Arthur Gunn Reportedly Refused to Leave His Trailer Minutes Before ‘Idol’ Performance
Eric McCandless Reading Time: 3 minutes
Clark Beckham, Season 14 runner-up of American Idol, spoke to Graham DeFranco about filling in last minute for Arthur Gunn during Sunday’s finale episode. Graham revealed what really happened backstage just minutes before Arthur was supposed to perform with Sheryl Crow. This comes after Arthur spoke out on Instagram about missing his performance.
Graham DeFranco Sets Record Straight About What Really Happened to Arthur Gunn
Clark spoke to Graham after Sunday’s American Idol finale after a season full of chaotic moments. He posted a video on YouTube talking about everything that went down backstage. According to Graham, Arthur skipped out on the finale minutes before going live.
“Five minutes before they’re supposed to go on, Arthur is refusing to come out of his trailer,” Clark said. “We’ve got producers at his door begging him to come out of his trailer to perform and he’s refusing to come out.”
Neither Clark or Graham know the exact reason why Arthur refused to go on stage. Clark did read Arthur’s Instagram explanation that cited “unpleasant environmental experiences” leading to his decision. But Clark thinks nobody that was on set that day knows the real reason for the change.
“Apparently he [Arthur] had quite the reputation of being difficult to work with,” Clark said. “What’s even crazier is some of the producers anticipated this happening, went to Graham days ago and said ‘hey, I have a funny feeling that Arthur might bail on us and refuse to perform, you need to be ready.'”
Graham Stepped in Minutes Before Performing Live
This video definitely answers questions about how Graham knew the songs and the arrangement. Other higher-up producers maintained that Arthur was fine and was going to perform. On the day of the show, Graham didn’t hear anything and assumed that Arthur was going through with the performance.
“Five minutes before they’re supposed to go on a producer comes and grabs Graham and says ‘I need you,'” Clark explained. “Graham thinks it’s for an interview segment with Bobby Bones or something. They pull him backstage and say ‘Arthur’s refusing to come out of his trailer, we need you to sing with Sheryl Crow.’ He’s terrified and excited all at the same time.”
The wardrobe department apparently chased Graham down to try and give him a last-minute outfit change. But he eventually wore his own clothes for lack of time. A wardrobe person did sprint out 10 seconds before the performance went live to grab Graham’s phone and wallet out of his front pockets. The performance magically went off without a hitch and Graham sounded like a true professional.
Arthur Spoke Out About Missing the Performance
Arthur broke his silence on Instagram yesterday to explain why he was absent from the finale. He also invited Crow to perform at his July 30 show at The Cotillion. There is still no word about whether or not she will take him up on the offer.
“It was last minute decision but I couldn’t help but say no cause of some personal morals and values due to unpleasant environmental experiences,” he wrote. “It’s not necessary to state it, it is what it is, so I felt like I had to move on, It’s not the show @americanidol to blame, they were there long before nor anyone related to show.”
Arthur won the American Idol comeback this season, which allowed one Season 18 contestant to rejoin the competition this year. He was eliminated from the competition when the Top 7 was cut down to the Top 5. Nevertheless, he released an original song along with the other Top 6 performers. He also released a music video of the song just last Friday.
