Anoop Desai

Anoop Manoj Desai (born December 20, 1986) is an American singer-songwriter and actor best known for his time as a contestant on the eighth season of American Idol. Desai was the first ever 13th finalist on American Idol and was the second Indian American to advance to the final stages of the show. Biography Early life Desai, an only child, was born in Cary, North Carolina. His family moved to nearby Chapel Hill in 1998. He went to Fuller GT Magnet Elementary School in Raleigh, North Carolina. His parents both work in North Carolina’s Research Triangle. Desai’s father, Manoj Desai, graduated from IIT Kanpur and came to the US in 1977, and his mother, Nalini Desai, studied in a college program in Navsari, Gujarat and earned her doctorate in South Africa, and works in the bio-tech field. He is fluent in Gujarati. In the 1990s, Desai appeared on the WRAL-TV (NC Triangle) television children's show, CentralXpress.com, and played the character "Raj". The show won multiple awards, including seven regional Emmys, two national Iris awards, and a national Gabriel Award.