Neal Boyd, the Season 3 winner of competition reality show America’s Got Talent, has died at age 42.
Boyd, an opera singer who almost died in a 2017 car accident, passed away at his mother’s home in Missouri.
“He died about 6:26 p.m. last night at his mother’s house in Sikeston,” said a spokesperson for the Scott County Coroner’s Office. “Neal was battling some pretty major health problems. He was in heart failure, kidney failure and he had some liver problems.”
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“You can attribute that to the fact that Neal was a pretty overweight individual and when you are that overweight, that is a challenge to your heart, but his death was attributed mainly to his heart problems,” the spokesperson added.
Boyd won AGT in 2008, wowing judges with his performances of songs Somewhere from West Side Story and Nessun Dorma, an aria from the Puccini opera Turandot. He released his first album, My American Dream, in 2009. He also ran for an empty seat in the Missouri House of Representatives in 2012, but lost. He ran again in 2014 and was defeated.
He earned the nickname “The Voice of Missouri,” coined by many state and local officials.
Former AGT judge Piers Morgan expressed his condolences on Twitter.
AGT‘s official account also tweeted a message.
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In May, Boyd posted a crowdfunding announcement to his official Facebook page. He was trying to raise money for a new music album.
At this time, there is no information regarding funeral plans.
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