Biography
Anoop Desai is an American singer-songwriter and actor known for being placed sixth in the eighth season of American Idol and performing music under the TOTEM alias. Desai has dedicated his attention to acting since 2020. He starred in two seasons of What We Do In the Shadows as The Djinn.
Age
He is 37 years old as of 20 December 2023. He was born in 1986 in Cary, North Carolina, United States. His real name is Anoop Manoj Desai.
Family – Education
Desai grew up in the neighboring town of Cary, North Carolina, where he was born. In 1998, his family moved to Chapel Hill, which is nearby. Manoj Desai, the father of Desai, arrived in the US in 1977 after earning his degree from IIT Kanpur. Nalini Desai, his mother, was raised in Navsari, Gujarat. The family is descended from Indians. Desai attended Carnage Middle School and Phillips Middle School before continuing on to East Chapel Hill High School, where he graduated in 2004. He received a four-year academic excellence scholarship to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and was named the Haywood W. Hinkle Carolina Scholar from 2004 to 2008. Desai earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and American Studies from the University of North Carolina in 2008.
Net Worth
He has an estimated net worth of $2 million.
Height
He stands at a height of 6 feet 0 inches(1.83 m).
American Idol
Desai’s involvement in the eighth season of American Idol catapulted him to national prominence. Inspired by his friend Eve Carson’s passing, Desai went to Kansas City, Missouri, on August 8, 2008, to apply for American Idol. After his performances during “Hollywood Week,” he was chosen as a semifinalist. Though he did not make it to the final three from his semifinal performance group, he made a comeback as a “Wild Card.” Simon Cowell revealed during that show that Desai would proceed as a finalist in the inaugural Top 13 of Idol history.
The judges disapproved of Desai’s first performance of Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” in the finals, calling it “very lightweight” and regretting selecting Desai for the Top 13. The judges, however, were won over by Desai once more the following week when he performed Willie Nelson’s timeless country ballad “Always On My Mind” for “Grand Ole Opry Week.” Cowell was so amazed that he took back what he had said previously. Three weeks later, Desai’s performance of Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors” won accolades from the judges as well.
Even though famous people like Ellen DeGeneres and Keith Urban expressed their preference for Desai to prevail, he was eliminated during a Top 7 double elimination round. In the season finale, he made a comeback to perform “I’m Yours” alongside vocalist Jason Mraz and fellow Idol competitor Alexis Grace.
TOTEM
Under the alias TOTEM, Desai started penning and performing pop songs with R&B influences in 2012. Before getting picked up by publications like FADER, Billboard, and Complex, the initial TOTEM songs were independently and anonymously posted on small blogs. In the end, TOTEM had notable success on popular playlists such as “Pop Rising” and “New Music Friday” on Spotify, and “Best of the Week” and “A-List Pop” on Apple Music. He was the star of the BMI stage at Lollapalooza in 2016. Tens of millions of people have streamed his work, which includes the hits “Bubblegum” and “Aftertaste,” as well as songs he has composed for other musicians.
Career
During the 1990s, Desai showed up on the WRAL-television (NC Triangle) TV youngsters’ show, CentralXpress.com, and played the person “Raj”. The show won various honors, including seven territorial Emmys, two public Iris grants, and a public Gabriel Grant.
Subsequent to being acknowledged to the UNC, Desai joined the UNC Clef Holders, a well established male a cappella bunch established in 1977. Desai filled in as the gathering’s music chief during his lesser year and as the gathering’s leader his senior year. Desai’s presentation as a soloist on the tune “She Has No Time” was perceived with the BOCA 2007 (Best of School A Cappella). He was granted the 2008 Peter C. Baxter Commemoration Prize in American Examinations, as one who exemplified “scholarly greatness, individual warmth and imagination.
Subsequent to showing up on American Symbol, Desai showed up on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Live with Regis and Kelly, The Mo’Nique Show, Access Hollywood, Today, and neighborhood radio broadcasts the country over. He additionally performed with Amos Lee in Atlanta, Georgia. Desai was important for the American Icons LIVE! Visit 2009 with his kindred Top 10 contenders; the visit visited fifty urban areas in the US and Canada from July 5 to September 15, 2009.
In 2010, Desai delivered his most memorable performance single, “My Name,” and his presentation collection, Everything Is Fair. Desai’s subsequent single, “Everything Is Fair (Insane Love),” was chosen by Clear Channel Music and he as an iHeartRadio “craftsman to watch” for September 2010 with this single as the highlighted track. In 2018, Desai was offered a job in the formative Lab of the then Broadway-bound creation of The Mystery Nursery. In 2019, Desai made his Off-Broadway debut at MCC Theater on the planet debut of Some unacceptable Man, a melodic composed by individual pop lyricist Ross Golan.
In 2020, Desai made his expert on-screen debut on the fifth time of Billions. Later television visitor appearances incorporate Little Voice, Russian Doll, and Wickedness. In 2021, Desai started depicting the Djinn in the fourth time of What We Do in the Shadows to wide approval. He keeps on repeating the job. Desai is next expected to assume a significant part as Raj Masihajjar in Under the Extension. In 2023, Desai made his component film debut in The Grown-ups. His next highlight film job will be in the forthcoming film Babygirl.
Movies and TV Shows
♦ 2024 – Under the Bridge
♦ 2023 – The Adults
♦ 2022 – Russian Doll
♦ 2022 – Evil
♦ 2022–23 – What We Do in the Shadows
♦ 2020 – Billions
♦ 2020 – Little Voice
♦ 2009 – American Idol