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After winning “American Idol,” Iam Tongi has been through quite a whirlwind. His latest endeavor sees him getting to hang out with an A-list actor, Jason Momoa.
The two met up during Momoa’s wrap party for his newest show “Chief of War,” according to The U.S. Sun. Momoa stars in the series along with Luciane Buchanan, who recently starred in Netflix’s The Night Agent. Temuera Morrison of Star Wars fame will also be in the miniseries.
Tongi didn’t share any photos on Instagram from the event but was seen with Momoa and other cast members in some pictures posted by the Aquaman star. The one picture sees the “Idol” winner wearing a black t-shirt that reads, “Live Aloha.”
Both Tongi and Momoa are from Hawaii with the former hailing from Kahuku and the latter from Honolulu.
Iam Tongi is Getting Cozy With Hawaaian Celebs
Momoa isn’t the first native of Hawaii with a celebrity status that Tongi has taken up a friendship with. Tongi has already become close with one of the nation’s biggest music stars, Jack Johnson. The alternative musician even appeared in an “American Idol” segment that showed Tongi returning to his hometown where the two performed together.
Tongi recently shared that he has been leaning on Johnson after winning the show for advice. He told local news station KITV4 on July 4 that the “Banana Pancakes” singer has been “helping me.”
“He’s such a cool guy,” Tongi said. “Man, I love that guy. Jack has been helping me out a lot.” He added that it’s about surrounding yourself with good people in the music industry and he feels that he’s doing so with his budding connection with Johnson.
On a lesser level, Tongi, who quickly became the betting favorite on “American Idol” after his record-breaking audition, recently popped with another fellow Hawaaian who is competing on the Food Network’s “The Great Food Truck Race.” James Martin is the man behind the “Da Bald Guy” food truck that competes on the show and is currently in the running for the grand prize as of July 10. Martin is also from Kahuku and shared a video on Instagram of him making food for Tongi.
“When [Iam Tongi] puts in a special request for your food before he leaves, how can you say no,” Martin wrote on the truck’s Instagram page. “From one red raider to another, Mahalo for allowing me the opportunity to feed your crew, friends, and ‘ohana. Until next time!”
Martin also added another video of the two in which he wrote in the caption that he “was the ultimate fan girl” when seeing Tongi.
Iam Tongi Recently Had a Fellow Idol Visit Him
While on “American Idol” there was no hiding the friendship that was forming between Tongi and Oliver Steele. The latter recently visited Tongi in Hawaii where the two even performed together. On July 2, Steele shared an Instagram post thanking Tongi for letting him take the stage with him as well as the ukulele that he was gifted.
The artist behind the ukuleles that were given to Tongi and Steele, Hamiora Art, posted a photo on Instagram of the two with an explanation for the significance of the gifts.
“These ukuleles represent brotherhood,” the account wrote. “Each ukulele holds a special meaning to both Iam and Oliver.”