Current:Home > NewsIam Tongi Wins American Idol Season 21 -Prime Money Path
Iam Tongi Wins American Idol Season 21
View
Date:2025-04-12 17:37:11
Dim the lights, we have a new American Idol winner.
Following a three-hour season finale on May 21, host Ryan Seacrest announced Iam Tongi as the champion of the competition series, beating out Megan Danielle, as well as Colin Stough, who was eliminated earlier in the night.
(Megan, Colin and Iam were previously announced as the final three contestants during May 14's "Disney Night" episode.)
Prior to crowning the new winner, Megan, Colin and Iam all took the stage one last time to perform.
The season finale also included star-studded performances from judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie, along with former American Idol stars Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard.
Ellie Goulding, James Blunt, Jazmine Sullivan, Jelly Roll, Kevin Cronin from REO Speedwagon, Kylie Minogue, Lainey Wilson, Lauren Daigle, Pitbull and TLC also took the stage during the finale, along with former Idol judge Keith Urban, who also mentored the three finalists.
In late April, Lionel couldn't help but gush over the talented artists he met this season.
"The top 12 are ridiculous, the top 20 was ridiculous," he told E! News. "Every one of them can be a number one artists, without a doubt."
Why? For the Grammy winner, it's all about style. "Everyone has a different twist on their talent," he said. "So at this point, I'm so happy we're not voting as the judges." (Like in past seasons, the public took over voting halfway through the competition.)
"Their voices, their attitude...look how much they've grown," he said of this season's contestants. "From those little shy kids you saw at the auditions to now...oh!"
The May 21 finale came just days after it was announced that Idol had been renewed for another season, which will be its seventh on ABC and 22 season overall. (The series previously aired on Fox before moving to ABC in 2017.)
Get the drama behind the scenes. Sign up for TV Scoop!veryGood! (447)
Related
- Charges tied to China weigh on GM in Q4, but profit and revenue top expectations
- Californians bet farming agave for spirits holds key to weathering drought and groundwater limits
- Offshore wind projects face economic storm. Cancellations jeopardize Biden clean energy goals
- Singapore’s prime minister plans to step down and hand over to his deputy before the 2025 election
- Bodycam footage shows high
- Anthropologie Is Offering an Extra 40% Off Their Sale Section Right Now and We Can’t Get Enough Of It
- WWE Crown Jewel results: Matches, highlights from Saudi Arabia; Kairi Sane returns
- Highly pathogenic avian flu detected at Alabama chicken farm, nearly 48K birds killed
- Meta donates $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund
- When Libs of TikTok tweets, threats increasingly follow
Ranking
- Macy's says employee who allegedly hid $150 million in expenses had no major 'impact'
- WWE Crown Jewel results: Matches, highlights from Saudi Arabia; Kairi Sane returns
- Israeli rescuers release aftermath video of Hamas attack on music festival, adding chilling details
- Kourtney Kardashian Gives Birth, Welcomes First Baby With Travis Barker
- A Mississippi company is sentenced for mislabeling cheap seafood as premium local fish
- Maine considers electrifying proposal that would give the boot to corporate electric utilities
- Skeleton marching bands and dancers in butterfly skirts join in Mexico City’s Day of the Dead parade
- A glance at some of Nepal’s deadliest earthquakes
Recommendation
'Squid Game' without subtitles? Duolingo, Netflix encourage fans to learn Korean
Big Ten commissioner has nothing but bad options as pressure to punish Michigan mounts
Tola sets NYC Marathon course record to win men’s race; Hellen Obiri of Kenya takes women’s title
Real Housewives of Orange County’s Shannon Beador Breaks Silence on DUI Arrest Sentencing
Rolling Loud 2024: Lineup, how to stream the world's largest hip hop music festival
Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom's Daughter Daisy Dove Is in Full Bloom at Her First Public Appearance
A Ukrainian missile strike on a shipyard in Crimea damages a Russian ship
Anthropologie Is Offering an Extra 40% Off Their Sale Section Right Now and We Can’t Get Enough Of It