Meet Season 21 'American Idol' Winner Iam Tongi All About the Hawaii Native

Iam Tongi left American Idol judges in tears after his emotional efficiency of "Monster" by James Blunt. A look at Iam's adventure on the show.

Among the tens of 1000's of people that audition for American Idol every season, a couple of at all times stand out. Sometimes those people are identified for their beyond-cringy, antic-filled performances; other instances, those other folks show off cherubic vocals and/or have a heart-wrenching story that leaves the judges and viewers at house in awe.

During the Season 21 premiere, we met Iam Tongi, who surely falls into the latter category.

The 18-year-old high school pupil blew judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry, and Luke Bryan away with his emotional, tear-jerking efficiency. But it was once greater than his top-tier sound that made his audition a knockout and ended in his claiming the identify as the Season 21 winner.

Keep scrolling for the complete tale behind Iam's American Idol audition and his eventual win.

Iam Tongi used his 'American Idol' audition to pay tribute his late dad.

With a guitar via his facet, Iam entered the audition room and made small talk with Lionel, Katy, and Luke. He defined that he grew up in Hawaii, but his mother's family relocated to Seattle three years in the past. When requested about his dad, Rodney, Iam shared the unhappy news that his father — who taught him everything he knows about music — kicked the bucket a few months prior to he audited for American Idol.

For his audition tune, Iam chose to sing "Monsters" by James Blunt, which the English singer-songwriter released in 2019 as a tribute to his father, Charles, who has degree Four kidney illness.

To say Iam nailed "Monsters" would be an understatement. There was now not a dry eye in the room. "I was not worried about whether you were going to make it through it the song, but whether we were going to make it through," teased Lionel after wiping tears away.

The star-studded trio had not anything but reward for Iam. "Your voice is just so magnificent," stated Katy.

"You just did everything perfectly and I love you and I just want to see you have fun in this whole thing, man," added Luke.

Clutching his richly deserved golden ticket to Hollywood, Iam gleefully exited the audition room, explaining in a voiceover that his dad at all times sought after him to audition for Idol. "Love you, Dad," he stated into the cameras.

What took place to Iam Tongi's dad?

Although it was transparent Iam’s audition served as a tribute to his overdue father, he hasn’t specifically stated his cause of death. However, in a clip he posted, Iam mentioned that his father had kidney failure and needed to undergo dialysis to “treat” his situation.

Iam Tongi garnered a large following on Instagram thanks to his time on 'American Idol.'

During the next few weeks, Iam persevered to wow the judges and the audience. And in the Season 21 finale — after performing a number of songs (including his own original, "I'll Be Seeing You") and getting to duet with James Blunt on "Monsters" — Iam took home the win!

Even if Iam's American Idol has wrapped up, you'll be able to still practice the younger artist on Instagram ((*21*)) and TikTok ((*21*)), where he shares covers of songs he is performed (and even originals!) accompanied by way of his guitar.

By the look of the remark sections on his posts, Iam, unsurprisingly, has already gathering a cult-like following of his own.

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