Mormon singer, songwriter and YouTube sensation Alex Boye and his band performed on NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” on June 23, wowing the judges with his singing and energetic style of dancing - even jumping off the stage at the end.
He got four yes votes from the judges and made it into the next round of competition on the show. The winner of the television show receives $1 million and a chance to headline a show on the Las Vegas Strip. The judges said they loved his version of “Shake It Off” by Taylor Swift.
Judge Howie Mandel said after the performance, “Alex, I stood up at the end. So did everybody. But I can’t shake it off. I have to be honest with you. In my six years here, this is my favorite music act ever.”
Mel B. said, “I am thrilled with your excitement and energy. I didn’t want it to stop. Thank you for auditioning today: that was brilliant.”
Heidi Klum added, “I absolutely loved it too. It was contagious, like you are rocking it out on stage. I love the style of the band. You are awesome.”
Howard Stern said, “I can watch you all day. You are terrific.”
The 44-year-old Boye was on “America’s Got Talent” after four years of talking with the show’s talent scouts, reports the Deseret News. On stage, he said at his age, he wondered if he was ever going to make it big in show business.
Boye “likes to put an African twist on his music," says Gossipcop.com. For his performance, he and the band had a single white mark under their right eye, and Boye shouted a beat at one point.
“America is the land of opportunity. It’s the place where people come and follow their dreams,” Boye said. “This is the perfect avenue to be able to accomplish that. And my own show in Vegas, that’s a been a dream of my mind for so long,” continued Boye as he talked to the judges before his performance, “so this is a big moment.”
He further told the judges, “My dream is to absolutely slay it with these incredible people," gesturing to the band and singers behind him, "win our own Vegas show, and everyone coming to see us every single day, every week, and we put a smile on their faces.”
Boye told the Deseret News in an email, “I want to expand my reach. Any opportunity as an artist to get on national TV where millions of people are watching at the same time opens up many more opportunities that you may not otherwise get.”
Mandel told Boye on the show, “Your heart, body and soul is in what you do, and you translated it amongst millions of viewers tonight.”
And millions of people did see him as 11 million viewers tuned in to watch “America’s Got Talent” the night Boye performed, making it the top-ranked show of the night and the highest non-sports broadcast since “The Voice” finale, says the TV By The Numbers website.
In October 2013, BYU–Hawaii students and North Shore community members had the opportunity to see Boye perform in person at the Cannon Activities Center. That concert too was high energy with Boye running from one end of the floor to the other and up into the seats to interact with the audience.
In the second half of the show, he slowed down the tempo, crooning ballads and heartfelt slow jams. Boye performed the last few songs with the BYUH Concert Choir, allowing a handful of students to perform solos while Boye backed up the arrangements with his vocals. Boye and the Concert Choir received a standing ovation, but the crowd wasn’t ready to let Boye go, demanding another encore.
To match the audience’s energy, Boye mixed oldies classic “Stand by Me” with the hit song “We Are Young” by Fun, while running through the stands and inviting the audience to dance with him on stage.
Boye is of African descent but hails from England, where he takes his personal background and fuses it into his music, calling it African pop. As a convert to the Church, Boye said he also uses his spiritual experiences as inspiration for his music, including boy scouts and missionary work.
However, the performer cautioned that his concerts are no fireside. Local resident Pakela Akaka was in attendance at the concert and said, “It’s awesome. He’s funny and you don’t come in here expecting it to be as entertaining as that.”
Annett McCarty, a freshman in elementary education from Michigan, talked about wanting to meet the artist at the concert. “I found out about Alex Boye a long time ago, and my whole family and I just fell in love with him. We would look for him in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. So when [I found out] he was coming here, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh. I have to go meet him.”
Boye is a former member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, but people will be able to see him perform with the choir again this summer from June 24 through July 7 as the choir tours the U.S. Atlantic Coast.