SAN ANTONIO – Bo Bice, the singer who finished runner-up to Carrie Underwood in American Idol’s fourth season before charting smash hits and videos of his own, will perform during the 2012 Operation Rising Star Live Finals Dec. 8-15 at Fort Sam Houston Theatre.
Bice will be joined by guest recording artists The Main Squeeze and R.L., along with 2011 Operation Rising Star winner Melissa Neal. Each will appear on different shows during finals week of the Army Morale, Welfare and Recreation-sponsored military singing contest based on the premises of “American Idol.”
The shows will be recorded in front of a live audience by the Pentagon Channel on Joint Base San Antonio Fort Sam Houston at 7 p.m. Dec. 8, 10, 12 and 14, with a 5:30 p.m. reveal show Dec. 15 to crown the champion.
Bice will perform Dec. 10. The Main Squeeze is set for Dec. 12. R.L. is the Dec. 14 guest artist, and Neal will perform during the Dec. 15 reveal show.
Bice, whose rendition of “Inside Your Heaven” peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard charts, has recorded three albums and his latest is titled 3. Recorded in his hometown of Nashville, the album features an array of influences ranging from Jim Croce, Van Morrison, James Taylor, Gram Parsons to The Black Crowes and Lenny Kravitz. Performers on the album include Crowes drummer Steve Gorman and keyboardist A.J. Croce, son of the late great Jim Croce.
After making a name for himself on American Idol, Bice toured with Lynyrd Skynyrd, Carlos Santana and Willie Nelson, among others. He also performed for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“You hear and see first-hand some of the devastating stories, but you witness the blessing that these men and women are fighting for us,” Bice said. “I just hope I’m lifting them up somehow.”
Bice says performing for live audiences is his main reason for making music.
“It’s funny,” he said. “When I started out after my first record, there were a lot of women in the crowd, and a lot of guys with their arms crossed, kind of like saying: ‘Show me what you got.’ Then I do my show – which is sort of like Motley Crue, Vince Gill and Bob Seger – and by the end, the guys were the ones screaming and whistling – even in New York. I always say, she’ll bring you to the first Bo Bice show, and you’ll bring her to every one of them afterwards.”
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