Iam Tongi 'American Idol' Season 21 Winner Journey: Ranking His 5 Best Performances

"American Idol" recently crowned its newest winner - 18-year-old Iam Tongi who has been a huge front-runner ever since the auditions. With his huge stature and big heart, Tongi has stolen the hearts of the judges and the people, which is why, performance after performance, he solidifies his spot into becoming the next American Idol.

Going against big voices like Megan Danielle, Colin Stough, and We Ani, among many others, Iam Tongi has showcased his vocal power throughout his "American Idol" journey. Looking back, we are ranking his five best performances throughout the season.

Ranking American Idol Season 21 Winner Iam Tongi's 5 Best Performances

"Save Your Tears" - Hollywood Week

Despite his guitar breaking moments before the performance on Hollywood Week, Iam Tongi gave a soulful duet with Oliver Steele. Singing The Weeknd's "Save Your Tears," it was clearly a breath of fresh air to see Tongi sing a newer song. His riffs and breaks from the original song are definitely one you would want to hear. This performance earned Tongi and Steele a spot on the live shows.

"The Winner Takes It All" - Top 20

In vying for the spot at the Top 12, Tongi ominously sang what could be his future in ABBA's "The Winner Takes It All," despite being a shorter cover - it sent chills all over everyone's body. This performance definitely put a target on Tongi's back that he should be one to watch.

"Cool Down" - Grand Finale Solo

For his grand finale performance, Iam Tongi celebrated his roots as he performed Kolohe Kai's "Cool Down,' which definitely fits his voice and personality. The very laid-back performance was a break from his emotional performance, which has shown a different side of Tongi's personality. The performance had the three judges bolting up their feet and grooving to the reggae hit.

"Monsters" - Audition

Iam Tongi's very vulnerable and emotional audition piece of "Monsters" is what put him on the map. His now-viral audition video has already been viewed more than 16 million times and is perhaps one of the most famous audition pieces of all time. It also gave everyone a peek at his story which sent the judges tearing up.

"Monsters" - Grand Finale Duet

It is a full circle moment hearing Tongi perform his audition pieces at the finale, especially with the man who originally sang them. The duet of "Monster" with James Blunt was very emotional to watch. With the song holding so much meaning for Tongi because of the loss of his father, it was definitely one of those performances you would want to watch over and over again.

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American Idol