Watch ‘American Idol’ Winner Iam Tongi Deliver a Laid-Back Cover of a Morgan Wallen ‘Dangerous’ Hit

Iam Tongi, season 21 winner of American Idol, has been hard at work since being crowned the show’s champion in May. The 18-year-old Hawaii native has been releasing solo music and posting covers of his favorite songs, the latest of which includes a cover of Morgan Wallen‘s “Sand in My Boots.”

The singer’s acoustic take of the song arrives alongside a video, which features him playing the guitar arrangement, with the help of another musician working to flesh out the country track’s twangier sections.

“Yeah, but now I’m dodging potholes in my sunburnt Silverado/ Like a heart-broke Desperado, headed right back to my roots/ Somethin’ bout the way she kissed me tells me she’d love Eastern Tennessee/ Yeah, but all I brought back with me was some sand in my boots,” Tongi languidly sings on the chorus, injecting his own flair into the song.

In a press release for the cover, Tongi shared, “I have immense respect for Morgan Wallen, and ‘Sand in My Boots’ is a song that truly touches my heart. The raw emotion in the lyrics and the soulful melody resonate with me on a profound level.”

“Sand in My Boots” served as the third single from Wallen’s Dangerous: The Double Album. The track peaked at No. 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 and spent a total of 41 weeks on the all-genre tally.

Up next for Tongi is small tour of North America that’s set to kick off on Oct. 25 at the Gramercy Theatre in New York City. The trek will make stops in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, Virginia, D.C. and North Carolina before concluding on Dec. 13 at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center in Kahului, Hawaii.

Watch Tongi cover Wallen’s “Sand in my Boots” in the video above.