18-year-old American Idol winner Iam Tongi reveals what he thinks about his ‘rigging’ scandal

American Idol just crowned the winner of season 21. Iam Tongi is an 18-year-old singer who has gained fans from all over the country because of his beautiful voice. But apparently, not everyone is convinced his win was based on merit…

There has been a lot of talk of his win being due to ‘rigging,’ and now the singer has finally spoken up about what he thinks of these accusations… Keep reading to learn more.

American Idol season 21 winner Iam Tongi just revealed his true feelings about what some people are saying about his win. He has also addressed the controversy surrounding Judge Katy Perry. 

Iam Tongi’s win on American Idol divided a lot of people. A lot of people are of the opinion that runner-up Colin Stough was deserving of the title. People claimed that the singer had been chosen because of his ‘sob story’ rather than based on his talent.

As for what Iam Tongi thought of these claims, he said he did not mind them in fact, he loved them!

‘A lot of people are like, “Colin Stough was robbed,” or whatever. And I just love it,’ the 18-year-old said. The teenager explained that before passing away in 2021, his dad Rodney Tongi prepared him for the possibility of backlash and those who did not like him.

‘My dad always told me that your music’s not meant for everyone. There’s going to be people that are not going to like it and that’s OK, that’s normal,’ he added.

‘Everyone gets their own opinion. Everyone gets to think what they think. So, it’s fine.’ As for how he deals with the hate, he said he simply has a policy of killing them with kindness, in fact, he sometimes even ‘likes’ some of the posts he sees on social media.

‘I just like [them], whatever what they say, ’cause you know, [I gotta] let those things happen,’ he said with good humor.

‘I am guilty for liking it. But look, [my] music’s not for everyone. And I have to learn that the hard way,’ the young man said.

Iam is of Tongan and Samoan heritage and made history as the first winner of American Idol who hails from Hawaii.

He also clarified that he himself did not have any hard feelings towards runner-up Colin Stough. ‘I love Colin man, he’s such a kind guy. I’m going to see him again, we are going to jam out again and have fun,’ he said about Colin. 

“But yeah … it makes me happy to see that people love other styles of music as much as I do,” he added.

“They love Colin that much [that they say], “He should have won.” And that makes me happy, to be honest,” the young winner said.

“I love [my] community coming out and supporting me and showing up [for me], and I’m not going to really chase after fans. I’m going to be myself and do what I love and just have fun while I’m doing it and see whatever happens, happens,” he explained. 

He even touched upon the controversy currently surrounding American Idol judge Katy Perry. It is being speculated that Perry might leave the show because of the negative backlash she has faced as a result of some comments she made during the last season.

Iam said if Katy left the show it would be sad. He said, “[All the judges] are so fun and we had a lot of fun with them while I was on Idol. The support [Katy] gives, and the love [she] gives to the contestants would be missed. I would miss Katy [if she left].”

As for himself, he says the fact that he won the show has still not sunk in for him. The 18-year-old is currently recording his first album, which he says will have a ‘Jack Johnson kind of vibe.’ All in all, the singer seems to be enjoying his time as the winner of the show.