Dibesh Pokharel, better known by his stage name Arthur Gunn, is a rising star who freshly came into limelight by his auditioning in the world popular show, “American Idol”. The mesmerizing singer, was previously renowned among a few numbers of people, and recently because of his involvement in the global show, his alluring talent has been highlighted boldly, giving him a lot of love, support, and praise from the all-over fans of American Idol and the world.
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Arthur Gunn Biography
| Name | Arthur Gunn(Stage Name) |
| Birth name | Dibesh Pokharel |
| Age | 20 |
| Birth Year | 1999 March |
| Birth Place | Kathmandu, Nepal |
| Hometown | Kathmandu |
| Current Residence | Wichita, Kansas, United States |
| Nationality | Nepali |
| Profession | Musician, Singer |
About the Astonishing Singer
Dibesh was born and brought up in Kathmandu, Nepal. He did his schooling in Nepal and after completion of his high school, he moved to the United States for further studies about six years ago. Pokharel’s sisters were attending school in Wichita, then he too followed them, and later on his parents also moved to the US. In his Facebook profile, he has answered a question about his percentage that he obtained in SLC examinations, which is about 81% showing his versatility in studies as well as in his field of interest. Arthur is originally from Nepal and now calls Kansas home.
He doesn’t belong to a musical background family but he finds himself very fortunate to be exposed to musical environments at an early age and grow up around music. John Martyn, Nick Drake, Bob Dylan, Bukka White, Robert Johnson, Howlin’ Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson, and John Lee Hooker have been his inspiration since he tasted the sweet taste of music.
Dibesh “God of gods” and Arthur Gunn “Art hole and a gun”
Dibesh is the first native Nepali to appear on the show, American Idol platform. In the show, when he was asked about the meaning of his name by one of the judges of the show, Katy Perry, he replied it simply as “light”. But as per Hinduism, Dibesh is another name for Lord Mahadev giving the meaning to the name as being “lord of lords”. His name seems similar to the other word “Deepesh” which refers to “light”.
Arthur Gunn is his stage name since 2018. He chose this name as it stands for “Art hole Gun”, where “hur” equals to “hole”. Combined, Arthur refers to Nobel and courageous.
Arthur Gunn on the International platform of American Idol
When he was a child, he used to sing only as a hobby. His first guitar was gifted to him by his mom. The year before he shifted to America is when he realized he really wanted to do it and continued with it. The 18th season of American Idol premiered on ABC Network on the 16th of February, 2020. He had submitted an online audition to “Idol” last year and was invited to attend the Wichita in-person auditions. He auditioned in front of celebrity judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan, and to everyone’s expectation by his performance he made it.
He performed two songs, he first sung “Girl from the North” by Bob Dylan and then sung “Have You Ever Seen the Rain” by Rod Stewart. Both of his performances absolutely captured the three judges’ hearts. Katy Perry also asked the real name of Dibesh and said “You are possibly Di-besh (The best)” before hearing his singing and after completely being impressed by him she couldn’t stop saying, “He is Di-besh (The Best).”
The response he got from the stage of American Idol probably keeps everyone’s hopes and expectations upon him whose heart he has captured by his performance. He’s already made the Nepalese people proud having represented the country’s pride and capability at such a huge international platform. The unique artist will probably take over people’s hearts globally.“I’ve had a little bit of nervousness, but I always believed in my music and believed in myself that I could do it,” is what Dibesh said in one of the interviews of him. He is an inspiration to a lot of people that dedication and self-believe can achieve what you want.
Arthur Gunn Musical Journey
Gunn sings a great variety of music and his influences are numerous. Before reaching the stage of American Idol Dibesh Pokharel had performed in several pubs and bars of Kathmandu and Pokhara. He started this YouTube channel in July 2017 by his stage name “Aurthur Gunn” uploading a cover song of “Wish I Knew You” by “The Revivalists”. He has also performed some covers of American rock songs on his YouTube channel. He also has released an album with 8 songs in Nepali in 2018 named “Grahan” written by himself. He has received 864k views in his Nepali song “Nyano Ghar” of the “Grahan” album. He has also released three singles in 2019, including “Ma,” “Khoj” and “Karnali (The River)”. His songs are mostly influenced by the people around him. His Nepali song, Nyano Ghar, is inspired by the person whom he loved and knew a long time ago. Another song Maan is also inspired by the perspective of other people about love.
Arthur traces his passion for music back to his native country Nepal, where he was born in Kathmandu.
“I loved growing up in Nepal,” he said. “Music has always been my thing when I was a kid. I got my first guitar from my mom and then I started singing along [to] any song I could hear on [the] radio, TV. That’s when the dream started.”
Six years ago, he moved to Wichita, Kansas, following his sisters who were attending school there, according to The Wichita Eagle. Later on, his parents joined them as well.
“After high school, I moved to America because it’s the land of great opportunity.”
He’s such a creative and talented person as can be known through his experiences and achievements until now. He’s spreading a message among learners that we can be easily motivated and influenced by small matters around us if we take it positively and also what suits us best is something we should always carry along with us. His journey to American Idol is successful and let him live his dream is what we wish him for the deepest core of our heart.
Arthur Gunn’s American Idol Journey
The Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles, was where the Hollywood round was held with 167 contestants. Gunn had sung “Hard to Handle” (1968) by Otis Redding for the first round and as for the other, he gave a go to the self-arranged version of “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?” by Creedence Clearwater Revival.
His proceeding to top forty was a success and he eventually advanced to the Showcase round. Performing for the live audience including his family at Kapolei, Hawaii at the Aulani resort, undoubtedly he rocked the stage. “Is This Love?” by Bob Marley & the Wailers, was his presenting song which made the judges left with no choice but to proceed him onto the next round, i.e. top twenty. Judge Lionel Richie said that advancing him to the Top Twenty was one of the easiest decisions they had to make.
As the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic had struck the world, the contestants had to be sent home and the show had been suspended for the moment. Yet, the performers are to perform from their home and the voting based on their performance would determine their journey to the top 10.
As for the performance, Gunn has performed “Lovin’ Machine” by Wynonie Harris and the judges are no wonder greatly impressed. He’s now open for voting and the votes by the audiences would determine his further journey in American idol.
Arthur Gunn American Idol Runner Up 2020
The singer, 22, made it to the top 5 of the program, and host Ryan Seacrest revealed that he had made it to top 2 of American Idol. He had performed “Have You Ever Seen The Rain” by CCR in the finale. Pokharel lost the coveted title to Just Sam, a former subway singer from New York. He got the support of the entire nation from Nepal as well as America who loved his unique and authentic style of singing. The American Idol Journey might have ended but his musical journey has just begun and we can’t wait to hear from him soon.
Arthur Gunn Comeback in American Idol
American Idol is ongoing its 19th season and on Monday night’s episode (April 19), the show brought back 10 of the performers eliminated during the 2020 season (18th season) for another chance at stardom. Among the 10 contestants, one of them shall join the other contestants of season 19.
And Gunn is getting another shot at the “American Idol” title. This time around the singer leaned into his rocker side, opting to apply his characteristic vocal gravel to “Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls. The comeback performances will be fan-voted, meaning that viewers will have the final say whether or not Gunn makes it into this season’s Top 10.
Voting lines are open since Monday night’s episode and will stay open until 5 p.m. on April 26. The winner of the vote will be revealed during a show set to air on Sunday, May 2.
Follow Arthur Gunn on
- Facebook: Arthur Gunn
- Instagram: @arthur_gunn
- Twitter: @ArthurGunn122
- Youtube: Arthur Gunn [Official]