Every once in a while, something happens on one of these reality television shows that transcends entertainment, enthralls a country and changes the way in which we view the world. Kodi Lee epitomized this more than any other person who has ever competed on a series like America’s Got Talent.
Before Lee even started singing, he was an inspiration. His mother Tina introduced him, explaining that he was both blind and autistic. She said, “Through music and performing, he was able to withstand living in this world.” Lee revealed his winsome personality before unleashing his angelic voice to the masses. Tina placed the microphone in front of Lee, who eagerly declared, “I’m ready!”
There was a dramatic pause before Lee began, just long enough for the congregation to doubt if he could really do this given his restraints. What came next was so ineffably captivating, it can only be described by, “Here, watch this.” As Lee started belting out the lyrics to Leon Russell’s “A Song For You,” it was immediately clear that not only would he make it through his performance, but that he was a prodigious talent. His lower register was mature beyond his 22 years, his range unteachable, his command of his instruments - both voice and piano - masterful.
Simon Cowell, a renowned harsh critic, remarked he would remember the moment for the rest of his life. First-time judge Gabrielle Union said after Lee’s moving rendition that she was a new mom, which is the hardest, but also most rewarding, job she’s ever had. Tina, standing next to her son on stage, absorbed the praise with tears in her eyes. When Union mashed that golden buzzer, it was a mere formality of a truly stirring solo that shook the nation. As Lee and his mother celebrated the crowning achievement of an America’s Got Talent audition, it was difficult, impossible really, not to be overcome with emotion as we watched on our screens, forgetting whatever problems were occurring in our own worlds, if only for a few minutes. The video, which was circulated on social media by nearly everyone with a phone and a heart, now has more than 47 million views on YouTube.
The Real Deal
The feats that followed would never eclipse the eyeball count of the audition, but they were no less spectacular. When Lee enraptured the audience with “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” he punched the big notes with incisive authority, shedding his qualifiers of blind and autistic and becoming, simply, Kodi Lee The Entertainer. He fearlessly dove into runs as if each song were his own, inserting his playful personality into every composition. A camera panned out above Lee as he finished his second song, a baroque chandelier forming a halo over him and his piano. The symbolism was so sweet, it was almost novelettish. As unfathomable as it was, this story wasn’t fiction. And it was far from over.
By Lee’s third tune, we’d become accustomed to the magic he produced. No longer were our co-workers burdened by our streaming tears in the middle of our work day. We would make sure to watch the viral clips during our lunch break, or wait until we got home, so that we could feel all the feels unencumbered by critical onlookers. Lee treated viewers (and listeners, for the visually impaired) to Calum Scott’s “You Are The Reason.” Every time he reached the falsetto “to see,” his voice would tremble just enough to stay on pitch while betraying a trademark sound that was unmistakably Lee. Though he could not see the keys, his eyes were always moving in rhythm with his lips. Even his eyebrows danced to each note, rising and falling to the melodic beat. His hands were surgical composers and every facial muscle was a player in his symphony.
Like a greatest hits album, Lee saved his best stuff for the end as his unforgettable playlist rolled seamlessly along. He essentially put the competition to rest with his next song, “Lost Without You.” In his incantation, Lee governed the pace of the ballad so eloquently that it felt like he was having a conversation with his instrumental companion and we were all just eavesdroppers with our faces smushed up against the door. The lyric,“I said I want to see the world, and you said let’s go,” was tailored for Lee, and his spine-tingling vibrato touched the soul. As Lee reached his crescendo, Cowell appeared lost in a trance, eyes closed, bottom lip drooped.
The pronouns “you” and “I” from the Freya Ridings version of this song were swapped, a tiny tweak that made all the difference; in this intimate moment, Lee softly confided in the personified Piano that this journey was not his alone. Although his mother watched from the wings, the message was undoubtedly for her too, for she has given him the opportunity to see without sight. He couldn’t look at his reflection on the head of the piano, but it was visible and potent to the awe-stricken audience. As he repeated the simple yet penetrating chorus, “I think I’m lost without you,” there was no greater accompanying visual.
The Impact
By the time Lee teamed up with Leona Lewis for an encore of “You Are The Reason” in the finale, he had already ascended to a level of unprecedented fame. On stage, it wasn’t contestant and singer; it was a pair of luminaries harmoniously exercising their craft. By this point, Lee’s piano had become his extension, like Eric Clapton’s guitar or John Bonham’s drum set. Though it was Lee’s arresting vocals that carried his acts, his piano was an omnipresent reminder of the power of music.
This power that Lee wielded on that stage changed the world. His limitations faded away with each verse and forced everyone who watched him through a screen to look back at themselves and ask, “What isn’t possible?” The unheralded hero of this story, of course, is Tina, who hadn’t only walked Lee to his piano before each song but had helped him take each step before he arrived as an internet sensation. In this triumphant tale, both she and Lee are valiant warriors. Tina laid the foundation for the impossible to take place. Lee manifested it.
A couple days before the America’s Got Talent finale aired, I spoke to a mother of an 18-year-old daughter who was born without eyes and unable to speak. The mother told me that she was inspired watching Lee and said of her daughter, “That’s probably not going to be her, but then I think…” her voice trailing off into a realm of possibility. There must be stories like hers across the country, of viewers emboldened by Lee’s virtuosity.
But it wasn’t only his musical gift that carried him to runaway victory on the America’s Got Talent stage. It was the bursts of excitement, the receptiveness to the judges’ extolling and the applauding after he finished that endeared Lee to a nation. When he clapped for himself, it was as if he understood that he was overcoming insuperable obstacles every time he sat down to play. And when he stood, another miracle had occurred.
The first words Lee spoke to a raucous crowd after he won were, “I feel so amazing. Unbelievable.” It may have been unbelievable when he first walked onto that stage. Now, who are we to not believe in ourselves?
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