Games - Bo Bice

	Games - Bo Bice

Harold Elwin "Bo" Bice, Jr. (born November 1, 1975 in Huntsville, Alabama) is an American singer and musician who was the runner-up to Carrie Underwood in the fourth season of American Idol
.

Early life and career

Bice was nicknamed "Bogart" as a child by his family, and it was later shortened to "Bo". He first made his mark at the age of 9, when he won a local school competition.

Bice grew up with his mother and stepfather, Earle and Nancy Downes. When Bice was 14 years old they moved to England in 1990, as part of Earle's European assignment with Coca-Cola in downtown London. Bice spent his teenage years living in the suburbs of Gerralds Cross and Steer Green. The family were neighbors of Ozzy Osbourne. Bice attended London Central High School, a Department of Defense school primarily for children whose parents served in the military or worked at the U.S. Embassy. He would have graduated in 1994. In high school, he was found carrying his guitar everywhere, played football, attended proms, and had several girlfriends. It was around this time when Bice worked with some English alternative rock musicians. In the fall of 1993, Bice dropped out of high school just before turning 18 to move back to Alabama, where he earned his GED and attended Calhoun Community College from November 1996 to May 1997. Upon graduating Calhoun and spending a semester at the University of North Alabama in Florence, Bice turned professional and performed in shows all across the United States, the United Kingdom (including Ireland), and Eastern Europe. He is a veteran of the nightclub circuit, having performed solo and in rock groups such as Purge, Blue Suede Nickel, and his current band Sugar Money. Among his credits are opening for Blackfoot and Warrant as well as performing live and recording with Johnny Neal, formerly of The Allman Brothers Band
.

Sometime in 2004, 28-year-old Bice was fired from his job at Guitar Gallery, a guitar franchise in the Huntsville area. The jobless singer then auditioned for American Idol in Orlando, Florida. When he found out he made it to Hollywood but had no money, he notified his family in England, who agreed to support him. He was also able to receive unemployment benefits from the U.S. government and his church.

On April 28, 2005, The Smoking Gun discovered that Bo was charged with cocaine possession (June, 2001) and marijuana possession (July, 2003) before he auditioned for Idol (but as with fellow contestant Scott Savol, he had been forthcoming to Idol producers about the arrests, and he was consequently allowed to remain in the competition).

Bice is the youngest child of four. Jenny is a mother pursuing a degree in marine biology, Sharon is single and working on a degree in art photography philosophy, and John is married and is a Marine.

American Idol

A Southern rocker in musical approach and appearance, Bice did not fit into the normal American Idol mold. However his early performance of The Allman Brothers Band's "Whipping Post" drew raves from the judges and established him as one of the favorites in the competition.

For the 2005 season, Idol producers raised their required age limit from 16-26 to 16-28. Along with Constantine Maroulis, he was one of the oldest contestants to audition and participate on American Idol, as well as being the oldest contestants to have progressed the farthest in the singing competition. Bice and Maroulis are also notable for being among the first contestants to compete using the rock idiom.

During his run on Idol, since he did not have family or friends in the States, Bice picked five kids (age 10-15) at random who were waiting in the back of the line at the studio and gave them tickets to American Idol. The kids became his friends and number one fans.

In June 2005 Bice was quoted in Rolling Stone magazine that his last thought during the Idol finale was, "Please, God, don't let me win this thing." In comments during a subsequent appearance on The Today Show, Bice backed off this stance a bit, saying that he thanked all those who had voted for him. He then played solo acoustic guitar and harmonica to one of his own compositions, in addition to singing his Idol songs with a band.

In Alabama, May 24 was declared "Bo Bice Day" by Governor Bob Riley.

Post-Idol career

Signed to RCA Records, Bice's first single, released June 21, 2005, was his version of "Inside Your Heaven". The single debuted at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. The B-side was his rendition of the Ides of March hit "Vehicle", featuring an appearance by Richie Sambora. Bice was also invited to the Bonnaroo Music Festival by Trey Anastasio (formerly of Phish). He sang a song with Willie Nelson at a Birmingham concert and was invited by Nelson to perform at Farm Aid. Bice also appeared on Carlos Santana's 2005 album All That I Am on the song "Brown Skin Girl", which did not appear on his own solo album.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Bo Bice ]

Games - Bo Bice

Early life and career

American Idol

Post-Idol career

Searches on eBay

Related searches on eBay