‘American Idol’ runner-up Megan Danielle breaks silence on claims show was ‘rigged’ for Iam Tongi

nypost.com:

competition was rigged.“I would say that it isn’t just because, you know, I feel like God made all of this happen for a reason,” the 21-year-old said in her first public comments about the controversy. “Even if I was first, second, last, whatever … I feel like any of us really deserved it.”The former waitress gushed about winner Iam Tongi, who took the No.

1 prize on the ABC singing series season finale on May 21. The Hawaiian recently lost his father, and some said sympathy votes earned him top honors.“I feel like Iam was deserving and he’s so humble and so talented,” Danielle said. “And this was his time and I’m just super proud of him.”Part of Danielle’s backstory revealed on the show was that her father left the family when she was 7, and her grandfather, Chuck Bass — “the most important person” in her life — died last year.She said she wept during the finale while singing Journey’s “Faithfully” after seeing her grandfather on screen, but it was edited out.“Watching my grandpa on the screen, I know he’s proud of me,” she said.Her estranged father has “reached out a little bit, just normally when I come on TV,” she said.At first, Danielle, who competed on “The Voice” in 2020, was hesitant to try out for “Idol.” “I chickened out, never wanted to do it,” she said. “And then I actually got a DM from one of the producers on ‘Idol’ asking me to audition.”Her initial tryouts were online, and then she traveled to Hollywood and appeared before “Idol” judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan to sing “You Say” by Lauren Daigle.“I was more nervous than I’ve ever been,” she admitted.Bryan, she said, was one of her “biggest fans,” and the “humble and genuine” Richie reminded her of her grandfather.Perry, who has made.