Newcomer Matt Kennon identifies with such fellow country singers as Jimmy Wayne, Jeff Bates and Rodney Atkins, who were either adopted or were at some point in the foster care system. The Georgia native was adopted at birth by two loving parents, who had previously lost three of their four biological children to a house fire.Matt's birth mother, who already had another son, made a decision to have an abortion, but she arrived at her doctor's office two weeks too late and was told she had to carry the child (Matt) to full term. Matt's adoptive mother had the same doctor, and she was able to take him and give him a loving, stable home. But even knowing he was "chosen," didn't give Matt the peace of mind he was searching for -- he had to find out exactly who he was, and the details surrounding his birth took the singer on a pretty painful journey. "[My parents] always let me know I was their son and they chose me," Matt tells The Boot. "But the older I got, the more inquisitive and the more I wanted to know. I just had to know what my nationality was, and if I had any siblings, things like that. They were just eating at me. I'd just lay there at night wondering, so I had to know, but I wasn't prepared for what I'd find out."
In addition to finding his biological parents, Matt also found his brother, as well as a few unsavory details about what nearly happened to him as a baby. "I had a father and a mother who had been married once, got divorced ... my father was re-married, went back [and] my mother got pregnant," states Matt. "I have umpteen half brothers and sisters from my father, and my mother was just badly damaged and pretty dysfunctional, and she pretty much imprisoned herself and wouldn't talk to anybody. So, she had let herself go. I'd found out that both my mother and father had both been homeless. I had a brother who was selling drugs to support my mother who couldn't work. She was disabled. So, that was what I had found out. And that my father had tried to possibly do a black market adoption with me."
Matt explains that his biological father tried to sell him for $10,000 to an attorney, who was later disbarred.
So, 'The Call' singer took it all in, and how did he deal with it? "It gave me the drive to succeed and let them know I was more than just a price tag," Matt explains. "But there's just so much more that went along with that. The last words my mother ever told me was that she wished she wouldn't have had me because she wasn't prepared to deal with this. And I never spoke to her again. Twelve years went by, and I found out a week after she passed away. And I had to disassociate myself that she wasn't my mother. So, I refer to them as my 'illegitimate parents.'"
Matt realizes that despite his beginnings, he's pretty blessed. "I've only got a mom and a dad and they're both alive and well, and they've always been there and they always will be there."
Matt is riding the country charts with his poignant debut single, 'The Call,' and is currently putting the finishing touches on his first album, which is due to hit stores later this year.






Reader Comments(1 of 8)
lovemycountrymusat 1-25-2010
I think a much better headline would have been "Matt Kennon Discovers Shocking Details About His 'illegitimate Parents'" Adoption is the hero in this story.
akersbutchat 1-27-2010
pRETTY SAD BUT HE WON IN THE END....mY BIOLOGICAL "MOM" DENIED HAVING ME EVEN THOUGH HER B-DAY AND NAME MATCHED ON TOP OF HER BROTHER SAYING I WAS RIGHT!! NOW SHE HAS TO LIVE WITH THE LY ON TOP OF MAYBE GUILT...I DONT KNOW IF SHE WOULD EVEN FEEL GUILT...BUT AGAIN I COULDNT HAVE HAD MORE SUPPORTING PARENTS...I WIN...CHECKMATE
jasonljcrawfordat 1-27-2010
GRAPEMUST1; I think the only dirtbag on this site is you!!!! What kind of person has such shallow and mean comments to say about someone that has went through pure hell in their life? You need to take a look in a mirror scumbag. Maybe you will one day be eating your words. I really hope you do and hope that bad things haunt you for the rest of your natural life!!!! GET A LIFE.
carolinaclippersat 1-27-2010
I am glad that Matt was fortunate to be adopted by loving parents. Maybe his birth mother was trying to get him to understand that she was no good & that he should appreciate his parents. I feel very sorry for his brother who didn't have the same opportunity.Matt should show some passion to him.
Suzie Barnhartat 1-27-2010
Serves him right -- anyone can have a baby, but not everyone can be a parent. I'm adopted and had wonderful, loving, parents. Whoever my biological parents were, I wish them the best, but I have never had any intention of seeking them out. In fact when my mother passed away at 92, I learned what my name was prior to my adoption. I still stuck to my guns and didn't look any further.
If I want that kind of information, then I'd better be prepared to take the bad as well as the good. Some realities God doesn't want us to know.
Mhazueat 1-27-2010
Jason, I totally agree with you
Steveat 1-27-2010
well said.
pmhpmsat 1-27-2010
Geez, Grapemust: I'm wondering what you even read into this story to make you feel that way. The man sounds like he always had love and gratitude for his "real parents" but that he had nagging questions about his biological family, as well. What's wrong with that? That's pretty normal from what I understand. The guy didn't even know what race he was; he said so.
mrkoeat 1-25-2010
Love makes a family. Thank God for the parents who raised him.
Debbieat 1-25-2010
Great story....Matt succeeded in life despite his biological "illegitimate"parents....way to go Matt!!
Derrelat 1-25-2010
all things said...
It is still his genetics.
Looks like the DNA of his "illegitimate parents" is very much there, maybe a stray chromosome.
colleenat 1-27-2010
Derrel.... you country negative hick, its about people who rise above and make something of themselfs! Who knows whats in your DNA, I dont even want to know with your mind set!Your one negative idiot!
lironessat 1-25-2010
This is why I support open adoption. No questions, no reveal. Everybody knows everybody right from the start.
Bethat 1-25-2010
lironess: Closed adoption is not necessarily about dishonesty. It is often to protect the adopted child. As an adopted kid, I was terrified that my birth parents would try to come and claim me back. Knowing that I had a closed adoption and it would be almost impossible for them to find me kept me sane in my most formidable pre-teen years.
ToadSpriteat 1-25-2010
Even open adoptions can have problems. I grew up with....you are going to turn out just like your mother...a whore, never amounting to anything.
However, I was truly blessed that I was adopted. Like Matt, I had the same curiosities about my biological siblings. I know that I have five brothers and three sisters...just don't know where any of them are.
The one issue I'd like to see made into law...that medical histories of the biological parents be provided to adopted children.