Kodi Taehyun Lee (born July 7, 1996) is a

Korean American Korean Americans are Americans of Korean ancestry (mostly from South Korea). In 2015, the Korean-American community constituted about 0.56% of the United States population, or about 1.82 million people, and was the fifth-largest Asian American ...

singer-songwriter and pianist. He rose to fame after participating in, and ultimately winning, the 14th season of '' America's Got Talent''. In 2019, Lee auditioned for ''AGT'', and within weeks his performance had over 50 million views on the internet. At the end of the season, he was declared the winner.

Early life

Kodi Lee was born with

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

, causing him to become

legally blind Visual impairment, also known as vision impairment, is a medical definition primarily measured based on an individual's better eye visual acuity; in the absence of treatment such as correctable eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment� ...

. He was also diagnosed with autism 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 adre ...

. Lee is a prodigious musical

savant Savant syndrome () is a rare condition in which someone with significant mental disabilities demonstrates certain abilities far in excess of average. The skills that savants excel at are generally related to memory. This may include rapid calcu ...

, a person who manifests musical abilities that would be considered extraordinary, even in a person who is not autistic.

''America's Got Talent''

On May 28, 2019, Lee auditioned for '' America's Got Talent'' during season 14. He performed Leon Russell's song, " A Song for You". Judges Howie Mandel,

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' ...

Julianne Hough Julianne Alexandra Hough (; born July 20, 1988) is an American dancer, actress, and singer. In 2007, she joined the cast of ABC's ''Dancing with the Stars'' as a professional dancer, winning two seasons with her celebrity partners. After leavin ...

and

Simon Cowell Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality, entrepreneur and record executive. He is the creator of '' The X Factor'' and ''Got Talent'' franchises which have been sold around the world. He has judged on ...

and the audience gave him a standing ovation at the end of the performance. Union pressed the Golden Buzzer for him, sending him straight through to the live shows. At the quarterfinals, Lee performed

Simon and Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, and their biggest hits—including the electric remix of " ...

's " Bridge over Troubled Water" (again to a standing ovation), and advanced to the semifinals. In the semifinals, Lee performed " You Are the Reason" by Calum Scott. 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 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 followed this with ...

. 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 and activist. Born and raised in the London Borough of Islington, she attended the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon. Lewis achieved nationa ...

. 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. In July 2022, Cowell ranked his favorite Top 15 Golden Buzzer moments in ''AGT'' history during

season 17 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 tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

, on which Lee placed 3rd. In August 2022, Kodi 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 writ ...

" with

Teddy Swims Jaten Dimsdale, known by his stage name Teddy Swims, is an American singer-songwriter, known for blending genres including R&B, soul, country, and pop. Originally attracting fans through his cover performances on his YouTube, which has amassed 4 ...

along with guitarist

Neal Schon Neal ( Neil) is a given masculine name and surname of Gaelic and Irish origin. The name is an Anglicisation of the Irish Niall which is of disputed derivation. The Irish name may be derived from words meaning "cloud", "passionate", "victory", "hon ...

, the founder of the band

Journey Journey or journeying may refer to: * Travel, the movement of people between distant geographical locations ** Day's journey, a measurement of distance ** Road trip, a long-distance journey on the road Animals * Journey (horse), a thoroughbred ra ...

, during the ''AGT'' Qualifiers 3 Results episode. In January 2023, Kodi and Colin Hay released “Hello World” on January 2, 2023. This song got rave reviews and has been well received. This song is Kodi’s second original release, preceded by his first, “Miracle.” A lyric video of "Hello World" is coming.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Kodi 1996 births Living people 21st-century American singers 21st-century American pianists American male singer-songwriters Blind musicians Autistic savants America's Got Talent winners Singer-songwriters from California American musicians of Korean descent People on the autism spectrum 21st-century American male singers