Iam Tongi

About

William “Iam” Guy Tongi (born September 1, 2004) is an American singer who won season 21 of American Idol. He is the first person from Hawaii, the first Pacific Islander, and the first non-country genre singer in three years, to win the competition. He is also the first winner to have been born after the show’s premiere on June 11, 2002.

Tongi is originally from Kahuku, Hawaii, on the island of Oahu. His family relocated to Federal Way, Washington in the summer of 2019, where he attended Federal Way High School. He then later transferred and graduated from Decatur High School. He is of Samoan, Tongan, and Irish descent. Tongi is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
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 used the guitar in nearly all of his performances on American Idol.

Tongi auditioned for Season 20 of American Idol, but failed to get past the initial screening. Without telling him, his mother signed him up for the Season 21 auditions. Tongi was reluctant…