If you don’t know who Kodi Lee is, get ready to be blown away.

Kodi Lee is an incredible musical prodigy, a rare talent of this century. The 22-year-old from southern California has been making tsunami-sized waves in the music and talent industry and touching people’s hearts with his soulful voice and skilful piano playing abilities. Even more astonishing than that is the fact that Kodi is both blind and autistic.

Though Kodi has been singing and playing the piano for years now, his story has become viral, thanks to his performance on America’s Got Talent (AGT), one of the hottest talent shows in the United States that draws individuals with exceptional talents to the stage.

Photo: Kodi Lee backstage at America’s Got Talent/Kodi Lee Facebook page

Kodi’s performance on the first season of the 2019 series of AGT swept the show’s judges and the entire audience off their feet…and brought the world to its knees.

“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,” said Kodi’s proud and loving mom TINA, who accompanied him on stage, “IT actually saved his life, playing music.”

Photo: Kodi Lee with his mom, Tina Lee, onstage at America’s Got Talent/YouTube screen grab

If you haven’t seen his performance yet, watch it right now:

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDPdRYF7hTQ

As you just saw, Kodi’s performance on AGT brought down the house, with his family watching tearfully and proudly in the wings. AGT’s Judges Simon Cowell, Gabrielle Union, Julianne Hough and Howie Mandel gave him the season’s first “gold star”, moving him straight onto the live performances in no less than the glittery neighbourhood of Hollywood, Los Angeles, where stars in the entertainment industry are often born.

But Kodi has been a star and a fighter way before he got onto AGT.

Kodi Lee is the first born child of Eric and Tina Lee. He was born with optic nerve hypoplasia and needed life-saving surgery at only five days old. He was diagnosed with autism very early on in life, but despite the extreme difficulties that came with his conditions, Kodi’s undeniable genius shone through.

Photo: Kodi Lee’s family backstage at America’s Got Talent with host Terry Crews/YouTube screen grab

According to his official website, Kodi is a prodigious musical savant who has an audio photographic memory, which means that he has the rare ability to remember and effortlessly play and sing any piece of music he hears, after only one listen. To put things into perspective, there are only around 25 people in the world today who possess abilities similar to Kodi’s.

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Though he may have a hard time connecting with the world through speech, Kodi has no problem reaching into people’s hearts and minds through his beautiful music. And Kodi’s musical tastes and repertoire are vast and exciting, from jazz to R & B and rock to classical music. His musical interpretation and expression of the classic masters — Mozart, Bach, Schubert, Chopin and more — is astounding, considering that Kodi simply heard the music once and was able to recreate it.

Watch and listen to Kodi play some Schubert here:

While the current season of AGT is still ongoing, fans all over the US are sure that Kodi will take home the win. Besides AGT, Kodi has a busy schedule, playing the piano and singing at different venues and events. He was even recently given the great honour of being asked to perform in the prestigious musical auditorium Carnegie Hall in New York City. Kodi is expanding his range of skills and exploring his unique musical abilities even further by delving into the world of dance, specifically tap dancing.

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Beyond his abilities as a musical prodigy, Kodi is an inspiration to every person who feels that they are challenged, handicapped or held back by something in their lives. Kodi transforms when he begins to sing and play music. He’s got a light about him, an unbeatable spirit and an undeniable spark of genius.

Photo: Kodi Lee performs on America’s Got Talent/YouTube screen grab

Check out Kodi’s incredible videos and follow him on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. /TISG