America's Got Talent Final: Audience votes for Kodi Lee

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Singer Kodi Lee and his mother, Tina Lee, react when he was named the winner of 'America's Got Talent.'

America voted for Kodi Lee as their favorite performer on the reality competition, America's Got Talent.

It was not a foregone conclusion Wednesday (Sept. 18) but the 22-year-old blind and autistic Korean American singer and pianist was a heavy favorite.

Throughout the 16-week season, each time he performed in the auditions and the semi-final rounds, Lee outdid himself receiving high praise from the judges and standing ovations from the audience.

AGT viewers agreed, moved by his story of overcoming his blindness and autism, and his sterling emotional performances, as they voted for Lee.

"It was a no-brainer,” judge Howie Mandel told Entertainment Week after the show. “From the moment he walked into the auditions… I’ve been watching this show for 14 years, I’ve been on the show for 10 years, we have never had a more buzzworthy or more viral moment than Kodi Lee stepping on our stage. 

"The moment he was introduced as this young man with autism who is blind who then sat down at the piano… it seemed like an eternity to the time he hits that first note. You go, ‘I just want this to be good. I don’t know what to expect!’ And then he opens his mouth and hits the keys — the roof is blown off the place. Within 48 hours, there was a half-billion clicks internationally on every digital platform. We’ve never had anything that viral, that buzzworthy. From that point on I went, ‘This is the winner,’” exclaimed Mandel.

Wednesday also marked the end of the acrobatic dance group from India, V. Unbeatable, made it to fourth place.

For winning the competition, the Lake Elsinore, California-based Lee will receive $1 million and he will headline shows from Nov. 7-10 at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

America's Got Talent: Kodi Lee is a favorite

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Kodi Lee has been moving the judges and audiences of America's Got Talent.

It has almost become routine: Kodi Lee gives an emotional performance, the judges and audience are in tears, a standing ovation and heaps of praise for the Korean American singer and musician.

Lee has got to be the favorite to be one of the two finalists when America's Got Talent concludes its season tonight (Sept. 18). The only question is, who will be the other act to compete against him.

After 16 long, exciting weeks, America's Got Talent's live finals kicked off Tuesday night with the 10 contestants who have been performing for the past 16 weeks.

The blind and autistic singer and musician delivers a heartbreaking performance of Freya Ridings' "Lost Without You."

The show's panel of judges -- including Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel, Gabrielle Union and Julianne Hough -- stand, leading the applause.

Cowell, who did similar duty on American Idol, can be acerbic in his comments but Tuesday, he struggles to find the words of praise. "One of the most beautiful things I've ever, ever heard," Simon says. "That was as good as I've ever heard."

The audience ends up chanting "Ko-di, Ko-di, Ko-di."

Kodi Lee Has So Much Love to Give

Besides Lee, another musician, two youth choirs, a singing quartet, a young opera diva, a stand-up comedian, an acrobatic dance crew, a violinist, and a black light dance group will all be vying for the grand prize of $1 million and a show on the Las Vegas strip.

Competition is stiff. They're all good, all really talented. Anyone of them would be deserving of being the champion.

V.Unbeatable, group from India, has been wowwing AGT audiences and drew effusive praise from the judges with its acrobatic style of dance.

"This was the most exciting, the most dangerous, the most thrilling act in the history of 'AGT,' " Howie Mandel exclaimed, while Cowell added: "If we had one, that would have been a golden buzzer performance… You are not a dance group, you are a movement – what I would call a game changer."

"I mean, my mind is exploding!" Julianne gushes. "You absolutely crushed it... you can fly, you can float, you can do it all. It's unbelievable."

Who will named AGT's winner of season 14?  Find out tonight in the live finale, Wednesday (Sept. 18)  at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.

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How you can vote on America's Got Talent

Viewers can vote using the America's Got Talent app, which can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play, or by going to NBC.com, or via the Xfinity X1 set-top box.

Voting is open from 8 p.m. Tuesday (Sept. 17) until 7 a.m. Wednesday (Sept. 18).

And, remember, you can vote up to 10 times per act, so vote early and often!

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America's Got Talent: Kodi Lee brings judges to tears

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Kodi Lee is a crowd favorite in the 14th season of America's Got Talent.

For the third time on this season's America's Got Talent, Kodi Lee, who is blind and autistic, got a standing ovation and brought the judges to tears.

Lee, 22, saing and accompanied himself on piano in a moving rendition of Calum Scott's "You Are The Reason," in the first night of semi-finals. 

