Anoop Desai

Singer/songwriter Anoop Desai didn’t win as a contestant for the Fox hit series American Idol, but he earned the notice of enough fans to help him launch a recording career. Born and raised in North Carolina, Desai always knew he was musically talented. During his years at the University Of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Desai was a member of the UNC Clef Hangers, an all-male acapella group. He also performed a solo rendition of the song, “She Has No Time,” which was recognized with the “Best of College A Capella (BOCA) ” in 2007.

After graduating college in 2008, Desai auditioned for a slot on American Idol’s season eight. Desai performed a rendition of the Boyz 2 Men hit, “Thank You,” which sent him straight to Hollywood. For weeks, Desai sang classics from the likes of Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Bobby Brown, Willie Nelson, Usher, Bryan Adams and Cyndi Lauper. Despite being criticized and described by Idol judge Simon Cowell as a yo-yo (in reference to alternating between strong and weak performances), Desai garnered enough support to continue into the Top 10. Even though he was eliminated in the Top 7, Desai won the support of many, including talk show host Ellen DeGeneres and country singer Keith Urban.

So what’s next for Desai in his post-Idol life? “It's primarily going to be radio, we'll definitely be traveling the country for that,” he told Uinterview exclusively. “That's going to be very interesting because we're putting together some acoustic arrangements of all the songs, which I'm very excited about that.”