Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive show news, updates, and more!
The Powerful Story Behind Holly and Kim’s Audition Will Give You Chills
Two women, thousands of miles apart, share one heartwarming connection, as seen on America's Got Talent.
They're a pair of moms after our hearts.
Holly and Kim braved the America’s Got Talent stage to deliver a beautiful and heartbreaking performance that had Judge Howie Mandel declaring it “the most magical moment I have ever experienced” during his tenure on the show.
Who are Holly and Kim, two moms united by one heart?
When the two moms took the stage in coordinating black and green, it wasn’t clear what linked the two together. Kim is a full-time mom from Eugene, Oregon, while Holly — a high school English teacher — lives thousands of miles away in Odessa, New York.
RELATED: How Terry Crews Made 8-Year-Old Chioma's Dream Come True with a Golden Buzzer
It wasn’t until Holly got to the heart of the matter that the truly powerful bond between the women was clear.
Holly shared that in 2007, she lost her young son, Jake. The family chose to donate his organs and, in an awe-inspiring twist of fate, Kim’s newborn son, Beckham, was the recipient of Jake’s heart.
Incredibly, although the women never met, in their time of anguish the two women unknowingly turned to the same source of comfort.
“The last song I sang to Jake to say goodbye to him was ‘For Good’ from the musical Wicked,” Holly shared.
She’d later learn it was the very same song Kim sang her own son, Beckham, after his successful heart transplant surgery at just 16 days old.
“I wasn’t allowed to hold him,” Kim remembered. “I could just kind of stroke his head and the first thing I did when I stroked his head is I sang that song.”
Holly said the two women were “blown away” when they ultimately learned of the common thread that linked both moms and their sons.
The pair wouldn’t cross paths for several years until Kim decided to reach out to the family that had selflessly saved her son’s life.
“Kim wrote a letter to us and we kept in touch and then we had the opportunity to meet each other for the first time and she gave me a big hug and it was one of the best moments of my life,” Holly said.
The moms decided to bring their incredible story to AGT to increase awareness about organ donation.
“If we can change the heart of one person, it’s worth it,” Kim said.
What song Did Holly and Kim sing?
Fittingly, Kim and Holly chose to sing the same song that united them all those years ago, “For Good,” from the Broadway musical Wicked.
“Who can say if I’ve been changed for the better,” Kim sang as she grabbed Holly’s hand. “But, because I knew you, I have been changed for good.”
The powerful performance had Judges Sofia Vergara and Heidi Klum wiping away tears, but the real emotional kicker came when Mandel asked Kim where her son, Beckham, was today.
A now much older Beckham emerged from the wings and waved to the crowd before joining his mom and the woman whose decision years ago to donate her son’s organs saved his life.
“I’m just lost for words,” Klum told them. “I just want to come and hug all three of you, to be honest with you. What strong women and what a story. Yeah, I mean that was very powerful.”
Vergara described the audition as a “moment we’re always going to remember.”
“This was a special thing and thank you for coming to AGT tonight,” she said.
The performance even won over Mandel, who admitted he was never much into theater.
“Honestly, I have never responded well to musical theater. They over-dramatize singing, so this is the first time in my life that I’ve felt a connection to this kind of music,” he said before adding, “That was probably the most magical moment I have ever experienced on America’s Got Talent.”
Finally, Judge Simon Cowell called the pair “very brave.”
“The connection, how that song links you together it was actually remarkable and, let me tell you something, this will make a difference what you’ve just done,” he said. “It really, really will.”
After securing yes votes from all four Judges, the trio left the stage to be reunited with their waiting families.
“Big group hug,” Kim shouted as the two families all squished together.
