Dibesh Pokharel, who goes by stage name Arthur Gunn, has bagged the runner-up title on American Idol, making him the first Nepali-origin artist to achieve this feat.

Seen as one of the front-runners since the beginning of the show, Pokharel had given back-to-back great performances winning applause both from the judges and the viewers.

Pokharel lost the coveted title to Just Sam, a former subway singer from New York.

During the final round of the contest, Pokharel sang, 'Have You Ever Seen The Rain' by Creedence Clearwater Revival and 'I Don’t Want To Be' by Gavin DeGraw .

Similarly, for her final performances, Sam sang 'Stronger' by Kelly Clarkson and 'Rise Up' by Andra Day.

As the pandemic had forced the reality show to change its format and telecast from home after the top 20 were announced, the contestants were filming their performances at home making it one of the most challenging seasons in the history of the reality show.

Pokharel, who’s originally from Kathmandu, moved to Kansas, USA, five years ago. A music enthusiast, Pokharel has been producing and singing songs for his YouTube channel, by the same name, creating his own niche audience that later got expanded after his stint in the singing reality contest.

Although Pokharel might have missed winning the title by the slightest margin, his unique singing talent has struck a chord with various artists, people all over the world and the judges, one of whom in an earlier episode had called him “a star in the making”.