Heavy/ABC Iam Tongi with Millions of Views on YouTube.
Now that “American Idol” has reached the point in the competition where the power to determine who stays and who goes lies in the hands of fans, there’s power in numbers. Heading into the Top 20 episode, airing April 23, it’s hard to not see what is happening with William “Iam” Tongi and the attention he’s getting with each performance.
The Hawaii native, whose backstory includes his father’s death in December 2021, is racking up views on YouTube in the millions with the release of each performance “American Idol.” The difference in the number of eyes he gets on each of his performances is staggering compared with the number of views his fellow contestants are getting.
Iam Tongi’s Audition Video Alone Has 13 Million Views
ABCIam Tongi performs in the Top 26 at Disney’s Aulani Resort.
When Iam first graced the screens of “American Idol” with his audition in New Orleans. That was where he gave his take on James Blunt’s “Monsters” in an emotional rendition that easily earned all three of the judges’ approval. That video, from February 19, went viral shortly after it was uploaded to the show’s YouTube channel, where it sits at 13 million views two months after airing.
It was a sign of things to come for the 18-year-old singer, who has continued to pull in impressive numbers every time he takes the stage. He amassed another 2.3 million views with the April 3 release of “I Can’t Make You Love Me” by Bonnie Raitt, performed in Round 1 of the show’s Hollywood Week. His second performance that week was a duet with a fellow Top 26 contestant, Oliver Steele. The two took on The Weeknd’s “Save Your Tears,” which has collected 2.4 million views.
Needing to deliver another big effort to secure a ticket to Disney’s Aulani Resort, Tongi used the Showstopper Round on April 9 to take on a classic by Simon & Garfunkel with “The Sound of Silence.” His unique take on the song wound up picking up 3.8 million views. His performance on the April 16 episode, Spawnbreezie’s “Don’t Let Go” is already over 1 million within a week of being released.
No Other ‘American Idol’ Contestant Has Numbers Like Iam Tongi
With Season 21’s results being handed from the judges to the fans, Iam has a major advantage with the number of viewers watching performances on YouTube. He also has more Instagram followers, by a wide margin, over his competitors.
By comparison, other leaders among the the show’s Top 26 contestants include Wé Ani (413,000 views), Nutsa Buzaladze (410,000 views) and Tyson Venegas (339,000 views). Many Top 26 contestants’ videos have been watched in the 100,000 to 250,000 range. With Tongi receiving more than four times the number of his closest competitors, he’s already proving to be a favorite to take the whole thing on Season 21. Viewer popularity don’t necessarily translate to wins, but his YouTube views and social media popularity can be a good indicator of things to come for the promising talent.
Tongi’s fate will be decided with the next set of “American Idol” episodes on April 23 and 24. The results of the first round of fan voting will be revealed as the Top 26 drops to the Top 20 and eventually down to the Top 12 in the coming weeks.