Could a blind singer with autism be the next big thing?

Kodi Lee, 22, made his debut performance on America’s Got Talent on May 28. Over the next 24 hours, his “golden buzzer” video topped Youtube's trending chart, making him a celebrity overnight.

In the last ten days, scores of viewers claimed to have shed tears watching his videos. Plus, his Youtube channel of a few thousand followers rose to over 160,000 subscribers.

As most of us are awed by Kodi’s brilliance, there are a number of things one must know about him.

Kodi was born with optic nerve hypoplasia—rendering him legally blind—and he was diagnosed with autism at the age of four. His autism has equipped him with a special gift.

According to his website, Kodi is a “prodigious musical savant.” He is one of only approximately 25 in the world today to possess perfect pitch, audio-photographic memory, and a natural inclination for musical expression.

His mother, Tina Lee, explained this in a video, saying that he can listen to a song and play it on the piano and sing. He can play six instruments and learned to tap dance recently. Also, he can sing songs in different languages such as: Dutch, Japanese, Hebrew, and Korean.

His parents believe that the sound of toys compensated for his lack of sight, and heightened his musical ability, at an early age.

His mother said that not only has Kodi mastered classical works by Bach, Chopin, and Mozart, but he can also perform rock, pop, and R&B.

Before he came on the show, Kodi performed around the globe; and mostly at different local bars, restaurants and musical events at Lake Elsinore in California. 

Recently he was invited to perform at the prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York City, reads his website.

Kodi’s dream was to participate in either American Idol or America’s Got Talent, said Tina in a recent interview.

Kodi did not have much of a social media following—nor had he released an EP or album—before coming on the show.

Could we be witnessing a musical genius of our era, firsthand?

Kodi Lee wowed the audience at America’s Got Talent with his cover of Donny Hathaway’s “A Song for You.”

New judge on the show, Gabrielle Union, gave Lee the golden buzzer, sending him directly to the live shows.