At the end, the audience is chanting the Korean American crooner's name and several judges in tears. Judge Gabrielle Union is crying. "Everytime you sing ... you keep changing the world ... we are all so grateful to be in your orbit," she says.

"Kodi Lee, he just transcends humanity," judge Julianne Hough told ET. "I don't even know what else to say.

Guest judge Sean Hayes of Will and Grace admits that he had tears in his eyes.

Lee is “probably one of the most special, talented contestants… my breath was taken away during that.” said judge Simon Cowell.

Magician Eric Chen was warmly received but his act with playing cards and producing 3-dimensional reproductions of world landmarks failed to win accolades from Cowell, perhaps the most influential of the judges.

The second group of semi-finalists will perform next Tuesday. Only five of the 11 acts presented Tuesday night will go on to the finals.

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America's Got Talent Update: WOW! Kodi Lee's emotional performance might make you cry

Kodi Lee on America's Got Talent.

For the second time this season, there wasn't a dry eye at the judges' table after Kodi Lee finished singing on America's Got Talent.

The blind and autistic Korean American singer got a standing ovation again when he perform a moving rendition of Paul Simon's "Bridge Over Troubled Water as he got their approval to move to the semi-finals of the talent competition.

The first time he sang for the judges, he earned a Golden Buzzer from judge Gabrielle Union, which allowed him to skip the intermediate rounds.

"I want to thank Paul Simon, who never really gives permission for anyone to sing this song ["Bridge Over Troubled Water"] because it's very precious to him, and he gave [Kodi] clearance within 30 minutes because he saw your audition," Simon announced. The former American Idol judge also thanked the AGT audience for "generously sharing" Kodi's clip far and wide (his audition video has over 42 million views on YouTube).

"You are genuinely one of most extraordinary people and talents we’ve had the great fortune to have on any show we’ve ever made. God bless you," Simon concluded.

Backstage, Kodi's mother said that watching her son rise to glory had been ‘magical’ and Kodi’s family ‘never expected this to happen’. ‘This experience has been one of the most memorable and amazing events in our lives. 

‘To see the world embrace Kodi the way they have has been truly incredible,’ she enthused. ‘To see all the attention and love he’s getting from everyone makes him so happy. The first day I don’t think we stopped staring at his phone and “liking” everyone’s comments.’

She knows wooing the audience is critical because they are the ones who decide which acts continue in the contest. Fans can vote by email, Facebook or with a special app. To become a voter, click here to be eligible to vote next Tuesday on NBC at 8 p.m. EDT.

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America's Got Talent: Kodi Lee wows judges and awarded a Golden Buzzer

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Blind and autistic Kodi Lee brings the judges to tears.

Listen and watch Kodi Lee sing and if you don't get the "feels," you're made of stone.

Lee appeared on the 14th Season of America's Got Talent, brought tears to the judges' eyes, received a standing ovation from the audience and was awarded the Golden Buzzer.

The Golden Buzzer from judge Gabrielle Union allows Korean American Lee to be sent straight to the live performance rounds and skip the intermediate competition.

As the 22-year old contestant played piano and sang Donny Hathaway's song "A Song For You," the camera caught Union and fellow judge Julianne Hough tearing up as they listened to the blind and autistic Lee.

"What just happened there was really extraordinary,” judge Simon Cowell said of Lee’s singing. “I'm going to remember this moment for the rest of my life."

“I wanted a performer that was going to change the world,” Union said in a video posted to social media explaining her decision. “I believe Kodi was that act."

Kodi Lee’s parents are of mixed ethnicity. His father, Eric, is of Korean descent.

When Kodi was younger, it was discovered that he has perfect pitch, a photographic memory and an ear for music.

His mother, Tina Lee, said that her son's experiences as a performer have helped him adjust to meeting new people and being in crowds, two things he had previously struggled with. “That was the deal. We said if you want to perform, you have to shake people’s hands and you got to let people come up and say hello to you,” she said. “And it worked.”

Until the live performance rounds of America's Got Talent sometime in late summer, Kodi Lee and his band are performing to sold out audiences at various venues in Southern California. The video of AGT audition has gone viral with millions of views.

America's Got Talent airs 8 p.m., Tuesdays on NBC, 

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Kodi Lee's family watched from offstage during his AGT auditioin with host Terry Crews. They include his mother Tina, brother Derek, sister Kayle and father Eric Lee.

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