When Matt Mauser walked onto the America’s Got Talent stage in 2021, he carried a story that immediately left the judges stunned.
Matt was a singer, former schoolteacher and father of three. His wife, Christina Mauser, had encouraged him to pursue music full-time while she followed her own passion for coaching basketball.
Then, on January 26, 2020, everything changed.
Christina was among the nine people killed in the helicopter crash that also claimed the lives of Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna. Christina had been coaching girls’ basketball alongside Bryant.
More than a year later, Matt came to AGT determined to show his children that their family could continue moving forward despite their grief.
He chose Phil Collins’ “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)”—a song whose meaning had become deeply personal after losing Christina.
As Matt sang, the emotion became increasingly difficult to contain. His three children watched from the side of the stage, and by the end, Matt was visibly overwhelmed.
All four judges stood for him.
Howie Mandel praised Matt’s ability to make complete strangers feel his emotion, while Simon Cowell asked what he hoped to achieve by appearing on the show.
Matt’s answer was simple: he wanted his children to understand that grief would not define their family and that they still had to find joy and chase their dreams.
He received four yeses.
But this audition was about much more than advancing. Matt had walked onto that stage carrying unimaginable loss—and used music to show his children that life could still move forward.
