Bo BiceBirth Place: Huntsville, Alabama, USA Date of Birth: November 1, 1975 Heritage: American Contact Bo Bice | 
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Idol Runner Up
Background: American singer and musician Bo Bice, born Harold Elwin Bice, Jr., reached fame when he became a finalist on the “American Idol” season four and finished second under Carrie Underwood. He won a Teen Choice Award in the category of Choice TV Reality/Variety Star – Male for heis performance on the show. The long, brown haired Southern rock artist has recorded three studio albums: “The Real Thing” (2005, RCA), which received gold certification from the RIAA, “See the Light” (2007, StratArt Records) and “3” (2010, Saguaro Road). His debut single, a rendition of “Inside Your Heaven,” reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2005. In 2001, Bice was accused for buying cocaine at a strip club. He was arrested two years later for possession of marijuana, drug paraphernalia and public intoxication. He avoided jail time by agree ing to enter a drug program. Bice has been married to Caroline Fisher since 2005. The couple have three sons together. “I've got the best wife in the world... She's the best thing that ever happened to me..” Bo Bice Bogart Childhood and Family: Bo Bice was born Harold Elwin Bice, Jr. on November 1, 1975, in Helena, Alabama, to a musical family. His mother, Nancy, was a gospel singer (as were his grandmother, great-grandmother, and aunts), while his father, Harold Elwin Bice, plays guitar. As a neonate, Bice got the nickname “Bogart” from his grandmother because she taught he had “Humphrey Bogart eyes.” His family went on to call him Bogart, but he reduced it to “Bo” in kindergarten because it sounded cool. After his parents' split, Bice lived with his mother, step father Earle Downes (a Coca-Cola manager), step-sisters Jenny and Sharan Downes, and half-brother John Cohran. The Downes family traveled the South frequently, and lived in Georgia, Alabama, and Florida. When he was 14 years old, the family moved to England, as part of his step father's European duty with Coca-Cola in London. While living in London, he was a neighbor to 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, but dropped out in the fall of 1993 and moved back to Alabama, where he received his GED and attended classes at Calhoun Community College from November 1996 to May 1997. After leaving Calhoun, he enrolled at the University of North Alabama in Florence and left after one semester to pursue music professionally. While working in a guitar store, Bice met Caroline Fisher, who was working her way through college as a waitress in a nearby diner (in Hoover, Alabama). They had been dating for two years before eventually deciding to get married on June 15, 2005. The couple currently live in Nashville, Tennessee, and have three children together: Aidan Michael Bice (born September 24, 2005), Caleb James (born August 5, 2008) and Ean Jacob (born January 22, 2010). The Real Thing Career: While staying in London, Bo Bice worked with some English alternative rock musicians, and formed his first band, Spinning Jenny. Upon relocating back to the U.S. and turning professional, he performed shows all across the country, in addition to the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Europe. Bice quickly became a regular in the nightclub circuit and wrote many songs during this period. In 1995, he released his first CD with his band Purge. With the same band, he released another album in 1999 called “Ex Gratia.” Bice recorded the 2000 album “Recipe for Flavor” with the band Sugar Money, where he served as lead singer. He also performed with the band Blue Sued Nickel (sic) as well as opened for Blackfoot and Warrant and performed live and recording with Johnny Neal. Already an experience performer, Bice tried his hand for the fourth season of “American Idol” in Orlando, Florida and succeeded with Badlands' “In a Dream” and The Allman Brothers Band's “Whipping Post.” He sang “The Box Tops's “The Letter” and The Temptations' “Get Ready” for the group round in the Hollywood week, and eventually made it into the Top 12. Bice wanted to introduce rock to “American Idol,” and along with Constantine Maroulis, he was considered to be the eldest (and most experienced) of Idol contestants. During the season, Bice was 29 years old. Bice performed Blood, Sweat & Tears's “Spinning Wheel” in Song of the 1960s week and Jim Croce's “Time in a Bottle” in Billboard Number Ones week. He continued to give standout performance during the 1990s and the Classic Broadway weeks with The Black Crowes's “Remedy” and Pippin's “Corner of the Sky,” respectively, but was placed in the bottom 2 