At first, Just Sam, last year’s American Idol winner was ALL FOR the runner up of her season, Arthur Gunn, to win American Idol 2021. Arthur is the winner of the controversial Comeback twist, that brought 10 Top 20 contestants back to compete for the 10th spot in the current season of Idol.
In an interview with Talent Recap on YouTube, Sam predicted that whoever won the Comeback–probably Arthur–would win it all.
First Sam called the Comeback twist “juicy” and ‘good for television”
Calling the Comeback episode “really juicy” and “great for television,” she predicted that Arthur would prevail as the Comeback winner, but only because he came in second, and logically has the most fans. “They’re all so talented,” she gushed about her fellow season mates. But then, when the host asked her to predict this season’s winner, she didn’t want to say at first. “Honestly, I feel like whoever comes back…it could be one of them.” When the host pressed it even more, she agreed that she believed Arthur would win.
Then, she had a change of heart
But now, days later, Sam clarified her stance on the controversial Comeback twist in her Instagram stories.
“At first I was so happy and then…” she wrote, “I CHANGED my mind. I’m sorry but I really don’t want Arthur to win this year. I was rooting for him last year…but this year I’m rooting for Willie Spence or I just hope that a newer contestant wins now that the Comeback results are in. Maybe if someone who didn’t make [it] to top 5 came back instead, I’d feel better about all this. Anyways…I said what I said.”
Fans expressed disappointment in the comments
Perhaps it was the fan outrage against the Comeback twist that changed Just Sam’s mind. The comments underneath the interview video include folks complaining about the Comeback. “I still don’t think it’s fair that they were able to comeback at the Top 10 point,” said one fan. Another fan added. “I sure hope Sam is wrong in predicting that he wins!! That’s not right to let him come back…like Sam said, they had their time last year.” And yet another said, “If Arthur wins, it basically means the whole 2021 competition process was pointless.”
Maybe comments like the above gave her pause. Or maybe she took a minute and put herself in the newbies’ shoes and came to believe that the process was unfair. When explaining why she was OK with Idol not inviting her back to perform, Sam said that she had her time. “I didn’t expect to win,” she said. “Last year was my year…although we all didn’t have the opportunity to perform on stage, they didn’t win. And these are my friends. I want them to have their time and I’m rooting for them on the side.”
Sam lives in Los Angeles, is no longer single
In other news: Sam is living in Los Angeles now, and appears to be dating her musical collaborator, Cat Clark. She has a relentlessly positive attitude on life. In the interview, she praised American Idol, the contestants and crew, and insists that her split with Hollywood Records was amicable with no hard feelings. She’s gay, but doesn’t believe Idol forced her to keep quiet about her sexuality. But she does touch upon dealing with being diagnosed with PTSD, and overcoming her tough childhood.
Just Sam recently dropped the multi-lingual song, “Africando” Check it out HERE.
