After covering Morgan Wallen and Garth Brooks, Iam Tongi shares his love of country music
American Idol winner Iam Tongi has been dropping covers on his Youtube channel including a surprising rendition of Morgan Wallen’s “Sand in My Boots” and a cover of Garth Brook’s classic “The Dance.” Will the young singer pursue a hybrid of country and music with an Hawaiian sound inspired by his beloved Island?
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Iam told People magazine in a recent interview, “Country music means a lot to me because that’s what I grew up on,” he continued “I grew up on island music and I grew up on country music. And my dad, he’s the one that really got me into it because my dad loved country music. My dad’s favorite singer was George Strait.”
Unfortunately, Iam lost his father mere months before auditioning for Season 21 of American Idol. Rodney Tongi died of stage 4 kidney disease on Dec. 28. 2021. He was just 50 years old at the time of his death.
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“A lot of island songs are just redos of country music”
Iam shared with People that he learned songs by the late Kenny Rogers. “I learned ‘Coward of the County’ and “Islands in the Stream,’” he continued, “My dad kept pushing me every day to learn a lot of country songs. I learned a lot of Garth Brooks’ songs too. Growing up, that’s what my dad wanted me to learn. Most of the songs that I learned was country songs.”
“A lot of island songs are just redos of country music,” Iam explained. He’s been making frequent visits to Nashville to record new music. “You’ve got Molo Try. He does a lot of country music but makes it reggae. You’ve got the Ka’au Crater Boys. They’re a classic Hawaiian band. A lot of their songs are just country songs but done with ukulele,” Iam stated.
On the American Idol finale in May 2023, Iam performed Rodney Crowell’s “Making Memories of Us.” before host Ryan Seacrest crowned him the winner of the show.
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Next, Iam will headline three homecoming concerts, headlined as “Yessah: Iam Tongi Returns to Hawaii,” organized by Rick Bartalini Presents. The first show will be held on December 9 at the grand reopening of the 7,000-seat Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu. Special guest, Megan Danielle, the runner-up from season 21 will open for the singer! Megan teases in an Instagram post that they two will have their own sets, but MAY perform together.
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Iam will continue with two more shows on December 12 and 13 at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to assist those affected by the devastating wildfires in Maui.
