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Moments after Iam Tongi won season 21 of “American Idol,” the 18-year-old told reporters he couldn’t wait to hit the road and play live concerts.
“I’m looking forward to performing live with my friends, and doing live gigs and stuff,” he told “Extra” after the season finale. “Because I love performing live. It’s like a passion of mine.”
Now, nearly a month later — and days after his graduation from high school — the Hawaii native is about to embark on a just-announced tour that includes his first shows as a headliner and appearances at major music festivals in the U.S. and overseas. He’s also teased new music he’s been working on with hit-making songwriters in Nashville. Here’s what you need to know:
Iam Tongi Reveals 10 Concert Dates With More to Come
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ABC“American Idol” Season 21 winner Iam Tongi
On June 19, 2023, Tongi thrilled fans by sharing 10 upcoming concert dates with an “Iam Tongi Live in Concert” graphic on Facebook.
He wrote, “I’ll be seeing you out on the road! Tickets for these shows are available at the link in my bio and more shows will be announced soon 
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The tour kicks off this week with a main stage appearance on June 23 at the Beach It! country music festival in Virginia Beach, Virginia. “Idol” judge Luke Bryan is among the festival’s headliners and season 19 winner Chayce Beckham, who’s on tour with Bryan, will also appear.
“That’s just gonna be crazy because my favorite music is country music,” Tongi told Hawaii News Now on June 15. “And we all know that island music is just country music made reggae!”
On July 1, he’ll be back in Oahu, Hawaii, for the Ohana Day music festival at Turtle Bay Resort — the location of his hometown visit on “Idol” where a whopping 14,000 fans showed up to see him. Tongi will headline that day’s concerts, which will also feature Spawnbreezie, one of his favorite island bands. Tongi sang their song “Don’t Let Go” during his Showstopper Round performance on “Idol” and again at his high school graduation last week.
On July 15, Tongi’s just been added to the lineup for the Reggae on the Way festival in Tahoma, Washington, which is less than 20 minutes from where he’s lived with his family for several years, ever since famously getting “priced out of paradise,” as he told the “Idol” judges during his audition.
According to the graphic he shared, Tongi will then head to California for multiple headlining gigs in smaller venues — most of which haven’t yet officially added him to their schedules, including Ventura Music Hall in Ventura, The Catalyst in Santa Cruz, and two shows at the legendary Troubadour in Los Angeles — a club that has hosted many “Idol” alumni, including David Archuleta, Daniel Seavey, and season 20’s Leah Marlene.
Two other significant gigs scheduled for Tongi in California are a free concert he’ll headline on July 27 at the California Mid State Fair in Paso Robles and a set at the Holo Holo Festival in Sacramento on September 9.
On October 7, Tongi will perform his first concert outside the U.S. at the Eden Festival in Auckland, New Zealand. Even though Tongi won “American Idol,” according to local site Newshub, he has also been “embraced by the Tongan and Samoan communities of New Zealand.”
Earlier this month, on June 7, Tongi was a huge draw at the “19 Takeover” concert in Nashville featuring eight “American Idol” winners and finalists.
Iam Tongi Working With Major Songwriters & Producers on New Music
In addition to preparing for his upcoming shows, Tongi has been busy working with well-known songwriters and producers on new music. On June 2, he posted an Instagram photo of him and Olivier Bassil, tagging the multi-platinum producer and Bassil’s longtime collaborator Clever. Both songwriters are known for their chart-topping hits with rap artists including Post Malone, NBA YoungBoy, Kevin Gates, and Ace Hood among others.
“Back in the studio with some new music, Yessah @olivierbassil and @whoisclever 🔥🤙🏾” Tongi wrote.
Bassil commented, “Can’t wait for the world to hear this 🙌”
On June 16, musician Blessing Offor posted an Instagram photo of himself in a recording space with Tongi and wrote, “I’m such a huge fan of Iam, both the person, and The Voice, or should I say the American Idol 😂 bro the song is straight fire! I can’t wait to see where your career takes you!”
Then, on June 18, Tongi shared a photo in his Instagram Stories of himself at a microphone with headphones on, holding a lyric sheet for a song called “Why Kiki?”
Over the photo, Tongi wrote, “New tunes heading your way” and tagged songwriter and producer Paul Sikes — who’s written songs for artists including Lainey Wilson, Matt Stell, Jimmie Allen, and Billy Ray Cyrus — and singer-songwriter Jake Rose, who’s penned tunes for Florida Georgia Line, Blake Shelton, Keith Urban among others.
Sikes shared Tongi’s Story and wrote, “@wtongi fresh off that American Idol win. Excited to work on this special song with @jakerosemusic”
Tongi’s first single, “I’ll Be Seeing You,” which was released days before the “Idol” finale, shot straight to Number One on the Billboard’s Rock Digital Song Sales chart. His new record label 19 Recordings — an arm of BBR Music — hasn’t announced yet when his new music will be officially released.
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