The remote ‘American Idol’ finale ended in mild chaos and shocked everyone - including the winner
THE ‘ American Idol’ producers knew the Season 18 finale, upended by the coronavirus pandemic, was going to be a challenge: Not only did it involve the contestants performing from their homes and the entire crew working remotely, but producers also had to coordinate a live announcement of the show’s winner in the final moments of the episode. ‘ That’s going to be interesting,’ showrunner Trish Kinane said last month. ‘ Let’s hope the Internet gods are with us.’
The prayers to the Internet gods worked. But the conclusion of Sunday night’s show on ABC still ended in mild chaos with a shocking result, as Samantha Diaz (stage name: Just Sam), a 21-year-old subway singer from Harlem, triumphed over Dibesh Pokharel (stage name: Arthur Gunn), a 22-year-old Nepalese singer-songwriter and the frontrunner of the competition.
At first, everything was fairly predictable: Gunn and Just Sam were named in the Top 5, along with piano teacher Jonny Webb, college student Francisco Martin and construction worker Dillon James. Each finalist performed two songs and viewers voted live for their favorites. Judges Luke Bryan and Katy Perry sang their latest singles, while Cynthia Erivo joined the Top 11 contestants for an Aretha Franklin tribute; Erivo stars as Franklin in the upcoming National Geographic Channel series, ‘Genius: Aretha.’
Then, with about 12 minutes left, host Ryan Seacrest came back on screen. As he read a plug for the Nat Geo series, his speech briefly became noticeably slower and a bit slurred — unusual for the longtime host who has handled hundreds of live TV moments. His right eye also suddenly looked swollen, which prompted a flood of concerned viewers on social media to ask if he was OK. (Representatives for ABC and Fremantle, the production company, did not return a request for comment.)
But in the moment, Seacrest continued: “We have the final two results. Who will be your next American Idol? Normally I’d say ‘Dim the lights, here we go,’ but ... we can’t,” he said, smiling as he looked around his room.
He first announced Gunn as one of the finalists, and the sound on the broadcast immediately went out. It returned as cameras showed Gunn’s family at their house in Witchita, Kansas, screaming and jumping up and down and celebrating so excitedly that it seemed like they thought he won. Someone also shot off a confetti cannon, which producers had sent each contestant in case they were crowned the champion. ‘Arthur! Arthur! Arthur! Arthur!’ Seacrest called out, trying to get his attention, which did not work.
Seacrest moved on to the next finalist: Just Sam, who looked the most stunned of anyone. The young singer was by herself in Los Angeles — when ‘Idol’ filming shut down in March, she couldn’t travel back to Harlem because she lives with her grandmother, and didn’t want to risk getting her sick. Just Sam had to absorb the news alone, as judge Lionel Richie’s jaw literally dropped and the other judges applauded.
“We say goodbye to Francisco, Dillon and JW Guys, thank you so much for a great season, we’re gonna miss you. Well done,” Seacrest said, leading to an awkward silence as he watched the TV screen with the other three finalists waving farewell.
All signs pointed to Gunn as the winner — particularly with the elimination of Webb, who had picked up serious momentum in the final episodes, and Martin, whom Bryan confidently predicted as the winner as far back as his first audition. While the judges adored Just Sam, referring to her as ‘our little girl’ and complimenting her vocal skills (‘You’re never going to go back to singing on the subway unless you want to go and just, like, do it for fun,’ Perry told her), they especially heaped praise on Gunn.