Iam Tongi was the first person from Hawaii, the first Pacific Islander, and the first non-country singer in three years, to win season 21 of American Idol. He is also the first winner to have been born after the show’s premiere on June 11, 2002.
Tongi was born September 1, 2004, in Kahuku, Hawaii, on the island of Oahu. He is of Tongan, Samoan and Irish descent. He is the youngest of five children. Tongi learned to play the ukulele in fifth grade. When he was 13, his father gifted him a guitar that he had bought with his holiday paycheck. Tongi would go on to use the guitar in nearly all of his performances on American Idol.
During the audition, Tongi talked about having to move to Washington because he was “priced out of paradise”. When asked about his father, Tongi became teary-eyed, explaining that Rodney, his dad, had passed away a few months before the audition, and that Rodney was the one who got him into music.
A few days prior to Idol‘s season finale, Tongi released the single “I’ll Be Seeing You,” and the song reached No. 3 on Billboard‘s Digital Song Sales and No. 1 on Rock Digital Song Sales, from 11,000 downloads. Shortly after winning Idol, Tongi embarked on a tour that saw him reunite with fellow contestant Oliver Steele, who finished in the Top 8 and with whom Tongi formed a special bond during the competition.
On July 1, 2023, at a concert at the Turtle Bay Resort, Tongi surprised the audience by inviting Roman De Peralta from Kolohe Kai to join him on stage to perform “Cool Down”, the same song he showcased on Idol. The concert was their first time performing the song together. De Peralta said afterward, “He’s coming home after an epic win, and I texted him, are you going to jam ‘Cool Down’ tomorrow? And he said yeah, and I said, ‘Can I join?’ and he was really stoked. I am honored to be here.”
On August 12, 2023, Tongi released an Instagram video honoring the victims of the 2023 Maui wildfires. Encouraging his fans to donate, and expressing his love and support for the people of Maui, he sang a cover of Israel Kamakawiwo’ole’s “Starting All Over Again.”
