Even as “America’s Got Talent” is now in its 21st season, the show’s creator and longtime judge, Simon Cowell, continues to be surprised by the wide range of contestants who step onto the stage for a shot at fame.
“We don’t know on the day anything about the contestants, not a thing, until they walk on stage, and then it all happens,” Cowell recently told reporters during a virtual press conference. “I haven’t got a clue before that.”
This element of surprise has created standout moments over the years, and the show’s host and judges reflected on their favorites during a recent “AGT” episode.
A unanimous favorite: singer Kodi Lee, a former Utahn who stunned the judges in 2019 with a performance of Leon Russell’s “A Song For You.”
The then-22-year-old performer — whose audition has more than 430 million views and marks the show’s most-viewed viral moment, per the Deseret News — went on to win Season 14.
Here’s a look back at the emotional audition, which “AGT” judge Howie Mandel recently called the show’s “most memorable moment,” and what the singer is up to now.
A look back at Kodi Lee’s ‘AGT’ audition
At the start of his audition, amid some long pauses, Lee greeted the judges, stated his age and shared that he would be performing a song.
His mom, Tina Lee, then took a minute to tell the judges more about her son, explaining that he is blind and autistic. She shared how their family discovered his love for music early on, and how it has helped him navigate day-to-day obstacles.
“It actually has saved his life,” she told the judges during the 2019 audition.
She then walked him to the black Roland piano and gave him a short pep talk, asking if he was ready to go.
“Yeah!” he whispered enthusiastically.
And then she left the stage, leaving her son alone with a piano and an auditorium full of spectators.
He hit the keys and began to sing.
Just minutes earlier, he had struggled to string words together while talking to the judges. But his voice soared as the lyrics to “A Song For You” came effortlessly.
During the audition, then-“AGT” judge Gabrielle Union, visibly moved, hit her golden buzzer for the singer, immediately advancing him to the live portion of the competition.
Tina Lee said that marked the first time she ever saw her son cry happy tears.
“If you really look at the photos, you see him crying when he got the golden buzzer,” she recalled in a 2023 Deseret News interview, noting that she has a framed photo of them hugging during that special moment. “And you can see in his face, too, the shock from when he won the show. Those are such real facial expressions. I mean, you can’t fake those looks.”
The “AGT” judges were all smiles as they rewatched Lee’s audition during a retrospective episode that aired last week.
“I think that’s our most memorable moment, isn’t it?” Mandel said, as judge Mel B nodded and smiled.
“I love that these acts, they are literally the heart of ‘America’s Got Talent,’” she added.
What is Kodi Lee up to now?
In the years since her son’s audition, Tina Lee has read thousands of comments from viewers thanking Kodi for being such an inspiration. She’s also come across some skeptical comments, with some viewers accusing him of “faking it.”
Those comments make her laugh.
“I can understand why they thought that,” she told the Deseret News in 2023. “Because Kodi’s like two different people. When you talk to him and meet him, he can’t really form a complete sentence. He has a hard time. But you see him on stage, he’s a completely different person. And even for me as his mother, I’m like, ‘How is that possible?’”
She noted that he is a “musical prodigious savant” and has an audio photographic memory that allows him to recall a song after just one listen. Her son is largely self-taught, and Lee described him as “a born entertainer.”
“He’s really good at ‘name that tune’ — you don’t want to go up against him,” she said.
Since winning “America’s Got Talent,” Kodi Lee — who turns 30 on July 7 — has returned to the show a few times.
The singer — who worked on developing his artistry while living in the areas of Tooele and Stansbury Park, Utah, for seven years — made it to the finals of both “America’s Got Talent: All-Stars” in 2023 and “America’s Got Talent: Fantasy League” in 2024.
He previously headlined an “AGT” superstars show in Las Vegas and released his debut album “Exactly As I Am” earlier this year.
Lee released the album, which has 13 original tracks, in April to coincide with Autism Awareness Month. In his song “Letter to Simon,” the singer expresses gratitude to the “AGT” judge for believing in him.
“He’s shown the world that anything is possible — no matter what,” Tina Lee previously told the Deseret News. “He is the hardest worker that I’ve ever met — ever. When he has a goal, he keeps going, and I have to keep up with him.”
Simon Cowell on the ‘purpose’ of ‘America’s Got Talent’
Cowell recently reflected on the joy he still gets from “America’s Got Talent” — especially when it comes to heartfelt moments like Lee’s audition.
“I genuinely believe that these shows, they have to have a purpose,” he told reporters ahead of the Season 21 premiere. “It puts you on the ladder, so to speak. So if you do a great audition or a great live show performance, ... I’ve seen it happen so many times now, a massive, massive knockout effect in terms of their careers, their lives, their confidence. That’s one of the best parts of doing the job.
“If that didn’t happen, I promise you I wouldn’t do shows,” he added. “That moment where you can sit there and go, ‘Wow, I was there on their first audition, and I’ve got a feeling great things are going to happen,’ I really still get a buzz out of that.”