American Idol

02 Jun 2023

Iam Tongi Earns His First Billboard No. 1 After ‘American Idol’ Coronation

Newly crowned American Idol winner Iam Tongi sends a pair of songs onto Billboard’s Rock Digital Song Sales chart (dated June 3), paced by his original track “I’ll Be Seeing You,” which soars in at No. 1.

The song bows with 11,000 downloads sold May 19-25, according to Luminate.

It’s followed by his cover of ABBA’s “The Winner Takes It All,” which debuts at No. 19 with 2,000 sold. The song jumps 559% in sales; he initially made it available for download in March and performed it during the ABC competition’s top 20 episode in April.

“I’ll Be Seeing You” also debuts at No. 2 on the all-format Digital Song Sales survey.

In all, Tongi’s catalog so far moved 17,000 downloads May 19-25, a 1,899% boost from 1,000 sold May 12-18. His songs “Trust Me,” “Gone,” “Dreams” and “Efiafi,” the latter featuring Manatau Tuifua, all also accumulated 1,000 paid downloads apiece in that span.

“I’ll Be Seeing You” additionally opens on a pair of multimetric Billboard charts, at Nos. 19 and 23 on Hot Rock Songs and Hot Rock & Alternative Songs, respectively. In addition to its sales, the song earned 911,000 official U.S. streams.

Tongi, 18, won the latest season of American Idol May 21, becoming the first Pacific Islander champion in the show’s history, dating its launch on Fox in 2002. He auditioned with a cover of James Blunt’s 2019 song “Monsters” and performed it with Blunt on the finale; sparked by their duet, Blunt’s “Monsters” bounds back onto Digital Song Sales at No. 3 with 10,000 sold, up 925%. It debuted at No. 3 with 9,000 sold in March, then fueled by Tongi’s audition.

25 May 2023

‘American Idol’ Winners: Which Singer Won Each Season?

See the complete list of American Idol winners.

Kelly Clarkson

Kelly Clarkson sings after winning the American Idol at the Kodak Theatre on Sept. 4, 2002 in Hollywood, California.

Kevin Winter/ImageDirect

American Idol just wrapped its 21st season, after months of looking for the latest aspiring singer to join its long history of superstars that have gained successful careers from the competition since it launched in 2002.

Throughout the show’s 21-year history, viewers have seen singers from all genres and of all ages take the crown–and also a mix of celebrity judges helping the contestants through the competition, starting with OGs Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul leading all the way up to the current panel of Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan.

On May 21, Hawaiian high schooler Iam Tongi rose above the competition, beating finalists Megan Danielle and Colin Stough for the Season 21 crown. During the finale, he performed Keith Urban’s “Making Memories of Us,” “Cool Down,” got the tears flowing with a tribute to his own, late father, “I’ll Be Seeing You,” and teamed-up with James Blunt for a rendition of “Monsters.”

See below for a complete list of American Idol winners.

22 May 2023

Katy Perry Wants Lizzo to Be an ‘American Idol’ Judge

Time for some more girl power on the American Idol judges panel.

Katy Perry took part in Buzzfeed Celeb‘s popular Puppy Interview segment, where she answered a bunch of questions all while playing with the cutest puppies you’ve ever seen.

In response to what the most challenging part of being an American Idol judge is, the “Roar” singer said, “Probably being a woman and having a strong opinion,” before winking at the camera.

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She continued, “I also think that what’s really challenging is only one person wins this contest. I would say that the top 20 are all superstars and I would never want to sing after them because they can sing better than all of us.”

However, Perry had a great idea to fix that “being a woman” challenge she mentioned earlier — having Lizzo join the judges panel. “I’d like Lizzo to come and join American Idol. This is an invitation from me, Katy Perry,” she said. “Lizzo, I’m asking you to join the panel. I’m feeling a little outnumbered on the testosterone. I could really use some bold, honest, hot takes.”

The “California Girls” singer has been a judge on American Idol alongside Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie since season 16, which aired back in 2018.

Watch her full puppy interview below.

