can be seen here:
Buckner listed country songstresses Martina McBride and Janelle Arthur as his dream female duet choices, and he listed Craig Morgan as his greatest musical influence. “I had the opportunity to sing with Craig Morgan, while I was overseas in Afghanistan. Craig is one of my favorites. He is a really nice guy and does all kinds of cool things for people,” he said.
The musical sergeant is drawn to the country genre of music due to its “stories” and how they “all relate to real life.” He hopes the fans check out his new music, and they can expect to hear a lot more from him in the near future.