after singing Lynyrd Skynyrd's “Free Bird” in the Year They Were Born week. He delivered further good performances with The Ides of March's “Vehicle” (1970s Dance Music week), Gavin DeGraw's “I Don't Want to Be” (21st Century week), Ben E. King's “Stand by Me” and Los Lonely Boys' “Heaven” (Lieber & Stoller, Current Billboard Chart week), and Jon Randall's “It's a Great Day to Be Alive” and The O'Jays's “For the Love of Money” (Country, Gamble & Huff week). In the final top 3 performance show, Bice decided to perform without a band or backup singers and became the first contestant to sing a cappella at this stage in the competition. His performance of Badlands's “In a Dream” received valuable praise from the judges, including guest judge Clive Davis, who addressed of looking forward to making an album with Bice. Carry Underwood ended up becoming the winner of the season and Bice was in the runner up. “If I had won this thing, it'd be another five years before I could (get my own music out)... This is something that is good not only for myself, but it's great for the fans... It's gonna be a little bit more feasible for me to go to them.” Bo Bice (on losing “American Idol”) Bice was signed by RCA Records, and released a version of “Inside Your Heaven” as his first single on June 21, 2005. The single peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Single Sales chart. It sold 401,000 copies and was certified gold by the RIAA in late July 2005. Bice performed at festivals and live concerts during 2005, such as the Bonnaroo Music Festival and the Farm Aid, as well as appeared in several television shows, including “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “Ellen: The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and “The Tony Danza Show,” among others. On October 7, 2005, Bice introduced his own band, SugarMoney, in Mobile, Alabama at Bayfest. Members of the band included John “Coop” Cooper on bass, Shane Sexton on drums, Kris Bell on guitar, Heath Clark on guitar and Thomas Lee on keyboards. Bice appeared in two concerts the following week, including a benefit concert for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, but was forced to stop due to surgery complications. Previously, on August 18, 2005, Bice underwent an intestinal surgery to remove a blockage caused by a life-threatening intestinal condition called Intussusception. He would be hospitalized for a number of times and have to take other surgeries to correct his recurring intestinal problem. 2005 also saw Bice host Oxygen Television Network's Jingle Bell Concert, whose special guests included Patti LaBelle and Joan Osborne, and present the 2005 Billboard Music Awards, where he received a nomination for Top-Selling Single of the Year for “Inside Your Heaven.” Bice's solo debut album, “The Real Thing,” was released on December 13, 2005 on RCA. It was produced by Clive Davis, Cliff Magness and Chad Kroeger. The album debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200, making it the seventh highest opening for a debut album by an American Idol finalist, and received gold certification from the RIAA. The title single, which was written by Kara DioGuardi and Marti Frederiksen, recahed No. 56 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 17 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary Chart, No. 11 on the Adult Top 40 and No. 17 on the Mainstream Top 40 (Pop Songs). The second single “U Make Me Better” (2006) failed to enter any of the Billboard charts. In 2007, Bice was invited by Ben Stiller to record the rock power ballad audio and music video for the title track of the Will Ferrell comedy film “Blades of Glory,” which was produced by Stiller. Later that same year, on October 23, Bice launched his sophomore effort, “See the Light,” on the indie label, StratArt Records. The album, which was released as a Wal-Mart exclusive, reached No.150 on the Billboard 200 and No. 31 on the Billboard Independent Albums. It had sold over 62,000 pieces in the U.S. The lead single “Witness” failed to chart. Bice hired a new backing band for his second album, and only Thomas Lee from his late band SugarMoney who becomes part of this new band. Bice continued to tour throughout 2008 and 2009, and in 2010, he began an acoustic tour to introduce some newly-written songs that he was recording for his new album. “3” was released on May 18, 2010 through Saguaro Road Records. The album reached No. 154 on the Billboard 200 and sold 11,000 units in the U.S. “You Take Yourself with You” was released as the first single from the album. Awards: Teen Choice: Choice TV Reality/Variety Star – Male, “American Idol,” 2005 |
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