Kodi Lee

Last updated

Kodi Lee
Birth nameKodi Taehyun Lee
Born (1996-07-07) July 7, 1996 (age 28)
Temecula, California, U.S.
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • pianist
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • piano
  • keyboards
Years active2019–present
Website www.kodileerocks.com

Kodi Taehyun Lee (born July 7, 1996) is an American singer-songwriter, pianist, and savant. At 22, he rose to fame on the 14th season of America's Got Talent .

Contents

Legally blind and autistic, Kodi Lee rose to fame after being a contestant, and ultimately the winner [1] of the 14th season of America's Got Talent . Within weeks of his performance, Lee's audition reached over 300 million views across the internet. [2]

Early life

Kodi Lee was born to a Korean father and an Indonesian-American mother, with optic nerve hypoplasia, causing him to become legally blind. He was also diagnosed with autism at an early age, and has Addison's disease. [3] [4]

Kodi Lee is widely considered to be a musical savant, [5] [6] [7] a person with a developmental disorder who manifests profound ability and talent. [8]

America's Got Talent

Fourteenth Season

On May 28, 2019, Kodi Lee auditioned for America's Got Talent during season 14. He performed Leon Russell's "A Song for You". Lee received a standing ovation by all four judges and the audience. At the end of his audition, Gabrielle Union pressed the Golden Buzzer, sending him straight through to the live shows. [9]

In the quarterfinals, Lee performed Simon and Garfunkel's "Bridge over Troubled Water," 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.

In the finale that aired on September 18, 2019, he performed "You Are the Reason" again, with special guest Leona Lewis. 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. [10] [11]

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. [12]

In August 2022, Kodi Lee performed a duet of "Don't Stop Believin'" with Teddy Swims along with guitarist Neal Schon, the founder of the band Journey, during the AGT Qualifiers 3 Results episode.

In January 2023, Lee and Colin Hay 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 winner Brandon Leake 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. [13]

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. [14]

Related Research Articles

America's Got Talent is a televised American talent show competition, and is part of the global Got Talent franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle USA and Syco Entertainment, and broadcasts on the NBC television network. It premiered on June 21, 2006, after plans for a British edition in 2005 were suspended, following a dispute within the British broadcaster ITV. Production would later resume in 2007, following the success of the first season. Each season is mainly run during the network's summer schedule, and has featured various hosts over the course of the program's history. The current host is Terry Crews.

Canada's Got Talent (CGT) is a Canadian television reality talent show, which debuted on the Citytv network on March 4, 2012. It is part of the global Got Talent franchise.

<i>Americas Got Talent</i> season 11 Season of television series

The eleventh season of American talent show competition series America's Got Talent was broadcast on NBC from May 31 to September 14, 2016. After the previous season, Howard Stern was replaced as a judge by the Got Talent creator, Simon Cowell. Stern's departure removed the contractual condition he had imposed for his involvement, leading to moving live round productions to the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. While open auditions were held in multiple cities, the judges' auditions were filmed within the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, California, an arrangement that would persist in future seasons.

Brian Justin Crum is an American singer and actor from San Diego, California. In 2016, he came to national attention competing on the eleventh season of the NBC TV competition America's Got Talent, taking fourth place.

<i>Americas Got Talent: The Champions</i> Spinoff to the television talent show Americas Got Talent

America's Got Talent: The Champions is a spin-off of America's Got Talent, a televised American talent show competition, created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle for the NBC television network, and first premiered on January 7, 2019. The program functions similar to AGT, but involves a variety of participants taken from across both AGT and the Got Talent franchise – including winners, finalists, live round participants and other notable entries – who compete against each other to secure a place in a grand final, in which the winner receives a cash prize and the title of America's chosen "World Champion" within Got Talent.

Courtney Hadwin is an English singer-songwriter. She rose to fame by competing prominently on the first season of ITV's The Voice Kids UK 2017 and the 13th season of the NBC competition show America's Got Talent (AGT) the next year. Her latter audition went viral. By the time of her second performance in 2018 on the first live TV broadcast of AGT that season, the video of her audition had been viewed "over 200 million" times, according to show host Tyra Banks as she introduced Hadwin.

<i>Americas Got Talent</i> season 14 14th season of Americas Got Talent

The fourteenth season of American talent show competition series America's Got Talent was broadcast on NBC from May 28 to September 18, 2019. After the previous season, Tyra Banks left the program to focus on other projects, leading to Terry Crews replacing her as host following his involvement on America's Got Talent: The Champions earlier that year. In addition, both Mel B and Heidi Klum also left the program, with their replacements as judges being Gabrielle Union and Julianne Hough. The guest judges for the season's Judge Cuts stage included Brad Paisley, Dwyane Wade, Ellie Kemper and Jay Leno. The semi-finals involved two additional guest judges, a first in the program's history, with Sean Hayes and Queen Latifah.

V. Unbeatable is a Mumbai-based dance crew. They rose to fame in India when they took part in the dance series Dance Plus for season 4 in 2018 and finished in the top 4. They received international coverage when they took part in season 14 of America's Got Talent and received a Golden Buzzer from basketball player and guest judge Dwyane Wade.

<i>Americas Got Talent</i> season 15 Season of television series

The fifteenth season of the American talent show competition series America's Got Talent was broadcast on NBC from May 26 to September 23, 2020. Following the previous season, both Julianne Hough and Gabrielle Union left the program, leading to both being replaced prior to filming. Heidi Klum was brought back to resume her former role, while Sofía Vergara was hired to join her as a new judge on the judging panel. Simon Cowell missed the live shows, after sustaining an injury in August. While the first two quarter-finals featured guest judges in his place, the remainder of the live episodes were conducted without any further stand-ins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brandon Leake</span> American spoken word poet

Brandon Leake 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 Golden Buzzer award in the first round from Howie Mandel. He performed pieces about his sister who died, his father, his mother and his daughter. He was named the champion of the 15th season on September 23, 2020, going home with a $1 million cash prize, a brand new Kia Stinger and the opportunity to star in Luxor Las Vegas.

