'''Harold Elwin "Bo" Bice, III.''' (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''.
Biography
Early years
Bice was nicknamed "Humphrey Bogart" by his grandmother 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 sisters and brother, mother and stepfather, Earle, Nancy, Jenny and Sharan Downes, Jon Cohran. The family moved around the South frequently, they lived in Georgia, Alabama, and Florida; including the metro areas of Atlanta and Birmingham. When Bice was 15 years old they moved to England in 1990, as part of Earle's European assignment with Coca-Cola in London. Bice spent his teenage years living in the suburbs of Gerrards Cross and Seer 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 classes at 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, 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 SugarMoney. 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.
On April 28, 2005, The Smoking Gun discovered that Bice 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)
[http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0427051_bo_bice_american_idol_1.html].
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
