Entertainment
Odds makers like Wichita’s Arthur Gunn to win ‘American Idol.’ He’s as nervous as we are
Arthur Gunn is a nervous wreck waiting for Sunday night’s “American Idol” finale, so he understands if you are, too.
The Wichita singer, one of seven finalists on the quarantined 2020 season of the long-running singing competition, has a chance to win it all on Sunday night’s finale, which will start at 7 p.m. on ABC, Channel 10.
Although he hasn’t been losing sleep about it, Gunn said during a phone interview on Friday, he has been keeping late hours, working feverishly to perfect his songs.
“There is a lot of nervousness about Sunday,” he said, calling from his parents’ house in east Wichita, where he’s been performing remotely for the past several weeks amid nationwide coronavirus shutdowns. “It’s a big day. It’s kind of overwhelming.”
Sunday’s finale will start with the final seven being pared to five, and those singers will each perform two songs. The winner will be determined by a live real-time vote.
Gunn is up against some tough competition, including fan favorites like dreamy country singer Dylan James and 19-year-old California heartthrob Francisco Martin. But several online oddsmakers are predicting that Gunn will make the top five and possibly even win the whole thing.
Gunn has charmed judges and viewers alike with his big, gravely voice and inventive takes on songs by artists like Creedence Clearwater Revival, Wynonie Harris and John Denver. His humble politeness and big smile have played well on television.
Celebrity judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan have heaped praise on him all season, saying he has the potential to be a “ginormous star” and a “professional touring musician.”
Before coronavirus shutdowns started, Gunn said, he would be out and about in Wichita and would frequently be recognized by fans. It was strange, he said.
It’s also been strange to keep advancing, week after week, and he’s not sure it’s all hit him yet.
“It’s really surprising in a way,” he said. “I’m still trying to grasp all of the things all together. But but, yeah, it’s still surprising to be going through every week.”
A kid from Kathmandu
Gunn’s “American Idol” journey began back in September, when he was invited to attend auditions at Century II. “Idol” producers stopped there as part of their talent search — their first ever scouting trip to Wichita — and Gunn, who had already impressed producers with an online audition he’d submitted, was there.
In February, Wichita found out that Gunn, who had occasionally performed with his guitar in coffee houses around town, would be on the show. At the time, no one knew how far he’d get.
Music had been a part of Gunn’s life since he was a child and his mother bought him his first guitar, he told The Eagle in February. But he didn’t get serious about it until just before he moved to Wichita about six years ago and chose the stage name Arthur Gunn, inspired by 19th century French poet Arthur Rimbaud.
Gunn, 22, was born Dibesh Pokharel in Nepal, and he grew up in Kathmandu, often watching “American Idol” online.
After graduating high school there, he moved to Wichita to join his sisters, who were here attending school. His parents, Datram and Maiya, eventually followed.
His family has been supportive of his “American Idol” run, Gunn said, and they’ve had a literal front row seat as he’s performed from their house each week. They’ve watched him practice, sing and master the technology it’s taken for the contestants to be able to perform from their homes across the country.
His parents and sisters have been featured several times on the show, and his mother, Maiya, had a big moment last week when Gunn dedicated a performance of Bon Iver’s “Hey Ma” to her, singing it as she looked on from the couch. Mother and son shared a sweet hug after.
“It was one of the best moments of my life,” Gunn said.
Music as a career
Win or lose on Sunday, Gunn said, music will definitely become the focus of his life. He wants it to be his full-time job.
And he’s already solidified a spot on the list of Wichitans to get the farthest on “American Idol.” On Sunday, he could either tie or outdo Northwest High School graduate Phil Stacey’s 2007 six-place finish.
Music is not his only passion, said Gunn, who also enjoys travel, art and hiking. But it’s the passion that’s taken over his life now.
It doesn’t hurt that his name is now known to music fans around the world, thanks to his turn on “Idol,” he said.
“It has been more serious now and it’s just the start of the new musical career.”
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