Kodi Taehyun Lee (born July 7, 1996) is an American singer-songwriter, pianist, and

savant Savant syndrome ( , ) is a phenomenon where someone demonstrates exceptional aptitude in one domain, such as art or mathematics, despite significant social or intellectual impairment. Those with the condition generally have a neurodevel ...

. At 22, he rose to fame on the 14th season of ''

America's Got Talent ''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is an American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distributed by) and ...

''.

Legally blind Visual or vision impairment (VI or VIP) is the partial or total inability of visual perception. In the absence of treatment such as corrective eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment, visual impairment may cause the individual difficul ...

and

autistic Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing di ...

, Kodi Lee rose to fame after being a contestant, and ultimately the winner of the 14th season of ''

''. Within weeks of his performance, Lee's audition reached over 300 million views across the internet.

Early life

Kodi Lee was born to a Korean father and an Indonesian-American mother, with

optic nerve hypoplasia Optic nerve hypoplasia (ONH) is a medical condition arising from the underdevelopment (hypoplasia) of the optic nerve(s). This condition is the most common congenital optic nerve anomaly. The optic disc appears abnormally small because not all t ...

, causing him to become

legally blind Visual or vision impairment (VI or VIP) is the partial or total inability of visual perception. In the absence of treatment such as corrective eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment, visual impairment may cause the individual difficul ...

. He was also diagnosed with

autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...

at an early age, and has

Addison's disease Addison's disease, also known as primary adrenal insufficiency, is a rare long-term endocrine disorder characterized by inadequate production of the steroid hormones cortisol and aldosterone by the two outer layers of the cells of the adr ...

. Kodi Lee is widely regarded as a musical

, a person with a developmental disorder who manifests profound ability and talent.

''America's Got Talent''

Season 14

On May 28, 2019, Kodi Lee auditioned for ''

'' during season 14. He performed

Leon Russell Leon Russell (born Claude Russell Bridges; April 2, 1942 – November 13, 2016) was an American musician and songwriter who was involved with numerous bestselling records during his 60-year career that spanned multiple genres, including rock a ...

's "

A Song for You "A Song for You" is a song written and originally recorded by rock singer and pianist Leon Russell for his first solo album ''Leon Russell'', which was released in 1970 on Shelter Records. A slow, pained plea for forgiveness and understandi ...

". Lee received a standing ovation by all four judges and the audience. At the end of his audition,

Gabrielle Union Gabrielle Monique Union-Wade ( Union; born October 29, 1972) is an American actress. Her career began in the 1990s, when she made dozens of appearances on television sitcoms, prior to landing supporting roles in 1999 teen films '' She's All That ...

pressed the

Golden Buzzer ''Got Talent'' is a British talent show TV format conceived and owned by Simon Cowell's Syco Entertainment. It has spawned spin-offs in over 60 countries, in what is now referred to as the 'Got Talent' format, similar to that described by Freman ...

, sending him straight through to the live shows. In the quarterfinals, Lee performed

Simon and Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo comprising the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music acts of the 1960s. Their most famous recordings include three US number-one sing ...

's "

Bridge over Troubled Water ''Bridge Over Troubled Water'' is the fifth and final studio album by American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel, released on January 26, 1970, by Columbia Records. Following the duo's soundtrack for ''The Graduate'', Art Garfunkel took an acting ...

", and advanced to the semifinals. In the semifinals, Lee performed "

You Are the Reason "You Are the Reason" is a song by English singer Calum Scott. It was released on 17 November 2017 via Capitol Records, as his second original single from his debut album '' Only Human''. It was produced by Fraser T. Smith. The song has been str ...

" by

Calum Scott Calum Scott (born 12 October 1988) is an English singer and songwriter. He rose to prominence in April 2015 after competing on the ITV (TV network), ITV talent contest ''Britain's Got Talent (series 9), Britain's Got Talent'', where he perform ...

. During the results, he was announced as one of the ten finalists for the season. In the finals, he performed " Lost Without You" by

Freya Ridings Freya Olivia Rose Ridings (born 19 April 1994) is an English singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Ridings rose to prominence in 2017 with her ballad, " Lost Without You", which became a top ten hit on the UK Singles Chart. She followe ...

. In the finale that aired on September 18, 2019, he performed "You Are the Reason" again, with special guest

Leona Lewis Leona Louise Lewis (born 3 April 1985) is a British singer, songwriter, actress, model, and activist. Born and raised in Islington, Inner London, she later attended the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon. Lewis achieve ...

. At the end of the program, Lee was announced the winner of season 14, having received the most votes. He is the first autistic and developmentally disabled person to win the show.

After the Fourteenth Season

In July 2022, Cowell ranked his favorite Top 15 Golden Buzzer moments in ''AGT'' history, on which he placed Lee at 3rd. In August 2022, Kodi Lee performed a duet of "

Don't Stop Believin' "Don't Stop Believin" is a song by American rock band Journey. It was released in October 1981 as the second single from the group's seventh studio album, '' Escape'' (1981), released through Columbia Records. "Don't Stop Believin shares writi ...

" with

Teddy Swims Jaten Collin Dimsdale (born September 25, 1992), known professionally as Teddy Swims, is an American singer and songwriter. Known for creating genre-blending music, which include elements of soul, country, and pop, Swims originally began to att ...

along with guitarist

Neal Schon Neal Joseph Schon (born February 27, 1954) is an American musician and songwriter, best known as the co-founder and lead guitarist for the rock band Journey. He is the last original member to remain throughout the group's history. He was a memb ...

, the founder of the band Journey, during the ''AGT Qualifiers 3 Results'' episode. In January 2023, Lee and

Colin Hay Colin James Hay (born 29 June 1953) is a Scottish-Australian musician. He came to prominence as the lead vocalist and the sole continuous member of the band Men at Work, and later as a solo artist. Hay is a member of the band Ringo Starr & His ...

released "Hello World." This song got rave reviews and has been well received. This song is Lee's second original release, preceded by his first, "Miracle." In 2023, Lee participated in '' America's Got Talent: All-Stars''. He received more votes than

season 15 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

winner

Brandon Leake Brandon Leake (born May 4, 1992) is a spoken word poet, educator and motivational speaker and the winner of the fifteenth season of ''America's Got Talent''. He was the first spoken–word poet to be on ''America's Got Talent'' and received the ...

and comedian Josh Blue, advancing him to the finale. In the finale, he finished just outside the top five. In 2024, Lee participated in '' America's Got Talent: Fantasy League'', initially being mentored by Simon Cowell. However, during the semi-final episode, Lee received Howie Mandel's Golden Buzzer, drafting him to Mandel's team and sending him directly to the finals. Despite this, he did not finish in the final five of the competition. Since January 3, 2024, Kodi Lee has been headlining the ''America's Got Talent'' presents Superstars Live show at the Luxor Theater in the Luxor Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada. The last show was on May 11, 2024.America Got Talent Presents Super Stars Live

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Kodi 1996 births Living people 21st-century American singer-songwriters 21st-century American pianists American male singer-songwriters Autistic savants America's Got Talent winners Singer-songwriters from California American musicians of Korean descent American musicians of Indonesian descent Autistic musicians 21st-century American male singers People with Addison's disease Blind pop musicians American blind singers American blind keyboardists American blind pianists