2 ‘American Idol’ Winners to Share Festival With Luke Bryan

Luke Bryan

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The “American Idol” pipeline continues to support one another as a pair of recent winners, including season 21’s Iam Tongi, will be appearing at the Beach It! Festival in Virginia Beach alongside Luke Bryan. Chayce Beckham, who won season 19, will also be on the ticket.

The three-day event will run from June 23-June 25 and take place right on the Virginia Beach oceanfront. The main stage will be located on the beach at 8th Street, which is where Tongi will perform at 2:40 p.m. on June 23 and Bryan on June 25 as the headliner at 9:25 p.m. The Next From Nashville stage on 7th Street will feature Beckham at 2:50 p.m. on June 25, as well. 

This will be the first year of the Beach It! Festival. Miranda Lambert and Thomas Rhett will also headline on June 23 and June 24, respectively.


Luke Bryan & Chayce Beckham Are on Tour Together


The Beach It! Festival will just be another stop this summer for the “American Idol” judge and Beckham. The season 19 winner is a part of Bryan’s 36-city tour that will begin on June 15 in Syracuse, New York. 

Beckham will be present at all of the “Country On Tour” stops. He will join Tyler Braden, Ashley Cooke, Jackson Dean, Jon Langston, Conner Smith, Alana Springsteen, Hailey Whitters and DJ Rock. 

During season 21, Beckham showed up on May 1 to perform “Till The Day I Die.” Afterwards, Bryan came up onstage to give him a surprise. He awarded Beckham his first-ever US Gold platinum certified plaque for his song, “23.” After the episode aired, Beckham shared a post on Instagram sending his gratitude to Bryan and his two fellow judges, Lionel Richie and Katy Perry.

“A huge thanks to @lukebryan@lionelrichie @katyperry and @ryanseacrest for being there for the major milestones in my career, for continuing to coach me and encourage me to be the artist I am,” he wrote in the Instagram post. “I love you guys so much, and your words of encouragement have helped me more than you know.”


Iam Tongi Hit the Ground Running After ‘American Idol’ Win

The Beach It! Festival will be the first major public appearance at a music event since his “American Idol” win on May 21. Tongi was voted the winner by America over runner-up Megan Danielle and third place finisher Colin Stough. Some fans have alleged that the voting was rigged to favor Tongi, which he has brushed off. 

When Tongi auditioned for “American Idol” on February 19 with “Monsters” by James Blunt, he earned a “yes” from all three judges, including an emotional Bryan. The “One Margarita” singer connected with Tongi’s story. 

“I cannot handle your heartbreaking story about your Dad because my nephew lost his dad and he came to live with me and to see you missing your dad just sucks,” Bryan said after the audition. ”And gosh man, you got a great voice, you got a great voice. You just did everything perfect and I love ya, and I just want to see you have fun in this whole thing man. It’s just awesome.”

Tongi’s audition video is currently the most viewed video ever on the show’s YouTube page, with more than 17 million views.