American Idol 2023 winner Iam Tongi original song “I’ll Be Seeing You”earns his first Billboard No 1.
Congratulations to American Idol 2023 winner Iam Tongi who earned his first Billboard No. 1.
According to Billboard, the Hawaiian native sent two songs onto Billboard’s Rock Digital Song Sales chart (dated June 3), paced by his original track “I’ll Be Seeing You,” which hit No. 1. The song bows with 11,000 downloads sold May 19-25, according to Luminate.
“I’ll Be Seeing You” is followed by his cover of ABBA’s “The Winner Takes It All,” which debuts at No. 19 with 2,000 sold. The song jumps 559% in sales; he initially made it available for download in March and performed it during the ABC competition’s top 20 episode in April.
“I’ll Be Seeing You” also debuts at No. 2 on the all-format Digital Song Sales survey.
Iam is not the only American Idol alum to nab his first No. 1. Season 18 finalist Francisco Martin penned the chart-topping “I’ll Be Seeing You.”
According to Billboard, Iam’s catalog moved 17,000 downloads May 19-25, a 1,899% boost from 1,000 sold May 12-18. His songs “Trust Me,” “Gone,” “Dreams” and “Efiafi,” the latter featuring Manatau Tuifua, all also garnered 1,000 paid downloads apiece in that span.
“I’ll Be Seeing You” also opens at Nos. 19 and 23 on Hot Rock Songs and Hot Rock & Alternative Songs, respectively. In addition to its sales, the song earned 911,000 official U.S. streams.
First Pacific Islander to win American Idol
Eighteen year-old Iam Tongi won American Idol season 21, becoming the first Pacific Islander winner in the show’s 21 year history. He auditioned with a cover of James Blunt’s 2019 song “Monsters” and performed it with Blunt on the finale; sparked by their duet, Blunt’s “Monsters” returns to Digital Song Sales at No. 3 with 10,000 sold, up 925%. It debuted at No. 3 with 9,000 sold in March, then fueled by Iam’s audition. Iam’s audition video was a viral sensation, notching over 32 million views on Instagram and 16 million views on YouTube.
