“a soaring performance” – American Songwriter
You can hear it in the gentle rasp of his wave-washed vocal soul. You can see it in his smile. For Iam Tongi, music is about transformation – and it always has been.
Tongi is a Hawaiian-born singer-songwriter and the Season twenty-one champion of American Idol. Twenty-year-old Tongi first picked up a ukulele in the fifth grade. Here, he became immersed in a deeply musical world filled with the traditional singing and dance of Pacific Island cultures. Living in the small town of Kahuku on the northern tip of Ohau, Tongi learned to sing from his father. Moreover, his father, in turn, had learned from his father before him.
Clearly blessed with an expressive, charismatic voice, Tongi was pushed hard. Thus, he developed a multi-faceted sound blending island reggae with the influence of his family record collection. There, this included country (Kenny Rogers), classic rock (Dr. Hook), and R&B (Luther Vandross). Tongi played his first show by age thirteen. However, after moving to Seattle a few years later – and losing his father in 2021 – the young talent nearly gave music up completely. His mother secretly signed him up for American Idol. Then, Tongi’s viral audition performance of James Blunt’s “Monsters” became one of Idol’s all time emotional highlights. Finally, he went on to win Season twenty-one, making history as the first Pacific Islander to ever win the show.
Recommended for fans of Jack Johnson, Israel Kamakawiwo’ole, Maoli and Kolohe Kai.
