Kodi Lee, a contestant on America’s Got Talent, won the show after his singing and piano skills wowed the judges and the whole country. He can’t see and has autism.
Kodi is an American musician who was born in Korea. He plays the piano and writes songs. After trying out for America’s Got Talent for the 14th time and finally winning, he became well-known.
In 2019, he sent in an application for AGT, and within a few weeks, his play had more than 50 million online views. At the end of the season, he was named the winner.
AGT: Kodi Lee Illness & Addison’s Disease Diagnosis
Since birth, Kodi Lee has been legally blind because he was born with optic nerve hypoplasia. The artist has Addison’s disease, which is different from autism because it is linked to low sodium, high potassium, or low cortisol levels in the body.
He is a great pianist, and when he sings, his voice seems to go on forever. When he sang Leon Russell’s “A Song for You” for his America’s Got Talent audition, Kodi showed right away that he was a musical genius.
TV Over Mind says that Lee was born with a disease that almost killed him. This disease was found when he was only five days old.
Kodi Lee is a musician and singer who is Korean-American and has perfect pitch. He just won America’s Got Talent.
The National Organization for Rare Disorders says that this illness is caused by the optic nerves not developing as they should.
Sight can range from not being able to see at all to being able to see clearly with both eyes or even just one.
Lee, who was born in Lake Elsinore, California, proved in August that he wasn’t just good at one thing when he sang “Bridge Over Troubled Water” by Simon and Garfunkel in the quarterfinals.
What is Kodi Lee’s problem? The Trouble with the AGT Singer
The 14th season of “America’s Got Talent” was won by Kodi Lee, a 23-year-old singer who has autism and is blind because of a condition called optic nerve hypoplasia.
Optic nerve hypoplasia is a medical condition that is caused by the optic nerve not developing enough (ONH). This disease is the most common problem with the optic nerve that is present at birth.
Kodi can’t get dressed without help from his brother Derek. Since he is legally blind, he can only study up to the first or second grade level by using braille or holding big text across his eyes.
He is sensitive to other people’s feelings and has autism. He has learned how to breathe to stop himself from crying, but when he’s in front of a keyboard, the singer turns into a genius.
According to Yahoo, when Lee sings “A Song for You” with ease during his audition for AGT season 14, the judges and crowd stand and cheer.
Who does Kodi Lee date? Life on a Date and Getting Serious
Kodi Lee hasn’t talked about his girlfriend or their relationship until now.
In fact, the singer with special needs hasn’t said anything about his love life on any of his social media accounts, like Instagram. So, it’s likely that he’s single and concentrating on his career right now.
In 2019, the 26-year-old singer tried out for the 14th season of America’s Got Talent. Wikipedia says that in July 2022, he gave a list of his top 15 Golden Buzzer events from Season 17 of AGT. He was third on the list.
In August 2022, on the AGT Qualifiers 3 Results episode, Kodi sang “Don’t Stop Believin'” with Teddy Swims and Journey’s founding guitarist Neal Schon.
America’s Got Talent is a talent show
Lee tried out for season 14 of America’s Got Talent on May 28, 2019. “A Song for You” by Leon Russell was the song he sang. At the end of the performance, judges Howie Mandel, Gabrielle Union, Julianne Hough, and Simon Cowell all stood up and cheered for him. Union pushed the Golden Buzzer for him, sending him straight to the live shows. At the quarterfinals, Lee sang “Bridge Over Troubled Water” by Simon and Garfunkel, which again got a standing ovation, and he moved on to the semifinals. Lee sang “You Are the Reason” by Calum Scott in the semifinals. During the results, it was said that he was one of the season’s top ten. “Lost Without You” by Freya Ridings was the song he sang in the finals. In the finale, which aired on September 18, 2019, he sang “You Are the Reason” once more, this time with Leona Lewis as a special guest. At the end of the show, Lee was named the winner of season 14 because he had gotten the most votes. He is the first person who has autism or a developmental disability to win the show.
In July 2022, Cowell made a list of his favorite 15 Golden Buzzer moments from AGT history, and Lee was third on the list.
During the AGT Qualifiers 3 Results episode in August 2022, Kodi sang “Don’t Stop Believin'” with Teddy Swims and Journey’s founding guitarist Neal Schon.
