Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Arthur Gunn performs during the semifinals on American Idol Season 18. (ABC Photo)

If video popularity translate into votes, Arthur Gunn might run away with the American Idol title Sunday night.

Just check out the YouTube view totals on the American Idol semifinal performances to see what I mean.

Arthur’s performance videos from the Disney round and the Mother’s Day dedication round were the most popular among the Top 7 — and it isn’t even close.

Arthur lives in Wichita, Kansas, and has been one of the judges’ favorites since impressing them with covers of “Girl from the North Country” by Bob Dylan and “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” by Creedence Clearwater Revival at his audition.

Arthur Gunn is the stage name for Dibesh Pokharel, a singer-songwriter born in Nepal. He released a debut album called “Grahan” in 2018 and followed up with three singles in 2019, “Ma,” “Khoj” and “Karnali (The River).”

He’s one of seven singers still in the running on American Idol, but that number will be reduced to five finalists at the start of Sunday’s show.

If video views mean much, they’re also good news for Francisco Martin, who had the second most popular performance from both rounds last week, but perhaps not for Louis Knight Jr., who had the two least popular.

This is normally that point in the season where I’d rank singers and proclaim someone worthy of the Idol crown.

Not in this shortened season. Take away all the voiced-over and chopped up performances from Hollywood Week and the Top 40 round in Hawaii, and you’re left with just four at-home performances for comparative purposes.

And ranking singers this talented based on four at-home performances is pure folly. Which is why I wouldn’t put much stock in the Season 18 results either.

But here is the popularity rankings for last week’s performances.

2nd round (Mother’s Day dedications)

Arthur Gunn, “Hey, Ma” — 775,331

Francisco Martin, “River” — 268,413

Dillon James, “Hang On, Hang On,” — 223,010

Just Sam, “I Turn to You” — 179,069

Jonny West, “Amazing Grace” — 143,879

Julia Gargano, “Sweetest Devotion” — 121,441

Louis Knight Jr., “You’ve Got a Friend” — 85,985

1st round (Disney songs)

Arthur Gunn, “Kiss the Girl” — 730,271

Francisco Martin, “You’ll Be in My Heart” — 331,736

Jonny West, “Almost There” — 199,553

Just Sam, “A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes” — 158,935

Julia Gargano, “Beauty and the Beast” — 130,786

Dillon James, “Our Town” — 113,638

Louis Knight Jr., “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” — 103,267

Disclaimer:
Producers, coaches, judges and hosts on American Idol and The Voice will pretend they are hosting a legitimate singing competition when their seasons come to a close this week. Having blogged about singing shows for more than a decade, I can assure you they are not.

You cannot go from a Top 20 to a winner in four weeks (American Idol) or a Top 17 to a winner in three weeks (The Voice) and call it a fair and legitimate singing competition.

So have fun watching. Vote if you want. Put very little stock in the results because they will mean virtually nothing.

Most of all, support the singers when their time on the show ends. They deserved a better showcase for their talent.