“American Idol” has crowned its newest winner in Hawaii native Iam Tongi, whose victory as the first AAPI winner of the ABC competition still has not fully hit him.
“It’s unreal,” Tongi told TheWrap just two days after Ryan Seacrest announced his name on the big stage. “It’s weird to be here [as] the winner, because … it was going so slow during the competition, but out of nowhere it was finished and I was like ‘that went by so fast.’”
While several AAPI contestants have climbed their way to the top three finalists, including fan-favorite Jasmine Trias of the show’s third installment, Tongi noted that this milestone achievement happening during national AAPI month in May gives the win an even bigger significance, saying “it feels really good to be representing why Polynesian people during this month.”