22 May 2023

Jelly Roll & Lainey Wilson Bring Dramatic ‘Save Me’ Collab to ‘American Idol’ Finale

Lainey Wilson and Jelly Roll reprised their recent performance of the latter’s “Save Me” at the 2023 Academy of Country Music Awards, bringing their soulful duet to the stage of the season 21 American Idol finale on Sunday (May 21). Jelly Roll began the song solo, standing center stage under dim lights, before being joined shortly by Wilson. The gospel-tinged collab made the most of each artist’s sturdy vocals and engaging stage presence.

After Wilson exited the stage, Jelly Roll transitioned into a performance of his new single “Need a Favor,” welcoming recently eliminated Idol contestant Oliver Steele to join him.

Steele and Jelly Roll share a hometown. The country star grew up in the Nashville suburb of Antioch, while the hopeful was raised in Mt. Juliet, Tenn., less than 25 miles away.

After the performance, Steele posted a photo of himself with Jelly Roll on Instagram, captioning the pic, “That has to be one of the funnest, most bad@ss feeling performances I’ve ever done!!! @jellyroll615 thank you so much for being so welcoming and offering so much wisdom, guidance, and brotherly love. Looking forward to hanging with you some more back home in the 615!! Let’s make some music, brother!!!”

“Need a Favor” is currently at No. 19 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart and follows Jelly Roll’s first Country Airplay chart-topper, “Son of a Sinner,” which crested on the tally in January. In February, the country singer broke the record for the most weeks spent atop the Emerging Artists chart, staying atop the chart for 28 weeks.

See Jelly Roll’s full American Idol performance with Wilson and Steele above, and the Idol hopeful’s Instagram post below..

22 May 2023

‘American Idol’ Crowns Its 2023 Winner

American Idol has a new champion.

Following months of auditions, solo highs, the goodbyes, duets, trips to California and Hawaii, all of it came to a head on Sunday night (May 21) as America chose its Idol.

For those who’ve been a passenger for this latest, 21st edition, the winner had announced himself months ago. The grand finale was confirmation of what many already knew.

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During the special on ABC, the three finalists – Iam Tongi, Megan Danielle, and Colin Stough – had their last chance to impress the viewers by way of solo performances and duets with the stars.

And, with millions watching on at home, the stars did come out. Keith Urban, Kylie Minogue, Ellie Goulding, Lionel Richie, TLC, REO Speedwagon, Pitbull & Lil Jon, and others filled the screens.

America chose Tongi and Danielle as the final two contestants.

There could be only one, and that was Tongi.

The Hawaii highschooler with the beautiful voice and the tragic story had captured the hearts of Idol obsessives in recent months. With each performance, Tongi’s legend grew.

On the final, he performed Keith Urban’s “Making Memories of Us,” “Cool Down,” got the tears flowing with a tribute to his own, late father, “I’ll Be Seeing You,” and teamed-up with James Blunt for a rendition of “Monsters.”

Tongi can now kick start his career with a recording contract, part of the spoils that come with winning the annual competition.

Get the winning feeling below.

19 May 2023

Keith Urban Talks Returning to ‘American Idol’ as a Mentor: ‘You Have to Believe in Yourself & The Journey You Are On’

As three talented American Idol finalists — Georgia native Megan Danielle, Mississippi native Colin Stough and Hawaii’s Iam Tongi — gear up for the three-hour season 21 finale Sunday on ABC, they will be mentored by one of country music’s leading artists: two-time CMA entertainer of the year Keith Urban.

Nearly seven years after serving as an American Idol judge from 2012-16 (seasons 12-15 on Fox, before the show moved to ABC), Urban will return to the Idol franchise as a guest mentor and will also perform his 2022 top five Country Airplay hit “Wild Hearts.”

“I had a great time as a judge and being on the show. Every season was a blast for me, so to come back and get to mentor and perform as well feels fantastic,” Urban tells Billboard.

Urban spoke with Billboard about the keys to mentoring rising artists, some unique upcoming collaborations he’s been working on, and when fans might expect a new album.

What stands out to you about each of the contestants?

I was telling [Idol host] Ryan Seacrest the other day that I think these top three are such great choices because they’re so individual and that’s what you hope for: that there’s strong individual artistry. For me to get to work with them one-on-one is going to be fun for me.