<i>Americas Got Talent</i> season 16 Season of television series

The sixteenth season of the American talent show competition series America's Got Talent was broadcast on NBC from June 1 to September 15, 2021. Although production was still impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, live audiences were involved during audition sessions and live round stages of the competition. After Simon Cowell returned to his role on the program after an accident the previous year, the Judges Cuts round was replaced by him with a new deliberation format arrangement similar to that used in Britain's Got Talent.

<i>Americas Got Talent: Extreme</i> Spinoff of Americas Got Talent

America's Got Talent: Extreme is an American reality television and talent competition series created by Simon Cowell that aired on NBC from February 21 to March 14, 2022, following a sneak peek episode that aired on February 20. The series is a spinoff of America's Got Talent that focuses on stunt performers. Terry Crews hosts the series, with Cowell, Nikki Bella, and Travis Pastrana serving as judges.

<i>Canadas Got Talent</i> season 2 Season of television series

The second season of Canada's Got Talent, a reality television series, premiered on March 22, 2022, on Citytv. Unlike America's Got Talent, it has only an audition round, semi-finals and a finale. Jeanick Fournier, a singer from Saguenay, Quebec, won.

<i>Americas Got Talent</i> season 17 Season of television series

The seventeenth season of the American talent show competition series America's Got Talent premiered on NBC on May 31, 2022, and concluded on September 14, 2022. This season featured the return of a full audience without COVID-19 restrictions, which had begun during the fifteenth season.

<i>Americas Got Talent: All-Stars</i> American TV talent competition program

America's Got Talent: All-Stars is an American reality television and talent competition series that premiered on NBC on January 2, 2023. The "all-stars" series is a spinoff featuring winners, finalists, fan favorites, and others from previous seasons of America's Got Talent and across the Got Talent franchise. Terry Crews hosts the series, with Simon Cowell, Heidi Klum, and Howie Mandel serving as judges. In the finale, the winner receives a cash prize of $500,000.

<i>Americas Got Talent</i> season 18 Season of television series

The eighteenth season of the American talent show competition series America's Got Talent premiered on NBC on May 30, 2023. It concluded on September 27, 2023.

Tom Ball is an English singer who rose to fame after competing in the 2022 series of Britain's Got Talent and America's Got Talent: All Stars.

<i>Americas Got Talent: Fantasy League</i> American TV talent competition program

America's Got Talent: Fantasy League is an American reality television and talent competition series that premiered on NBC on January 1, 2024. The "fantasy league" series is a spinoff featuring winners, finalists, fan favorites, and others from previous seasons of America's Got Talent and across the Got Talent franchise, with each judge serving as a mentor for a set of acts. Terry Crews hosts the series, with Simon Cowell, Mel B, Heidi Klum, and Howie Mandel serving as judges.

<i>Americas Got Talent</i> season 19 Season of television series

The nineteenth season of the American talent show competition series America's Got Talent premiered on NBC on May 28, 2024. Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum, Sofía Vergara, and Simon Cowell all returned to the panel for their fifteenth, eleventh, fifth, and ninth respective seasons. Terry Crews returned as host for his sixth consecutive season.

Richard Goodall is an American singer and janitor. He is best known as the winner of season 19 of America's Got Talent in 2024. He was the first singer in five years to win the show and received a golden buzzer in the first round from Heidi Klum.

References

  1. ↑ "And the Winner of America's Got Talent Season 14 Is..." Peoplemag. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  2. ↑ Gandhi, Lakshimi (June 5, 2019). "Why Kodi Lee's 'America's Got Talent' audition still has people talking". NBC News. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
  3. ↑ Spence, Tony (May 12, 2023). "Kodi Lee: An Inspiring Story of Success, Despite Disability". Covey. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  4. ↑ ""I will buy lots of grand pianos in every color," Kodi Lee, blind singer with autism, wins America's Got Talent". KFOR.com. September 19, 2019. Retrieved October 15, 2019.
  5. ↑ Bicks, Emily (May 28, 2019). "Kodi Lee: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy.com. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  6. ↑ "When A Blind And Autistic Singer Gave One Of The Best Auditions In TV History". The Music Man. July 6, 2022. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  7. ↑ "31 Superb Kodi Lee Covers—Including Frank Sinatra!—That Prove He's a Music Genius". NBC Insider Official Site. January 3, 2024. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  8. ↑ "Savant Syndrome | SSM Health Treffert Center".
  9. ↑ "Golden Buzzer: Kodi Lee Wows You With A Historical Music Moment! – America's Got Talent 2019". May 28, 2019 – via www.youtube.com.
  10. ↑ "And the Winner of America's Got Talent Season 14 Is..." PEOPLE.com.
  11. ↑ Longeretta, Emily (December 20, 2021). "'America's Got Talent' Winners: Where Are They Now?". Us Weekly. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
  12. ↑ O'Rourke, Jill (July 6, 2022). "Simon Cowell Counts Down His Favorite 'AGT' Golden Buzzers". Talent Recap. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Kodi Lee Earns Another Golden Buzzer with a Tribute to His Mom That'll Make You Cry". NBC Insider Official Site. January 29, 2024. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
  14. ↑ https://www.visitlasvegas.com/event/america%E2%80%99s-got-talent-presents-super-stars-live!/39360/ [ bare URL ]
Preceded by America's Got Talent winner
Season 14 (Summer 2019)		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.