American Idol 2020 runner-up Arthur Gunn had the unique opportunity to compete for a spot in the 2021 Top 10 alongside nine of his fellow Top 20 contestants in the Comeback competition. He won America’s Vote and went on to perform on the live show. Despite being eliminated the first week he competed, fans weren’t happy that a runner-up from another season got a second chance with a built in fan base.
However, things got way more controversial when the singer-songwriter ghosted celebrity duet partner, Sheryl Crow at the last minute. The two were scheduled to perform on the season finale. They rehearsed earlier in the day together. But then, 5 minutes before showtime, producers couldn’t coax him out of his trailer. Instead, Sheryl winged it with finalist Graham DeFranco instead.
On his ghosting Sheryl Crow 5 minutes before their finale performance “I just don’t want to talk about it”
And now, as Arthur prepares for his first big in-person performance since the end of the Idol season, he refuses to talk about the incident. When the Wichita Eagle asked the Kansas native to address the issue ahead of his July 3oth concert at The Cotillion, he simply said, “It’s been awhile. I just don’t want to talk about it.”
Suffice it to say, Sheryl Crow won’t be joining him on stage! Arthur addressed the situation only once in an Instagram post. And in it he said about leaving Ms. Crow high and dry: “I couldn’t help but say no cause of some personal morals and values due to unpleasant environmental experiences,” He added, “It’s not necessary to state it, it is what it is, so I felt like I had to move on.”
And then, to make it up to Sheryl, he invited her to join him on stage at his upcoming show: “I would like to make it up and invite @sherylcrow to perform couple of songs on the July 30th at @thecotillion.”
Sheryl Crow sent Arthur an email after he blew her off
However, Sheryl, ever the professional did contact Arthur after the incident to encourage him. “I received an email from Sheryl Crow herself encouraging me to play music,” he told the Eagle. “I emailed her back saying how I felt and what happened. We had a very mutual understanding.”
In the interview, Arthur says that he’s managing his own career and has mostly been playing music with fellow musicians locally. Also, he plans on recording and releasing more music in the future. But for now, he’s looking forward to playing music for a hometown crowd. “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.”
