Mervin Mayo, a 19-year veteran of the Richmond Police Department, took the AGT stage in his dress uniform to perform Ed Sheeran’s ‘Thinking Out Loud.’
Before singing, Mayo shared his inspiring background. “I grew up in a housing project in Richmond, Virginia,” he explained. “There was a program called the Police Athletic League. An officer named Curtis Simmons kind of took me under his wing cause I was a little mischievous growing up, and he kept me safe.”
This early intervention had a profound impact on Mayo’s life trajectory. “I’m alive today because he kept me out of it,” Mayo said gratefully. “I tell people I’ve seen more murders as a child than I have as a police officer.”
Now Mayo pays it forward, working as a school resource officer with at-risk youth. “I’m not just a regular police officer,” he noted. “I work in a school with at-risk youth and want to keep them from going to jail.” His wife Mechelle also serves their community as director of school counseling for Richmond Public Schools.
Mayo’s journey into music began in childhood when he joined the church choir. Over the years, he’s found music to be a powerful coping mechanism for the stresses of his job. “When I’m going through some stuff, I jump on my piano,” he shared. “If not, I’d be all over the place. I need that, I need that in my life.”
Though Mayo had only performed karaoke before, his wife encouraged him to audition for AGT. “My wife is the reason that I’m here today,” Mayo declared. “She tells me to follow my dream. And music is in me, yeah, it’s in me.”
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As Mayo sat at the keyboard and began to sing, his soulful voice filled the theater. Throughout the performance, he cast loving glances offstage where his wife watched proudly. The emotion in his voice touched many hearts, with judge Heidi Klum and audience members wiping away tears.
When Mayo finished, his wife blew him a kiss from the wings. “How’s that feel, baby?” he called out to her. The judges, charmed by this display of affection, invited Mechelle to join her husband onstage.
The panel had high praise for Mayo’s performance and character. “You’re both great people,” judge Howie Mandel remarked. “You are the people that allow us to be safe and people who are in our school system. You are both serving the community and that’s a wonderful thing.”
Sofia Vergara was equally impressed: “You guys are a beautiful couple and your voice is spectacular. Super romantic, how beautiful that you love her and you’re singing to her and I think people are going to love you.”
Simon Cowell added, “You really do have a good voice and everything you did was sincere. I just think it was just a great moment and I think people are genuinely going to like you.”
With four enthusiastic “yes” votes, Mayo advanced to the next round of the competition. He left the stage hand-in-hand with Mechelle, both beaming with joy.
Mayo’s AGT appearance isn’t his first brush with viral fame. In 2020, his cover of Marvin Sapp’s ‘The Best in Me‘ gained widespread attention online. Known affectionately as the “Gospel Cop,” Mayo regularly shares his music on YouTube.
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