Neal Boyd's road to recovery is inspiring lyrics, new music

Sikeston native and 2008 "America's Got Talent" winner Neal Boyd's singing career has been on momentary pause since a car accident last year left him seriously injured, but his condition is improving, and he's been using his recovery time to write and work on his next album.

"It was a very, very, very bad wreck ... It's a very slow progress. I shattered a lot of bones, and shattered my hip, which has left me almost unable to use that leg for now," Boyd said. "We're talking with an orthopedist about possibly replacing the hip."

Boyd said the reason for his absence from social media lately is because of the need for privacy during this time of recuperation.

"It's been difficult, because you can't get up on stage right now, you can't perform for the audiences and you can't really do too much recording or traveling," Boyd said.

Boyd is not currently performing, and according to him, he's mainly focused on getting better and writing music with his writing partners in California.

Neal Boyd posted this photo to his Facebook page of the car he was driving when injured in a car accident.

"In the Middle of it All," Boyd's third album, is still in production, with a 2019 expected release date. The tone of the album will be based on his current situation, and Boyd labeled it as "uplifting."

"Yeah, it's kind of how I feel right now, I'm in the middle of it all. I have a lot of rehab left to do," Boyd said. "We have to be able to get me back up on my feet again, because I'm still walking with a walker.

Boyd said he's staying close to his hometown of Sikeston, Missouri, during this time, and the support he's received from his friends and family have helped, because it makes it a lot easier. He has transportation agents to assist him with the walker and wheelchair when needed.

"Any time you're in a moment of struggle, God has a way of coming in and uplifting you. You have these 'down moments,' whether it be health or physical, like it is now, and it just feels like something great is about to happen once I get back on my feet and back in front of the audience again," Boyd said.

"You never know what's going to happen next. Just be grateful that you survived. When God's given you the time to rebuild your spirit and rebuild your body."

"I've had a lot of support from friends and family. It's been awesome; the people that wish you well with your health, the people in my community and the people in the Cape community. It's been a wonderful experience," Boyd said. "You don't want to disappoint anybody by lying down. The only thing you can do is lift yourself back up, literally."

Boyd said there's been a lot of fear expressed by his fans after they saw the extent of the accident.

Boyd added he tries to stay in touch the best he can, and will post a video update for his fans soon on social media. And according to Boyd, he wants his fans to know he loves them, he misses singing for them and he will be back on his feet soon.

"As we get closer to recovery -- full recovery -- I plan on doing that," Boyd said.

Boyd's also not entirely ruling out any additional future political plans after recovery. In 2011, he ran as Republican for the Missouri House of Representatives.

"You know, that's up in the air. It was really about the tone of politics at the time, and I don't see any opportunities right now to get involved again, but I would love to," Boyd said.

And when asked if he would ever consider being a judge for an upcoming voice competition, Boyd certainly welcomed the idea.

"Oh, if I had the opportunity, absolutely," Boyd said.

NEWS AND NOTES

Celeb strategy

CBS's reality show "Big Brother" has been a big hit since the early 2000s, but it's never featured an all-celebrity group of contestants, until now.

Former NBA star Metta World Peace is one of the 11 "houseguests" this season, and according to Entertainment Weekly on Twitter, "The former NBA champion has no idea what he's doing, and it's kind of amazing."

Decide for yourself Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday evenings at 7 p.m. on CBS.

Love costs

Did you know Americans spend an average of $144 on Valentine's Day gifts? CNN tweeted some pretty sweet statistics regarding the day.

• 144 million greeting cards are exchanged, and chocolate makes up 75 percent of the total U.S. Valentine's candy sales
• Nearly $1 billion has been lost to online dating scammers and "catfishers" over the past three years, according to the Better Business Bureau.
• Way too many people refer to Valentine's Day as "Valentime's Day" -- with an "M."

Don't forget:

Mary Poppins will be at the Southeast River Campus Feb. 21 to 25, so get your tickets before they're gone! Check out our exclusive interview with the cast at www.semissourian.com.

jhartwig@semissourian.com

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