Who Won “American Idol” 2023?

American Idol/Instagram

Sunday night (May 21), the three American Idol finalists Colin Stough, Megan Danielle, and Iam Tongi performed for America’s votes for the last time.

All season long, these final three singers have been delivering strong performances, with fans all agreeing that Colin, Megan, and Iam all deserve a shot at the title. Toward the beginning of Sunday night’s finale, each finalist sang a cover from this week’s mentor, Keith Urban. Iam sang Urban’s “Making Memories of Us,” Colin sang “Stupid Boy, and Megan Danielle covered “God Whispered Your Name.”

Each finalist then took on a song they chose themselves and were dedicated to their hometowns. Megan Danielle was the first up and she dedicated her cover of Journey’s “Faithfully” to her hometown of Douglasville, Georgia. Kahuku, Hawaii, native Iam tearfully sang “Cool Down.” The last to sing a hometown dedicate was Colin Stough who paid tribute to Amory, Mississippi, with Chris Stapleton’s “Either Way.”

The night was full of performance, giving each finalist a chance to highlight their talents many times over.

Not only did each finalist perform cover songs, they all each performed their debut singles, which they all released on Friday (May 19) Take a look at each of those below.

The first finalist eliminated was Colin Stough, leaving Megan Danielle and Iam Tongi in the running for the American Idol title. The Top 2 performed their new singles live as the voting window closed.

Ryan Seacrest revealed that more than 17 million votes had been cast, then took his sweet time – as he always does- to reveal that this season’s champion of American Idol is IAM TONGI! 

Congratulations to IAM TONGI on this well-deserved win! Watch the audition that started his Idol journey below.