From boy band to Mormon Tabernacle Choir

In the 1990s, performing in the British boy band Awesome, Alex Boyé's backup singers wore silver spandex and moved like more soulful versions of the Backstreet Boys. On YouTube, you can witness Boyé dancing in front of a row of trombones and trumpets, channeling Motown.

Fast forward 14 years to June, when he offered soaring solo performances of American spirituals in cities across the Midwest, with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir singing gospel chords behind him -- the biggest backup group ever, and probably the least expected.

Boyé's showmanship garnered praise in every case, along with incredulous reactions from other blacks he meets. "What're you doing, man?" about sums that up, Boyé says.