Background
Kodi Lee is a 22-year-old musical genius who is blind and has autism. He is only one of about 25 people in the world who have his extraordinary skills. Kodi’s amazing gift is his ability to express himself through music, his perfect pitch, and his love of all kinds of music. Kodi has a photographic memory for music, which means he can remember it after only one listen. Even more amazing than that is how well he can express himself through music.
He has been giving singing and piano shows all over the world for a long time. He is currently playing in local restaurants, wineries, and music events all over town. He was recently asked to play at New York City’s Carnegie Hall, which is a very famous place. He plays all kinds of music, from rock to jazz to R&B to pop. Plus, he was a master of old music like Bach, Chopin, Mozart, and so on. He can remember so many songs that any jukebox would be no match for him. He doesn’t stop there, though. He just started tap dancing recently, and his ability to express music through dance and voice continues to amaze.
The Orange County Register, the LA Times, and a number of broadcast television features and documentaries have told Kodi’s story and talked about how his inspiring determination and unbreakable spirit helped him get through everything. He also uses his talent to raise awareness about autism and many other good causes.
Kodi has never let the fact that he was born with optic nerve hypoplasia, had surgery to save his life when he was only 5 days old, and was diagnosed with autism at a young age stop him from going after his dreams. Kodi keeps working on his music career, and his dream is to be a “rock star” with thousands of fans who come to see him play. Kodi loves to perform whenever he can, and the bigger and livelier the crowd, the more he loves to shine.
Audition
Kodi Lee’s audition in Episode 1401 was to sing and play the piano to Leon Russell’s “A Song For You.” Gabrielle Union was moved by Kodi’s performance, so she used her Golden Buzzer to send him straight to the Quarterfinals.
Quarterfinals
In Episode 1411, Kodi Lee’s Quarterfinals performance was to sing and play the piano to “Bridge Over Troubled Water” by Simon & Garfunkel. Simon Cowell, Gabrielle Union, Julianne Hough, and Howie Mandel all stood up and cheered for him. In Episode 1412, there were enough votes for Kodi and Voices of Service to move on to the Semifinals.
Semifinals
In Episode 1417, Kodi Lee sang “You Are the Reason” by Calum Scott while playing the piano for his Semifinals. All of the judges gave him standing ovations, including Howie Mandel, Gabrielle Union, Julianne Hough, Simon Cowell, and guest judge Sean Hayes. In Episode 1418, Kodi got more votes than Greg Morton, so he went to the Finals instead of him.
In Episode 1421, Kodi Lee’s Finals performance was to play the piano and sing “Lost Without You” by Freya Ridings. Simon Cowell, Gabrielle Union, Julianne Hough, and Howie Mandel all stood up to cheer for him.
Finale
Kodi sang “You Are the Reason” with Leona Lewis at the end of Episode 1422. He got enough votes to beat Light Balance Kids and move on to the Top 5. The winner of Season 14 was Kodi. He beat out Detroit Youth Choir, Ryan Niemiller, V.Unbeatable, and Voices of Service. He won $1 million and the chance to headline a show in Las Vegas.
When It’s Over
In Episode TC207 of America’s Got Talent: The Champions, Kodi was back as a guest performer. He sang “Sign of the Times” by Harry Styles. Then, in Episode 1510, he came back to sing “Break My Heart Again” by FINNEAS. He also came back to sing “Hold On” with H.E.R in Episode 1612 and Episode 1715.
Trivia
Kodi is the first blind contestant and the first known contestant with autism to make it to the finals of America’s Got Talent.
Since Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr. won in Season 6, Kodi is the first male singer to win. He is also the second Asian winner in a row and the third Asian winner ever, after Kenichi Ebina and Shin Lim.
Makayla Phillips, who won Season 13’s Golden Buzzer, is a good friend of Kodi’s, and the two of them have also performed together in the past.
Kodi was the only singer who made it to the Top 5 by himself.
He sang “You Are the Reason” in “A major” during the Semifinals, but in “Bb major” during his finale with Leona Lewis (the original key of the song).
Kodi is the fourth act to win the Golden Buzzer.