Kodi Lee visited “America’s Got Talent: The Champions” Monday to belt out a heartfelt rendition of Harry Styles’ song “Sign of the Times,” earning him a standing ovation from the judges.
The singer-songwriter and piano player, who is legally blind and autistic, won Season 14 of the game show last year.
He appeared as a guest performer on the final night of Season 2 of “America’s Got Talent: The Champions,” which finds past season winners, finalists and notable performers competing against each other for a cash prize and the title of America’s chosen “World Champion.” Acrobatic dancer V.Unbeatable was crowned the Season 2 “Champions” winner Monday.
Lee has become both a fan-favorite and a favorite of the judges, having been known to cause the light to return to the eyes of the notoriously tough Simon Cowell.
Watch Cowell beam with pride over Lee’s powerful rendition of Calum Scott’s “You Are the Reason” from the Season 14 semifinals here, and watch his winning moment here.
Lee first auditioned for the game show with a cover of Leon Russell’s “A Song For You.” The then-22-year-old artist earned himself a standing ovation from judges Gabrielle Union, Howie Mandel, Simon Cowell, and Julianne Hough, and Union used her first golden buzzer to send him straight through to the next round.
Lee’s mother, Tina Lee, told the judges at the time that “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,” she said, before helping her son, who walks with a cane, over to the piano so he could play while belting one out for the judges and crowd. And as soon as Kodi opened his mouth, everyone else’s jaw dropped.
Watch Monday night’s video above.
