Iam Tongi is channeling his Hawaiin roots into his music with the new song, “Why Kiki.” “This next song is another original song, it’s gonna come out pretty soon, hopefully,” Tongi told the crowd at the Ventura Music Hall in July 2023 as he launched into the reggae-influenced track that finds Tongi as a heartbroken man, wondering why the woman he loved did him wrong.
Videos by American Songwriter
The lyrics describe a woman with jet-black hair and a tidal wave touch that he can’t seem to escape the memory of. Why Kiki/Why you wanna do me like that Kiki/Why you gotta hurt me so bad Kiki/Why you got me down on my knees, he laments in the chorus. The song’s title is a play-on-words of the resort town, Waikiki, in Honolulu in Tongi’s native Hawaii. The singer was born and raised in Kahuku near Honolulu before his family moved to Washington State in 2020.
Tongi was crowned winner of American Idol season 21 in 2023. He immediately won viewers over with his cover of James Blunt’s “Monsters” in the audition room, later performing the song with Blunt on the season finale.
[RELATED: 5 Things to Know About Iam Tongi]
Following the win, Tongi scored his first No. 1 song when the original, “I’ll Be Seeing You,” which he performed on the Idol finale, topped the Billboard Rock Digital Song Sales chart. “It really resonated with me,” Tongi told American Songwriter about the song written by former Idol contestant, Francisco Martin VI. “He listened to my story. I’ve gotta give thanks to him because he really touched my heart.”
“The kind of artist I want to be is to represent for my people and for people that are too afraid or too prideful, they’re scared to embarrass yourself,” he added about his musical trajectory. “Do what you love. Don’t let people tell you you can’t do it.”
Photo by: Lorenzo Bevilaqua/Disney General Entertainment
