Brandi and Chris Dodds with their children Brooklyn, 5 Kenadi, 15 and Alexis 10.
Photo courtesy of Cache Valley Family Magazine.
NORTH LOGAN – Having your daughter on television in front of millions of people has been quite a roller coaster for Kenadi Dodds’ mother, Brandi, and her two sisters Alexis, 9 and Brooklyn, 5 who stayed in Utah during the America’s Got Talent performances.
And as America watches at home and sees the magic of television production, Brandi can only listen because of her visual impairment.
“It’s been fun; we have been at my mom’s house in Vernal and Chris, (who is also visually impaired) stayed with Kenadi,” she said. “We’ve been doing Facetime everyday with Chris and her.”
She said it has been such a crazy, chaotic, busy and exciting time for her family.
“It seems sometimes like it’s a dream, but it has been real,” Brandi said. “We are so excited and so proud of her.”
The sophomore at Green Canyon High School sings in the school choir and has had opportunities to use her pipes singing the National Anthem at ball games and other occasions. She won the Green Canyon Idol competition.
“Her choir teacher Karen Teuscher has been very supportive,” Dodds said. “And her friends from choir have been sending her messages and encouraging her.”
She also said the Green Canyon Principal Dave Swenson and Vice Principals Randy Bennion and Shane Jones have all shown Kenadi some great support.
“Kenadi is having a wonderful time and has enjoyed getting to know the other people on stage,” she said. “They are becoming such good friends and they support each other.”
Dodds said people they talk to are so excited and they are spreading the word and Kenadi is so overwhelmed with the attention she has been getting from reporters and people wanting to talk to her.
“We are so grateful and appreciative of the love, support and prayers that has poured in from neighbors, friends and people we don’t know,” Dodds said. “Words can’t even describe how we feel about what people have done for our family.”
The family is waiting to see what opportunities present themselves for her to move forward with her music.
“Because, the biggest show is in November and she is contracted with AGT until then we don’t know how it will all work out.
“Normally, they do one show at the end on stage in Las Vegas. It lasts three days or a week or something like that. The winner will get the most time on stage,” Dodds said.
In a previous interview with her father Chris, who has been her coach and co-songwriter, he talked all of the sacrifices they have made to help their daughter as visually impaired parents.
He talked about all the people they have relied on to take her to and from singing coaches in Salt Lake City and how they have relied on public transportation, friends and family to sing at the Utah State University, Salt Lake Bees and Utah Jazz games.
“We are doing all that we can do,” Chris said in previous interview. “We are leaving the rest in God’s hands.”
The live finale airs Tuesday at 7 p.m. Mountain Time on NBC but fans can begin voting as early as 6 p.m.