MUMBAI: Indian American Anoop Desai has bagged a spot as one of the top 13 finalists of the ongoing American Idol, in the popular music reality show’s wild card round.
The 22 year old college student from Chapel Hill, North Carolina auditioned for season eight of American Idol in Kansas City where he sang Thank You… in shorts and flip-flops.
This is the second time that an Indian American has made it as a finalist on American Idol. In season six, Sanjaya Joseph Malakar who was a finalist gathered attention around the world by advancing to seventh place due to public voting despite having been criticised badly by Simon Cowell and the show’s other judges.
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Though the judges approved of Anoop’s voice, there was an issue on whether his image would suit that of an American Idol. Though Anoop reportedly fell short by 20,000 votes and lost out on a place in the finals, the judges shocked the world when they increased the wild card entry spot by one to include him as well.
Media reports quote Anoop as saying that he felt that all his dreams were dashed when the wild card spots got over but then three seconds later the judges announced that they had made an extra spot for him. He believes that the judges are experienced and know what they are talking about. He feels that Simon Cowell is not a mean person but says harsh things sometimes because he wants the contestants to do better.
Jasmin Murray, Megan Corkey and Matt Giraud are among other contestants that entered the top 13 of American Idol in the Wild Card round.The other nine finalists are Kris Allen, Danny Gokey, Alexis Grace, Allison Iraheta, Adam Lambert, Scott MacIntyre, Jorge Nunez, Lil Rounds and Michael Sarver.
Anoop Desai, who loves R&B music and got the “Idol” audience moving with his performance of Bobby Brown’s “My Prerogative…, says that he would appreciate style advice from Kanye West. He also said that he would love to collaborate with rapper Ludacris in the future and would faint if Stevie Wonder returned on American Idol as a celebrity mentor.
The latest season of American Idol premiered on January 13, 2009. The panel of judges includes Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson. Ryan Seacrest is hosting this season and has been doing so for the last seven seasons as well. This season saw the entry of a fourth on the panel- Kara DioGuardi. The reality show broadcast on Fox TV is directed by Bruce Gowers and has been created by Simon Fuller.
