Acclaimed vocalist and recording artist Neal E. Boyd, the Sikeston, Mo., native who thrilled the nation in 2008 as the winning contestant of NBC's "America's Got Talent," has a new album that is in keeping with the Christmas season.

"My Christmas Wish," Boyd's first Christmas album, is what he terms a tribute to faith, family and friends and is already garnering radio airplay.

"I spent four months in the studio making 'My Christmas Wish,'" Boyd said in a telephone interview before a Wednesday performance in Sacramento, Calif. "I would say that it's definitely a full-scale Christmas album."

Boyd said "My Christmas Wish" came about with inspiration from his mother, Esther Boyd.

"My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer," he said. "It's now in remission, but I wasn't sure if I was going to have another Christmas with her. My grandmother didn't live to hear my first album ['My American Dream'], and I wanted to get 'My Christmas Wish' out."

Recording of "My Christmas Wish" took place during the summer, and Boyd said he wore a Santa hat in the studio to get into the Christmas spirit.

"I didn't cut corners on the sound," he said. "A lot of effort went into the making of the album. I had help getting songs together with Jeff Peabody and Mike Michelson, who are songwriters and good friends."

"My Christmas Wish" contains seven songs, and the first cut is a medley of the Christmas classics "I'll Be Home For Christmas" and "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" followed by "I Still Cry Out," an original composition by Boyd.

"'I Still Cry Out' is about people who are missing someone at Christmastime," he said. "There's many of us out there who experience that."

"Mary Did You Know?," a duet between Boyd and Bloomfield, Mo., native Maggie Thorn, is in the tradition of the version recorded by Kenny Rogers and Wynonna Judd in 1997.

"There's been a lot of airplay for 'Mary Did You Know?' in Southeast Missouri," Boyd said.

"Christmas Love Song" is followed by "Not So Silent Night," a piece Boyd said he loves.

"It's a play on 'Silent Night' in that the birth of Jesus Christ was a spectacular event," he said. "There was nothing silent about it. It's a beautiful melody that tugs at the heart."

The album is rounded out with a country-pop version of "O Holy Night" and "God Bless Us," which Boyd said was a song of hope.

"It's like a Randy Newman song," he said. "Very piano driven. I like it a lot because of the message of hope that it contains."

Boyd is known as "The Voice of Missouri" because of his appearances at many prominent statewide events. He sang at the memorial service for former governor Mel Carnahan in 2000 and the inauguration of Gov. Matt Blunt in 2005, and he has also performed before presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama. In 2012, he sang "God Bless the USA" at the Republican National Convention.

But Boyd isn't merely a bystander in the world of politics. In September, he announced that he would be a Republican candidate in 2014 for state representative in the 149th district, which covers a significant portion of Mississippi County, a small area of Scott County (including about half of Sikeston), all of New Madrid County and the northern part of Pemiscot County.

"My public service side is independent of my music," he said. "All you can do is run as yourself. People know my causes, and I want to be an example for our kids who will be the leaders of tomorrow."

Boyd's run for the seat isn't his first foray in seeking an elected position. In 2012, he ran for the 149th district seat against Democrat Steve Hodges, losing 66 percent to 34 percent.

"It's going to be exciting," he said. "We're going to be knocking on all the doors."

"My Christmas Wish" by Neal E. Boyd is available for purchase or download at cdbaby.com. An autographed copy of the CD can be purchased at thevoiceofmissouri.com. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the album will go to the Kenny Rogers Children's Center in Sikeston.

klewis@semissourian.com

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