Anoop Desai: Lucky Number 13 ?

Anoop Desai’s rise to popularity has been a steady one and although, the 22 year old graduate student looks nothing like a pop star, he sure has the audience buzzing with excitement. The judges voted this time around to select the final wild card candidates. To everyone’s surprise they chose not three but four candidate turning what was expected to be a top 12, into a top 13. When Simon Cowell announced the newly created 13th spot, Anoop Desai looked shell shocked. He placed his hands over his face and the crowd exploded in applause. The newly inducted top 13 idol expressed that this meant a great deal to him when he addressed his hometown. “I just want to tell Chapel Hill that I know we’re having a tough day today, but we’re all thinking of Eve and I love you Chapel Hill,” he said, referring to Eve Carson, a former student at the University of North Carolina. She was murdered a year ago on Thursday. Desai had mentioned Eve Carson earlier as well, citing her as his motivation to audition for the show. Desai is the 2nd Indian American to be on the show since its inception, the first being, the infamous Sanjaya Malakar. Malakar was a finalist on the sixth season of American Idol and despite negative reviews from the judges he managed to advance to seventh place. Desai however, seems far different from Malakar. After his rendition of “My Prerogative” it is clear that he is the real deal. Apart from being the judges favorite he has gained a huge fan following. No arguments here, “Noop Dogg” has got real talent. He might even become the first South Asian American idol.