On Sunday, island favorite, Hawaii-born Iam Tongi took home the win for the season 21 finale of “American Idol.” The winner was determined by a live nationwide vote.
With the words, “Iam and Megan have fought all season long to make it to this point and now one of them will be named the next American Idol,” show host Ryan Seacrest pointed to the judges for final comments before announcing the winner.
Judge Lionel Ritchie said he and Katy Perry and Luke Bryan were proud parents seeing how much the contestants have grown throughout the season. Bryan echoed the thought and said he was proud of how they rose up to the challenge this season.
Perry said, “I just got a vision of Chuck (Danielle’s father) and Rodney (Tongi’s father) holding hands, going, ‘Look at our kids. They did it.’”
Iam Tongi, Georgia’s Megan Danielle and Mississippi native Colin Stough took to the “American Idol” stage for one last time after being mentored by award-winning country music artist Keith Urban. Urban served as a judge 2012 to 2016 during seasons 12 to 15. Each of the contestants also performed a song by Urban, who told “Billboard” he’s interested to see what songs they select.
Excitement was high in the air as the three finalists took the stage before singing their own version of three of Urban’s popular songs.
Danielle started off singing Urban’s, “God Whispered Your Name.” Ritchie said, “As far as I’m concerned, we have three number ones.”
Tongi took to the stage amid cheers with “Making Memories of Us,” singing the song in his genuine, heartfelt way, to which Perry said, “When you sing, I am ready to feel.”
Tongi explained, “Memories” held a special place in his heart as his parents danced to it together when he was younger. Tongi paid tribute to his father, Rodney, who had passed away a few months before Tongi auditioned for the show when he sang “Monsters” written by James Blunt.
Bryan commented, “You have a natural gift from God to tell a story. It was just beautiful, perfection.”
“The greatest part of your being is the fact that you are an incredible storyteller. Why I am sitting here tearing up to a song I’ve heard before. You have great delivery. That what’s gonna make you shine forevermore,” said Ritchie.
Colin Stough sang Urban’s “Stupid Boy.” Bryan said, “You’ve come so far from the kid that walked in at auditions. Kudos to you, buddy.”
“I think when you were here with us in the very beginning, you were at 10%,” said Perry. “And now I think you’re at 60 to 70%. You hear, when you give them a twirl, how they react. When you hit a 100% out there in the real world, watch out buddy, it’s gonna be hot and you’re gonna need your own air conditioning,” referring to Stough’s pre-“American Idol” job as an HVAC technician.
Following visits to each finalist’s hometown and individual performances, the finalist in third place was eliminated.
With over 13 million votes at that point in the competition, Tongi and Danielle made it through to the top two spots. Stough was out, though Seacrest announced he had a debut song coming out. “I Still Talk to Jesus” was co-written by Francisco Martin IV and Hank Compton.
In an interview with Kelly Ripa and husband Mark Consuelos on “LIVE with Kelly and Mark” earlier in the week, “American Idol” host Ryan Seacrest answered Ripa’s question, “When do you find out?”
“I find out in the last commercial break,” responded Seacrest. “It’s a live vote; it’s in real time. The last commercial break is about four minutes long. And with(in) 35, 45 seconds, the card comes in after a final check. And I do take a glance to make sure I can read the writing of the producer that wrote it in.”
Tongi’s second-to-last performance was a tearjerker as he brought back the song “Monsters,” this time alongside songwriter Blunt.
For her performance, Danielle turned in a solid with Christian music singer and songwriter Lauren Daigle singing the artist’s latest hit single, “Thank God I Do.”
Danielle’s final performance was her debut single, “Dream Girl,” while Tongi sang his first official single, “I’ll Be Seeing You.”
Although Tongi currently lives in Washington State, early in the program, he said, “All of Hawaii is my home.” The video showing Tongi’s return to his Kahuku community and performance at The Turtle Bay Resort showed Hawaii loves him right back.
Sarah Yamanaka covers events, environmental and community news for Spectrum News Hawaii. She can be reached at sarah.yamanaka@charter.com.
