Thanks to 29-year-old Helena native Bo Bice, Alabama has once again gained national attention on one of America’s most popular reality TV shows. And this “American Idol” has a connection to Selma.

Bice, whose is related by marriage to Selma’s Jerry Victor, was picked as one of Idol’s 24 finalists. In fact, he performed last night on the Fox hit show.

“We are tickled to death to have a second Alabama connection,” Victor said. “It is awesome and inspiring to see someone on national TV who you actually know.

It shows that (“American Idol”) is not made up.”

According to Victor, Bice, who has been singing since he could talk and performing since the age of 9, is a “James Taylor type rocker.”

In addition to singing, he plays guitar, bass, saxophone, harmonica, and writes his own songs. Before becoming a contestant on “American Idol,” Bice, who would like to own his own guitar store, performed in sports bars with other musicians and worked at a guitar store.

This year, over 100,000 people auditioned for American Idol in seven cities.

Bice auditioned in Orlando, Florida for his shot at stardom.

“He was talented enough to make it this far and we want everyone to vote for him,”said Victor.

“This is just something I wanted to use as a sounding board for my music and maybe put me into something else,” Bice told USA Today.

To echo the chants of many people across the state, “Go Bo, Go!”