Alex Boyé has performed alongside groups like N*SYNC, George Michael, and Smashing Pumpkins. He was lead singer in the sensational European boy band Awesome and he’s had hit records in more than 15 countries, but to him, these are nothing compared to what he has now.Boyé was born and raised in London, England. At age 16 he joined the Church and served an LDS mission two years later. He returned home and joined the band Awesome in 1995, but felt something lacking in his life, so decided to leave in 2000. He moved to Utah to pursue a life in gospel music and since then has released several records, received dozens of awards for his work, including the 2005 Male Artists Listener Award, and become a member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
So how did he get here? What made him change directions? In an interview with Alex Boyé, he tells what makes him who he is today.
Why did you decide to switch directions with your music?
I once heard a talk by Elder Packer who said, “Sometimes we find ourselves climbing the ladder of success, and when we get to the top, we find ourselves leaning on the wrong side of the wall.” That was me. I found myself with everything, but nothing at the same time. I was suffering spiritually where I was, and found myself lost in the glitz and the glamour of the world, and felt so empty.
Do you ever feel like you gave anything up?
Yes I do; however, I felt that what I had gained was more valuable than what I had given up.
What was it like deciding to go on a mission?
It was quite difficult. I was offered a lucrative record deal the week I was about to leave for the MTC. It was a huge temptation. I did not have much money, other than what I saved for my mission. I was the only member of the Church in my family, my mother and my little brother did not speak the best English, and had just come back from living in Nigeria for eight years. She had nothing, and I was helping her to find a place for us all to live with help from the English version of welfare. We had to fill in so many papers and forms and go to interviews and more papers, my mother could not do it alone.
When I told her I was going on my mission, she freaked. She told me I was abandoning her. I told her that we needed all the blessings we could get, and by serving the Lord, our family circumstances would get much better. She was not convinced, and she was disappointed with my decision. I did not receive a single letter from home for the first year and a half of being on my mission. That was hard, especially when I would see my companions get letters and packages weekly and monthly. When one day, to my surprise, I finally got a letter, and my mum told me that since I had been away, so many amazing things had happened and she told me it was because I was doing what God wanted me to do.
How has your life changed since you decided to take a new path?
I don't make the kind of money I used to, or have the fame and fortune, or drive around in fancy cars and limos. I would be lying to you if I said I didn't miss those things, but I feel so much more satisfaction and fulfillment than I ever have, and I know that I am where the Lord wants me to be. I am also very excited about my future, and feel that the Lord has another path for me, and that he is not done with me yet. I have had a strong feeling lately that path he will lead me on will take me back to where I was, but this time with more of a purpose and a view of serving the Church more and uplifting others as opposed to just serving myself.
How and when did you decide to audition for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir?
I owe my reason for being in the Choir to Gladys Knight and Donny Osmond. In 2006, I received a phone call from LDS recording artist and good friend Jenny Frogley, who informed me that we were both invited to possibly do a duet on the Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s album Showtime, but that it was not certain yet. Donny Osmond and Gladys Knight were originally slated to record the duet, but they were both busy, so when I got the call, I was told that there was a 95 percent chance that Jenny and I would be recording. I prayed with all my heart that Gladys and Donny would stay so busy that they would not have time to breathe, let alone be around to sing the song!
After a few months of not hearing anything, I was certain that it was not to be. One day, out of the blue, a phone call came from the Tabernacle Choir office, asking if I was still interested in doing the duet. I was on cloud nine. What an honor! When I got to the studio, Craig Jessop was there. After we had finished recording, he asked me if I had ever considered auditioning for the choir. I said yes, but that I could not read music too well. A few months later, I found myself at the Mormon Tabernacle Chorale School going through an intense three-month musical training program, learning from some of the best musical minds in the world.
Could you ever have imagined the life you live now back 20 years ago?
If someone would have told me 20 years ago while I was living in England, that I would be living in the U.S. and be a member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, I would never have believed them, as it seemed that both were lofty and impossible dreams for a kid like me from a small town in England. But here I am, and I am so blessed.
Do you have a favorite memory from being a member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir?
A few nights after President Hinckley passed away, our rehearsal was cut short and we had been invited by Elder Hinckley (President Hinckley’s son) to join him and members of his family for a private viewing of President Hinckley. We were instructed to bring our hymn books, in the likelihood of being asked to sing for the family.
As we made our way through the halls to where our beloved prophet was laid to view, President Hinckley’s son addressed us for a few minutes. He told us that his father found much pleasure, enjoyment, and pride in the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and that he was happy with the choir. He told us that as we viewed his father’s body, though it may be a seemingly sad occasion to us, it was not. After his short address, he thanked us for our service in the choir and told us we could stay here as long as we liked, but asked that we might favor him and his family with a few songs.
Let me say this: I have performed many songs in my short lifetime in many venues across the world. I have performed in stadiums filled with thousands of people, sung on TV shows broadcast to millions of people. But to be in that room gathered around the President’s casket along with more than 300 choir friends, singing “God Be With You ‘Til We Meet Again,” that for me was the most amazing experience. Needless to say, there was not a dry eye in sight. This single event will go down as the most significant and most memorable performance of my life. One of the choir members said to me, “Not only have we lost our spiritual leader, but it also feels like we lost our grandpa.” I suppose that’s the way we all felt about him.
What has been one of the best parts of using music to share the gospel?
I once received an email from a guy that said he was listening to one of my albums he was given as a gift, and that the music inspired him so much, that he decided to leave the strip club he once owned and worked at and changed his life. He now has the priesthood.
What is the general message you share with others about your experiences?
God can take ordinary people and put them in extraordinary situations, and can bless us all in ways we cannot comprehend. In order for that to happen, from my own experience I tell people to that we need to let go of our E-G-Os where we Edge God Out. We cannot survive in this world without His influence in our lives.