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COURTESY ABC
Iam Tongi again won over the “American Idol” judges Monday with his rendition of “What a Wonderful World.”
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When I see “American Idol” contestant Iam Tongi, I get a lump in my throat. Is it because he speaks so fondly of his father who recently passed? Or is it because his soulful, haunting voice makes me miss Bruddah IZ even more? Maybe he reminds me of my many small-kid-time friends from Waimanalo, who grew up knowing, “This one’s for Gabby.”
Or is it when he mentioned his family recently had to relocate to Seattle as they were “priced out of paradise.” Probably in order to accommodate tech workers from California, many well-to-do military retirees and a slew of rich Asians, the Tongi family had to go.
Ah, that’s the lump in my throat.
Mark Ida
Salt Lake
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