Neal E. Boyd

Neal E. Boyd
Neal E. Boyd signing an autograph after performing at St. John Lutheran Church-Ellisville, MO, USA
Background information
Born	November 18, 1975 (1975-11-18) (age 36)
Origin	Sikeston, Missouri, U.S.
Genres	Operatic pop
Occupations	Singer
Years active	2008–present
Labels	Decca (2009-present)
Website	www.nealeboyd.com

Neal E. Boyd (born November 18, 1975) is an American pop opera singer. He is best known as the 2008 winner of America's Got Talent.

Early life

Neal E. Boyd, known worldwide as "The Voice of Missouri," grew up in Sikeston, Missouri. He discovered operatic music in junior high school when his older brother was forced to do a school project involving classical music and brought home a CD of the Three Tenors. His brother had little appreciation for classical music, but Neal was so enamored by the passion and skill of the famous trio that he started learning to sing in Luciano Pavarotti's and Plácido Domingo's operatic styles. A creative seed was planted, and Neal went on to study Speech Communications, Political Science, and Vocal Music at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, MO, and the University of Missouri in Columbia, MO, graduating from both universities simultaneously in May 2001. He was the winner of the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Vocal Collegiate Championship in 2000 while in the voice studio of Professor Ann Harrell of the UM-Columbia. This national win led to his solo debut at New York City's famed Carnegie Hall in March 2001. After teaching music for a year in his hometown of Sikeston, MO, he later attended the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, MA to study opera — which led to a lead role as the slave "York" in Michael Ching's World Premier Opera "Corps of Discovery, A Musical Journey," commissioned by MU.^[1]

Boyd was his high school's student body president in 1993–94 and the president of the Student Senate at Southeast Missouri State University, where he was also a member of Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity.^[2] He has a bachelor's degree in speech communications from Southeast Missouri State University, a Bachelor's degree in music from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and a Master’s degree in management from the University of Phoenix.^[3] In 2001, he had planned to attend Yale University, but plans changed when he decided to study with another professor at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston.^[4]

In 2000, he sang at the memorial service for former Missouri Governor Mel Carnahan who died in a plane crash during his U.S. Senate run against then Senator and later U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft. In 2005, he sang the National Anthem at the inauguration of Missouri Governor Matt Blunt. While in college, Boyd interned at the capitol in Jefferson City, Missouri. Various Missouri state and local officials nicknamed Boyd "The Voice of Missouri" due to his appearances at many prominent statewide events.^[5]

America's Got Talent

Boyd was the winner of America's Got Talent in 2008, and was awarded the $1-million prize and a headline show in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Performances/Results

Week	Theme	Song choice	Original artist	Performance order	Result
Audition	Inspiration	"Nessun Dorma"		3	Advanced
Vegas Verdicts	Classical Singers	"Unchained Melody"	Todd Duncan	4	Advanced
Top 40	Group 1	"Somewhere"	Reri Grist	10	Advanced
Top 20	Group 1 Heroes	"Mama"	Il Divo	7	Advanced
Top 10	Inspirations	"All By Myself"	Eric Carmen	8	Advanced
Top 5	Finals	"Nessun Dorma"		5	Winner

Post Talent

Neal was awarded the $1-million prize and a headline show in Las Vegas, Nevada, hosted by Jerry Springer.

On October, 2008, Neal's hometown declared the month of October "Neal E. Boyd Month."^[6]

Career

My American Dream (2009–present)

Neal signed to Decca Records and released his debut album, My American Dream, on June 23, 2009, the day of the fourth season premiere of America's Got Talent. It debuted at #195 on the Billboard 200 and #3 on the Top Classical Albums Chart.

On March 10, 2010, Neal performed for the current U.S. President Barack Obama while visiting Missouri.^[7][8] Since 2010, Boyd has also performed for Presidents George Herbert Walker Bush, William Jefferson Clinton, and George Walker Bush.

Politics

Neal is a Republican.^[9] He also plans on running for the Missouri House of Representatives in the 2012 election.^[10]

Discography

Albums

Year	Album	Peak chart positions				Certifications (sales threshold)
		US	US Class	US Heat	Year End Class
2009	My American Dream [11] Label: Decca Released: June 23, 2009 Format: CD, digital download	195	3	10	29	US sales: 6,000[12]

Singles

Year	Single	Peak	Album
		US
2009	"God Bless the USA"	—	My American Dream

References

1. ^ "NBC's America's Got Talent Contestant Neal E. Boyd's Profile". NBC. http://www.nbc.com/Americas_Got_Talent/contestants/neal_boyd.shtml/. Retrieved 2008-10-01. ^{[dead link]}
2. ^ "Million Dollar Man". 2008-11-01. http://www.crossandcrescent.com/2008/11/million-dollar-man/. Retrieved 2008-11-03. 
3. ^ "Gov. Matt Blunt announced appointments". http://governor.mo.gov/press/Appointments032807.htm. Retrieved 2008-10-01. ^{[dead link]}
4. ^ Darnell, Kathryn (2008-05-15). "Holding a High Note". http://www.voxmagazine.com/stories/2008/05/15/holding-high-note/. Retrieved 2008-10-01. 
5. ^ "Neal Boyd timeline". http://www.semissourian.com/article/20080701/ARTS04/868609906/-1/nealboyd. Retrieved 2008-10-01. 
6. ^ "Neal E. Boyd month". Sikeston Standard Democrat. http://www.standard-democrat.com/story/1464691.html. Retrieved 2008-10-01. 
7. ^ http://www.ksdk.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=197592
8. ^ http://www.semissourian.com/story/1616796.html
9. ^ http://www.semissourian.com/story/1762003.html
10. ^ http://www.digitalspy.com/celebrity/s67/americas-got-talent/news/a340389/americas-got-talent-winner-neal-e-boyd-to-run-for-missouri-legislature.html
11. ^ "Decca Records - Neal E. Boyd". Decca Records. http://www.deccarecords-us.com/nealeboyd/releases/. Retrieved 2009-06-19. 
12. ^ http://mizzoumag.missouri.edu/2010-summer/features/neal-boyd/index.php

External links

• Official website
• NBC Show Profile

Preceded by Terry Fator

America's Got Talent winner Season 3 (Summer 2008)

Succeeded by Kevin Skinner

Persondata
Name	Boyd, Neal
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	November 18, 1975
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death