Due West band member reunites with long-lost niece on ‘American Idol’ a decade after sister’s passing

ST. GEORGE —After a decade of separation following his sister’s death and his niece’s adoption, this musician had an unexpected reunion, meeting her for the first time when she auditioned for American Idol.

L-R: Matthew Lopez, Brad Hull and Tim Gates make up the band Due West, Tucson, Arizona, circa 2023 | Photo courtesy of Matthew Lopez, St. George News

“So many parts of this story are magical,” Due West band member and musician Matthew Lopez said.

Chances are, you’ve heard about the country band Due West and their three band members: Lopez, Brett Holt and Richfield’s Tim Gates. But right now, Lopez has gone viral for much more than his music.

Lopez told St. George News his sister Amy was diagnosed with lupus around age 23. When she found out she was pregnant at 25, she decided to give up the baby for adoption. She searched through piles of applications before choosing the Breinholt family as a forever home for her baby girl.

It was a closed adoption, which meant the birth and adoptive mothers met one time in person before the baby was born and again immediately after the birth. They wrote letters back and forth for a month or two, then all communication ended. At the time, the adoption wasn’t open knowledge to the entire family, and Lopez said he was one of the family members completely in the dark. 

Amy Ross Lopez sings and plays her keyboard alongside her husband and bandmate Derrick Ross, location and date not specified | Photo courtesy of Matthew Lopez, St. George News

After Amy Lopez married Derrick Ross, she took his last name, and the pair performed as the folk duo Nowhere Man and A Whisky Girl. In October 2013, Ross died from complications of lupus. When her husband received news of her death at the hospital, he went home and committed suicide. 

“It was a tragedy,” Matthew Lopez said about the deaths.

Last summer, a documentary was made about the couple’s life and deaths, which revealed that Ross had placed a baby up for adoption. Those involved in the documentary were determined to find the baby, who would now be 25. 

Based on handwritten letters the Lopez family had, they only knew two things: The baby was raised in Arizona, and her first name was McKenna. So they took to the internet and searched.

“My sister searched ‘McKenna Arizona’, and the first thing that popped up was McKenna Breinholt, a beautifully talented singer/songwriter with a large social media presence,” Lopez said.

As soon as she saw her photo and heard her voice, she knew it was their sister’s baby.

McKenna Breinholt plays her birth mother’s keyboard ten years after her passing, Nashville, Tennessee, date not specified | Photo courtesy of Matthew Lopez, St. George News

Simultaneously, Breinholt began asking her parents about her birth mother. She was given the name Amy Ross Lopez along with the news of her death 10 years before. Devastated, she took to the internet herself and was blown away by what she found.

Because of her mother’s online presence, she was able to watch videos of her singing and playing the piano — talents that she, herself, also had. As she continued to dig, she stumbled across the recently made documentary. A link was listed with a contact form to the creator of the documentary, and she reached out.

“She said, ‘Hey, you’re never going to believe this, but I’m Amy’s baby, and I’m trying to get a hold of my birth family,” Lopez said.

It was around 2 a.m. that the Lopez family was contacted by the film’s director with a screenshot of the message. As soon as Lopez’s sister Lindy saw it was the same girl she had found online, she knew her intuition was right. By 3 a.m., she was texting back and forth with her new-found niece.

Lopez said the connection between both families occurred on the night of his mother’s birthday, making it even more magical. The following morning, they all were on a FaceTime call with their new family member.

“So I get added to this FaceTime call, and there she is,” Lopez said. “And here’s what’s wild – laying eyes on her, even just over FaceTime that first time, took my breath away. Amy had gotten really sick and she was just frail and she was in poor health for a lot of years. And now, all of a sudden, I felt like I was looking at a young 25-year-old healthy-bodied version of my sister.”

The family instantly noticed many of Breinholt’s mannerisms that mimicked her mother’s, such as rubbing her nose when she was frustrated with something.

“She was doing all these little things and it was just blowing our minds because she’d never met her,” he said. “But yet here are all these amazing traits and qualities that were in her. And that was just the beginning.”

Amy Ross Lopez sings and plays her keyboard, location and date not specified | Photo courtesy of Matthew Lopez, St. George News

They continued to get to know each other via text and FaceTime calls, and one day, Breinholt told them she was planning to audition for “American Idol.” And when the producers caught wind of the adoption story, they wanted to share it with the world. 

Breinholt’s audition took place in Nashville, Tennessee. Unbeknownst to her, the producers had asked the Lopez family to fly in and surprise her on set, sharing their first in-person meeting with the world. Lopez said the last time his mother flew was when she brought her daughter’s ashes back home 10 years before.

The family arrived in Nashville a few days before the audition. The evening before the taping, Breinholt’s adoptive parents came to Lopez’s Nashville home to meet the birth family for the first time. They cried, shared stories and exchanged photos and hand-written letters. 

When the family arrived at the “American Idol” set the following day, they were snuck into a holding room and prepped for the pending surprise. They were floored when they heard Breinholt starting her audition on the other side of the door. It was the first time they had heard her sing in person. And it was beautiful. 

The judges asked Breinholt to bring her family in for the final ruling. She opened the door, looked right past her birth family and waved to her parents and brother to come inside. After a few seconds, she realized who else was there.

“As soon as she sees us, oh my goodness,” he said. “I’ve watched that video probably 20 times. And every time I watch it, that moment right there gets me still because it was so amazing. The fact that they captured that. It’s so real and raw. What an amazing thing to have. It was so beautifully captured.”

After the audition, both families returned to Lopez’s home studio, where his sister’s keyboard sat in the center. Breinholt sat at her birth mother’s keyboard while playing and singing – a memory Lopez said he’ll never forget.

L-R: Lindy Nielson, Katie Carpenter, McKenna Breinholt and Matthew Lopez connect for the first time in person in Nashville, Tennessee, date not specified | Photo courtesy of Matthew Lopez, St. George News

While the video teaser for the “American Idol” episode has gone viral on social media, Lopez said many more special moments happen during the taping that people will want to tune in for. He’s heard the Nashville auditions with their story will be on the season premiere. Watch “American Idol’s” 22nd season premiere on Feb. 18 on ABC Network.

Due West will bring their old favorites and brand new hits from their recently released album, “Unbroken” to Staheli Family Farm in Washington City on May 30. Take a camp chair and dancing boots for live country music under the Summer stars. See the event page for details.

Photo Gallery

L-R: Lindy Nielson, Katie Carpenter, McKenna Breinholt and Matthew Lopez connect for the first time in person in Nashville, Tennessee, date not specified | Photo courtesy of Matthew Lopez, St. George News

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