‘Idol’ star Arthur Gunn ready to sing for Wichita, not ready to discuss finale controversy
.jpg "Two-time “American Idol” contestant Arthur Gunn will perform his first big show on Friday at The Cotillion in Wichita.")
The last time America heard — or rather, didn’t hear — from Wichita singer Arthur Gunn, it was late May.
Wichita resident Gunn, who earned fame when he was the runner up on the 18th season of the popular ABC show “American Idol,” had been selected by a nationwide vote to return and compete for Season 19 as well. He was back in the running for two weeks before he was eliminated.
Gunn was set to perform with star Sheryl Crow on the season finale, but he didn’t show, and producers recruited another past contestant to fill it at the last minute. It was the talk of the Internet for a week, though Gunn never fully explained what happened, save a few cryptic social media posts that said his “personal morals and values” and “unpleasant environmental experiences” lead him to bail.
Now, as Gunn prepares for his first big in-person performance since that all went down — a concert scheduled for Friday at The Cotillion, 11120 W. Kellogg — he’s still not ready to say exactly what happened.
“It’s been awhile,” he said during a recent phone interview from his home in Wichita. “I just don’t want to talk about it.”
He is willing to share one tidbit, though.
After the story blew up online, Gunn said on social media that he had invited Crow to perform with him in Wichita. And though she hasn’t responded to that invitation, she did reach out to him after the incident grabbed headlines, he said.
“I received an email from Sheryl Crow herself encouraging me to play music,” he said. “I emailed her back saying how I felt and what happened. We had a very mutual understanding.”
Gunn, whose birth name is Dibesh Pokharel, was born in Kathmandu, Nepal, and followed his college-bound sisters to Wichita about seven years ago. Their parents then came, too.
He’d been singing since childhood, but it was just a hobby until about a year before he left Nepal, when he became more serious about his craft. In Nepal, he would perform in coffee houses and pubs and sing for gatherings of friends. Eventually, he recorded some of his music.
He submitted an online audition to “American Idol” and was invited to attend the Wichita in-person auditions, which attracted a big crowd to Century II in September 2019. When season 18 premiered in early 2020, Gunn was among the hopefuls, and he quickly earned fans with his gravelly voice, his guitar skills and his ability to deliver unique versions of songs like Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Have You Ever Seen the Rain.”
Throughout Season 18, when contestants competed via live stream from their homes across the country because of the pandemic, Gunn was popular with celebrity judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan.
Gunn kept advancing week after week and was a favorite to win the title. But during the finale in May 2020, he finished second to New York City singer Just Sam.
The weeks after the Season 18 finale were a whirlwind, Gunn said. There were so many requests coming in, and he felt overwhelmed by it.
Things have calmed down now, he said. He’s managing his own career and has mostly been playing music with fellow musicians locally. The Cotillion show will be his first big public event post-”Idol,” he said.
Gunn, who said he’s been living in Wichita throughout his rise to fame, said he’s not sure exactly what the future holds for him except that he intends to continue pursuing a music career. He plans to record some more music, too, which will supplement the songs he’s already recorded and released.
But for now, he said, he’s just focused on putting on a good show for Wichita.
“This is my first official show in my official career after ‘American Idol,’” he said. “I’m very glad about it and that it happened to be in Wichita.”
Arthur Gunn in concert
When: 8:30 p.m. Friday. Doors open at 7 p.m.
Where: The Cotillion, 1120 W. Kellogg
Tickets: $25, $55 and $75 at thecotillion.com
This story was originally published July 28, 2021 at 11:33 AM.
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