I think song choice has been key. Certainly, Iam has been making great song choices along the way. I am looking forward to working with him, particularly. I think what I am gonna try and do is find things that really play to their strengths. It’s such an interesting balancing act, with songs that you love but maybe they don’t play to your strengths, so trying to find something that’s going to really have them shine will be key for me.

During the finale, each of the three finalists will be performing one of your songs. How does that impact how you will approach mentoring them on these performances?

I love somebody doing their own interpretation of a song. I would be making sure that they don’t do a straight cover unless [that] version brings out the best in them. You just don’t want to be a cover singer. You want to show that you’re an artist with your own artistry. I’m gonna be interested to see what songs they choose. I think they’ve each chosen two or three songs of mine and we’ll narrow that down to the one that they’ll do.

Are there moments from early in your career that you look back on as you are mentoring artists?

I think a big part of growing as an artist is knowing what advice to take but also knowing what advice to completely discard, no matter who is saying it to you. Your path and creative expression may be something so incredibly unique that it just breaks every rule. So I’m a big believer in looking for the strength of an artist — the passion, hunger, curiosity and dedication to it. And at the end of the day, you have to believe in yourself and the journey that you are on. It’s the only thing that will navigate you through all of the shine blockers and the naysayers out there.

You have been in the studio quite a bit lately. Can you give an update?

I was in there a chunk of last year, recording tons of songs, and then I sort of narrowed it down to just a handful, which meant I had to get back to the drawing board and build a whole bunch of new ones — that’s what this year has been more about. I thought I would put an album out at the beginning of the year, but I wrote a few songs and they pointed toward a different balance of an album. I kept writing and recording and I think I’m probably doing the other half of the album. … I’ve got crazy ideas for certain things, and finding people to help me with that in the studio has been a lot of fun. And most of it’s been done here in Nashville and it’s just been great.

Is there anyone new that you’ve been collaborating with that you are excited about?

I’ve got one person that’s committed to singing on a track with me, an artist that I love here in town. I’m so looking forward to getting into the studio with her. And I’ve got another song with a wild idea to feature somebody who’s not a singer, so we’ll see what happens. They are an actor; it’s not my wife. It’s just a long-shot idea I’ve got, but if it happens, it will be crazy fun.

Could we see a new album release later this year?

I so wish it could be out this year, but I think more likely it’s gonna be early next year, but I’ll definitely have at least another new single out in the next few months and hopefully another song or two before the end of the year.

15 May 2023

Katy Perry Shows Off Her ‘Incredible’ Look for ‘American Idol’ Disney Night

Katy Perry was more than prepared for American Idol‘s Disney Night on Sunday — and her costume was also a perfect fit for the Mother’s Day episode.

“My secret identity is…. Mom. Katy Perry. Popstar. #Idol judge. But tonight I’m ELASTIGIRL,” she shared via Twitter, along with several photos in which she’s dressed as Helen Parr from Disney’s The Incredibles. The reveal came after the Idol judge took a look back at her elaborate costumes for the show’s previous Disney Nights, including Snow White, Tinkerbell and the Little Mermaid.

Elsewhere during Disney Night — when the singing competition whittled contestants down from the top five to the top three — the new live-action Little Mermaid star Halle Bailey delivered a stunning performance of “Part of Your World” live from Disneyland, stationed in front of Cinderella’s castle.

After her moving version of the track, Bailey tweeted to share that she hadn’t sang the song in a while. “First time singing part of your world live since filming,” she told followers. “thank you @AmericanIdol for giving me the chance to do so on stage at Disneyland ..singing vocals in freezing cold weather at 3am while park is closed is no joke but we did it! only 11 more days until you all can watch the film !”

Iam Tongi, Megan Danielle and Colin Stough were crowned the show’s final three contestants on Sunday’s episode. The season 21 finale is this coming Sunday, May 21, when Idol judge Keith Urban will return to perform his 2022 hit “Wild Hearts” and mentor the top three.

See Perry’s Disney Night costume below.

15 May 2023

Halle Bailey Lights Up ‘American Idol’s Disney Night by Singing ‘Part of Your World’: Watch

The countdown to Disney’s The Little Mermaid continues, and to celebrate, American Idol‘s Disney Night saw its top five contestants battle it out for the remaining three spots in the competition. As part of the night’s events, Halle Bailey performed the film’s beloved song “Part of Your World” live from Disneyland on Sunday (May 14).

