What Kodi Lee Can Do That Makes Him Special
During his appearance on season 14 of "America's Got Talent", Kodi Lee wowed audiences with his immeasurable skill at singing and playing the piano. However, that's not the only reason why Lee is one of the world's most talented musicians.
Lee was born with optic nerve hypoplasia, which resulted in blindness, and was later diagnosed with autism when he was 4 (via The Whit Online). During his formative years, Lee's parents realized that their son had an affinity for music. By the time he was 2, he was picking up songs by ear, copying his father playing "Mary Had A Little Lamb" on the piano. "Kodi just reached over and started playing it himself," Kodi's mom, Tina, recalled (via NBC News). "And we thought, 'Oh my God, he has perfect pitch, perfect memory, and perfect timing.'"
He quickly began to master 6 instruments, according to The Mirror, and is also an accomplished tap dancer. "When we saw that musical ability in him, we just knew there was something really special about him," Lee's mom Tina told E! News (via YouTube). "And then we kept working with him, he just kept blowing people's minds everywhere we went."
Kodi Lee's musical talents are truly unique
According to his official site, Kodi Lee "is one of only approximately 25 [people] in the world today who possesses his extraordinary abilities" as a musical savant, which include "his musical expression, perfect pitch, and passion for all forms of music." Lee also has an audio photographic memory, which means he can "recall music after just one listen." This includes songs in different languages, according to Good Housekeeping.
He also has an "encyclopaedic knowledge of music from all genres" (per Metro), which allows him to pick from a vast variety of music when he performs live, whether locally or on big stages.
As exciting as Lee's talents are, it's the art of music itself that is most important to him. "As long as Kodi is playing music, recording music, and performing live, he is in his happy place," Tina Lee said during the "AGT" season 14 premiere (via Good Housekeeping). "When you're autistic, it's really hard to do what everybody else does. It actually saved his life, playing music."