Iam Tongi was crowned the Season 21 winner of American Idol in 2023. It’s a far cry from his experience on year prior, when he didn’t even make it past the first round.

“They wouldn’t even let me audition,” Tongi tells Everything Nash. “They said, ‘Come back next year.’ And I was like, ‘You say that to everyone, probably.’ I came back next year.”

Fortunately, Tongi heeded their advice and returned one year later, albeit a much different person than he was the last time he auditioned.

“I know a year’s just a little, but a year I had a lot of crazy stuff happening,” Tongi reflects. “My dad passed away, so I had that little time, and I guess I was forced to grow up a little bit, forced to be in that situation. It made me a better singer, more feeling, more emotions.”

Tongi sang a wide range of songs while competing on American Idol, only part of what propelled him to win the entire show. Although he received rave reviews from Luke Bryan, Lionel Richie and Katy Perry, Tongi never expected he would beat all of the other aspiring singers.

“I think until I actually won …I just thought, ‘I’m just going in this, I’m going to have fun,'” Tongi says, when asked when he realized he could win. “I was over there just messing around with my fellow contestants, throwing stuff at them during filming, having fun. I was just trying to have fun and do the best I can. Every time I made it to the next round, I was always surprised. Every time I was like, ‘This is crazy.’ Going home, calling my mom, like, ‘Mom, I made it to the next round.’ I feel like I was always surprised that I made it to the next one.”

Even if Tongi hadn’t won, he still loved everything about being part of American Idol, having nothing but positive things to say about his time on the reality TV talent show.

“American Idol, that was a roller coaster,” Tongi concedes. “It’s a lot of fun, a lot of stress. I’m meeting a lot of new people, new scenery. It was a little bit crazy, but I loved meeting the people and meeting the judges. It was amazing.”

Tongi has a new song, “Unbreak My Heart,” out now. The song was written by Johnny Reid and Thomas “Tawgs” Salter.

“My friend was working on it, a buddy of mine named Johnny Reid,” Tongi recalls. “He was working on the song. He said, ‘I gotta show you this song I’m working on.’ It’s like a breakup song … He starts singing it to me, and right when he sings the first line, I just started bawling, ’cause it’s exactly how I felt when my dad passed away. First line was, ‘I remember when the call came in / Telling me you were gone. I remember trying to pretend that you’ll be there when I get home.’ I was crying.”

Once Reid realized the connection Tongi had to the song, they finished it with Tongi’s heartbreaking story in mind. “Unbreak My Heart” is part of a new album Tongi hopes to have out this fall. He also has something else to look forward to this month: his Grand Ole Opry debut on June 11.

“I’m feeling great,” the Hawaii native says. “This is crazy. It’s been a dream of mine to play the Opry. I do reggae, and I do like island vibes. I was like, ‘I don’t know if I’ll be able to get into the Opry. They’re country.’ We got there, we made it, and we’re going to do a Grand Ole Opry.”

“Unbreak My Heart” is out now. Find all of Tongi’s music and upcoming shows at IamTongiOfficial.com.

Photo Credit: CMA / Kayla Schoen