Bailey took the stage in a stunning sea-blue ruffled custom gown by Michael Fausto and gave a passionate take on the track in front of an audience in the darkened amusement park.

“Flippin’ your fins, you don’t get too far/ Legs are required for jumping, dancing/ Strolling along down a—/ What’s that word again? Street/ Up where they walk, up where they run/ Up where they stay all day in the sun/ Wanderin’ free/ Wish I could be part of that world,” she sang as water and bubble projections lit up Sleeping Beauty’s castle in the park.

Following the performance, Bailey tweeted to share that she hadn’t sang the track in a while. “First time singing part of your world live since filming,” she told followers. “thank you @AmericanIdol for giving me the chance to do so on stage at Disneyland ..singing vocals in freezing cold weather at 3am while park is closed is no joke but we did it! only 11 more days until you all can watch the film !”

In the American Idol episode, Iam Tongi, Megan Danielle and Colin Stough were crowned the show’s final three contestants.

Watch Bailey’s performance of “Part of Your World” in the video above.

15 May 2023

‘American Idol’ Season 21 Finale to Feature Keith Urban, Jelly Roll, Pitbull, Kylie Minogue & More

After Sunday night’s (May 14) semi-final that cut the roster of American Idol hopefuls to just three — Colin Stough, Megan Danielle and Iam Tongi — season 21 of the series is gearing up for a major finale. Next Sunday’s (May 21) three-hour finale will air live coast-to-coast on ABC beginning at 8 p.m. ET and feature the return of former panelist Keith Urban, who will be back on Idol to mentor the top three (and perform), as well as performances from judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan.

In addition to this year’s top 12 returning to the stage one last time, producers announced the typical cornucopia of guest performers on tap for the finale, including season two winner/runner-up Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken, as well as Ellie Goulding, Jelly Roll, Pitbull, TLC, James Blunt, Jazmine Sullivan, REO Speedwagon’s Kevin Cronin, Kylie Minogue, Lainey Wilson and Lauren Daigle.

Sunday’s “Disney Night” presented the end of the dream for eliminated contestants We Ani and Zachariah Smith on a night when Hawaiian high-schooler and season-long top contender Tongi did it again with a flawless performance of “Lava” from the Pixar short, as well as a touching run through Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam’s “Father and Son.”

Danielle also impressed with her take on the Maleficent: Mistress of Evil track “You Can’t Stop the Girl” and “Carried Me With You” from Onward, while country singer Stough rocked “Real Gone” from Cars and “Nobody Knows” from Pete’s Dragon. Sara Bareilles also dropped by to sing “When You Wish Upon a Star” with the top five and The Little Mermaid star Halle Bailey performed the movie’s “Part of Your World.”

15 May 2023

‘American Idol’ Finds Its Final Three

Season 21 of American Idol is in its final straight, as three contestants lived out their childhood fantasy on Sunday’s (May 14) Disney night.

On the evening, five became three as America cast its votes. Going through to next week’s final is Iam Tongi, Megan Danielle and Colin Stough, while We Ani and Zachariah Smith were eliminated, left to dream on.

Once again, Hawaii high-schooler Tongi impressed with his sweet and technically-terrific performances of “Lava,” from the Pixar short, and followed up with a touching version of “Father and Son” by Cat Stevens/Yusuf Islam, a number that Tongi seemed born to sing.

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Twenty-one-year-old Danielle made her mark with a rendition of “You Can’t Stop The Girl,” injecting a touch of country (and gusto) into the number from Maleficent: Mistress of Evil.

For her second song, she carried the country into a performance of “Carried Me With You” from Onward.

Country boy Stough hit a rockin’ version of “Real Gone” from Cars, and a laid-back “Nobody Knows” from Pete’s Dragon.

Earlier, the stars came out to play as Sara Bareilles teamed up with the top 5 to perform “When You Wish Upon A Star,” and Halle Bailey, star of The Little Mermaid, performed “Part of Your World” from the family favorite.

The 2023 American Idol finale airs next Sunday, May 21, 2023 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.