If you’re a die hard America’s Got Talent fan, we’ve got extra sad news for you today. The season 3 winner, who took home the gold in 2008 for his talents in opera singing, has passed away on Sunday, June 10.

Neal E. Boyd was just 42 when he died. The cause of death was reported to be from heart failure, kidney failure, and liver problems. He passed at his mother’s house, which is located in Sikeston, Missouri.

“We are very saddened to hear that one of our ‘AGT’ family members, Neal E. Boyd, has passed away,” NBC said in a statement via the America’s Got Talent Instagram. “Our hearts are with Neal’s loved ones during this difficult time.”

Back when he won the show, Neal stole the hearts of not only fans everywhere, but judges David Hasselhoff, Piers Morgan and Sharon Osbourne. Besides being a memorable candidate in general, his performances of “Somewhere” from “West Side Story” and “Nessun Dorma” (which won him the final) were undeniably incredible.

After he won the show that season, Neal released an album called “My American Dream” and he had recently announced that he was raising money to record a new album.

Though musically talented, Neal’s health, unfortunately, did suffer quite a bit. Besides the complications he died from, he also was seriously injured in a car accident back in 2017 that nearly killed him then.

“It wasn’t until I saw the police report that I realized we went airborne and hit two trees, flipped, and landed,” he had said. “How we survived that, I have no idea.”

In fact, that’s part of the reason he never finished his recent album—he had been recovering in various hospitals across St. Louis for several weeks.

“All I could do was stare at the ceiling tiles,” he said. “For somebody who is used to being able to travel all over the country and perform for people, to be that injured and not knowing if you’re ever (going to) walk again or talk again, let alone sing. That was terrifying.”

In addition, Neal was going to physical therapy, though still constantly suffered quite a lot of pain and there was debate over whether he was going to need more surgery for his hip. He had posted on his Facebook around this time of recovery that “All of these experiences have taught me so much and strengthened my writing and perspective. I am looking forward to returning home soon.”

Neal also dabbled in politics and even got to perform in front of Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and George Bush Sr. and Jr. He did lose two bids for the Missouri House of Representatives after taking steps to move into the field.

It’s always sad when someone we admired greatly passes away, and our hearts go out to all of Neal’s family and friends.

To learn more about who Neal was and the cause of death, check out this video below:

Are you an America’s Got Talent fan? Did you watch the season that Neal won? What did you think of his opera singing?