NBC Singer and pianist Kodi Lee is a finalist on "America's Got Talent" season 14.
Kodi Lee heads to the finals of America’s Got Talent season 14 on Tuesday, September 17 at 8/7c on ABC. The blind and autistic singer and pianist has been a fan-favorite since his golden buzzer-earning audition and is poised as the contestant to beat in the finale.
The maturity of Lee’s voice and depth of his talent may have fans wondering about his age, especially when you factor in the fact that America’s Got Talent has a number of young finalist acts.
Kodi Lee was born on July 7, 1996, which means he is currently 22 years old. He celebrated his 22nd birthday while AGT season 14 was underway, weeks before his first live show performance.
According to Lee’s official website, he survived a life-saving surgery in the first days of his life, but was born with optic nerve hypoplasia, which caused his blindness. At a young age, he was diagnosed with autism; now, 18 years later, he prepares to compete in the America’s Got Talent season 14 finale.
Kodi Has 2 Younger Siblings, Derek & Kayla
In addition to being a musical savant and AGT finalist, Kodi is also the older brother of Derek and Kayla Lee. Throughout the season, Derek and Kayla have showed their support for their big brother and it is clear that the siblings have a close relationship.
Kayla is the Lee’s youngest child; she is 19 years old and is currently in college. Derek is 21 years old and currently working at an In-N-Out, but he aspires to be a singer like his brother.
After Kodi’s golden buzzer performance aired on NBC, Derek shared a photo of his family on Instagram, writing in the caption “Congratulations @kodileerocks!! You are the best big brother anyone could ever ask for, you’ve inspired me, been my role model throughout my life, and made me realize that through passion and love you can get through anything!! Your voice has been heard and it’s a dream come true for all of us, I love you Kodi.”
In her own Instagram post, Kayla wrote “Kodi, you are truly the most amazing person and big bro in this entire universe and I love you so much!! I am so proud of you, you have worked so hard for this moment and you continue to inspire us!! You are showing the world that through any hardships, you can still succeed and fight for your dreams no matter the situation!! You are already inspiring the world, and you will continue to show the world just how phenomenal of a human being you are!! I love you so much my Kodster.”
His Mother Said That Music Helped Kodi Manage His Autism as a Child
Kodi’s mother Tina, who has been by his side all season, has opened up about the struggles Kodi and his family faced when learning to deal with his autism. Of his progress, and family and music’s primary role in making him the young man he is today, she said “He’s learned to deal with the emotions, because that’s how we taught him. We taught him with that therapy every day for years that when you walk outside like all of us, you’ve got to put on that happy face. You’ve got to deal with the people, you’ve got to socialize with the people. Even though he had this musical talent, he still had all of the same behaviors as any autistic child, and every parent asks how do we help them? How do we help them deal with our world? And when I saw that he was an entertainer, that was my cue to say, oh my gosh, that’s what I’m going to use to help him deal.”
Tina also revealed “He has all these talents, but he has trouble communicating. He used to tantrum like 30 times a day. After he started performing, he got it. It really helped us to get his autism under control. He wants to be an entertainer.” Every time he takes the AGT stage and begins performing, it is clear that he was born to perform and his life will continue to be filled with music and a successful career in the industry thanks to the platform AGT helped provide him.