Iam Tongi Wins American Idol Season 21, Performs With James Blunt
Iam Tongi, an 18-year-old, defeated Megan Danielle and Colin Stough to win American Idol season 21 on Sunday night. For his rendition of James Blunt’s “Monsters,” which he performed in memory of his late father Rodney, Tongi gained notoriety back during the audition stages.
Back during the audition rounds, Tongi went viral for his cover of James Blunt’s “Monsters,” which he performed in tribute to his late father, Rodney. “I was not worried about whether you were going to make it through the song, I was worried about whether we were going to make it through the song. Your daddy is very proud,” Lionel Ritchie said afterwards.
Last night, during the three-hour(!) finale of American Idol, Blunt joined Tongi on stage to perform a duet of the song.
A few days prior to the conclusion, Tongi released his original song “I’ll Be Seeing You,” which was also dedicated to his father. The first artist from Hawaii to win American Idol is Tongi.
The last three candidates, Megan Danielle, Colin Stough, and Iam Tongi, each took the stage for the final time during Sunday’s three-hour presentation, which was carried live on ABC coast to coast.
In this last round of the competition, judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie delivered critique as usual, but all they had to offer was praise and well wishes as the singers left the program to start their music careers.
Each of the top three sang two songs, one by special guest coach Keith Urban and the other paying homage to their home cities. The Top 2 contenders were then announced by host Ryan Seacrest, and they competed with original songs.
After performing Keith Urban’s “Making Memories of Us,” Tongi got the audience to yell his name. Danielle belted out a Journey classic, while Stough added his good ‘ol country boy charm to a Chris Stapleton song.
