Kodi Lee, the singer/pianist who captured the hearts of viewers across the country with his stunning rendition of Leon Russell‘s “A Song For You” earlier this year, has been crowned as the champion of America’s Got Talent season 14. For winning the competition by way of a national fan vote, Kodi will receive a $1M prize and a four-night run of headlining shows at Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, NV.
Kodi Lee, 23, is blind and has autism, but has used music as a way to connect with the world and the people around him. As his mother explained ahead of his initial AGT audition, “we found out he loved music really early on. He listened and his eyes just went huge. He started singing and I was just in tears because that’s when I realized, oh my gosh, he’s an entertainer! … Through music and performing, he was able to withstand living in this world, because when you’re autistic, it’s really hard to do what everybody else does. It actually has saved his life, playing music.”
Kodi Lee Wins America’s Got Talent Season 14
[Video: America’s Got Talent]
Kodi Lee on AGT – “A Song For You” [Leon Russell cover], “Bridge Over Troubled Water” [Simon & Garfunkel cover], “You Are The Reason” [Calum Scott cover], “I’m Lost Without You” [Freya Ridings cover], “You Are The Reason [Calum Scott cover, with Leona Lewis]
[Video: America’s Got Talent]