Kodi Lee was announced the winner of "America's Got Talent" on 18th September 2019, he was up against the Detroit Youth Choir, comedian Ryan Niemiller and the acrobatic dance group V. Unbeatable. There were so many talented contestants this year but Kodi managed to stand out among all of them.
Kodi Lee's Journey
It has not been an easy journey for Kodi, he was born with optic nerve hypoplasia which is a medical condition arising from the underdevelopment of the optic nerves, and at the age of four, he was diagnosed with autism.
On May 2019, Kodi decided to audition for "America’s Got Talent", his mother accompanied him to the audition and told the judges about Kodi’s dreams of becoming a singer.
The song Kodi auditioned was called "A Song For You" by Donny Hathaway, it is a classic song and when he sang it everybody was in awe. Kodi’s rendition was one of the best covers of the song, his brilliant piano skills and singing voice made him an instant favorite in the show.
Simon Cowell, Gabrielle Union, Julianne Hough, and Howie Mandel were all surprised by Kodi's rendition of the song, he sang it with so much passion and soul.
Gabrielle was so moved by his performance that she gave him a golden buzzer that sent him through to the live rounds.
Simon Cowell praised him after his audition, he said "your voice is absolutely fantastic. You really have a beautiful tone and thank you so much for trusting us on this show. I'm going to remember this moment for the rest of my life".
After weeks of being in the show leading up to the finals, Kodi has managed to keep his momentum, many of his performances made him stand out and become a contender to win the show.
Semi-finals and Finale performances
During the live semi-finals show, Kodi performed a song called “Lost Without You” which was originally sung by Freya Ridings, a singer/songwriter from the United Kingdom.
Kodi’s rendition of this song captured everything that the song embodies, his performance might have been his best on the show and it also highlighted just how talented he is both vocally and on the piano.
During the final performance on the show, Kodi sang with previous "X Factor" winner and three-time Grammy nominee Leona Lewis the song called "You Are the Reason" by Callum Scott in which they got a standing ovation.
On Wednesday, Kodi was announced as the winner of this season's America's Got Talent, he was rewarded $1 million and a chance to headline a show at the Paris Hotel Casino in Las Vegas from the 7th till 10th of November 2019.
Kodi proved that anything is possible in life, despite his disabilities, he managed to conquer the world with his undeniable and incredible talent that God has given him. Nothing in this world is impossible if you have a dream you want to achieve, chase it and become the person that you have always dreamed about.