Anoop Manoj Desai (born December 20, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He became famous after finishing in sixth place on the eighth season of American Idol. After the show, he started making and performing music under the name TOTEM. Since 2020, Desai has been acting, most notably as The Djinn in the fourth and fifth seasons of the TV show What We Do In the Shadows.
Desai was born and raised in Cary, North Carolina. His family moved to Chapel Hill in 1998. His father, Manoj Desai, graduated from IIT Kanpur and moved to the US in 1977. His mother, Nalini Desai, is from Navsari, Gujarat. The family is of Indian descent.
In the 1990s, Desai appeared on a local children’s TV show called CentralXpress.com, playing a character named “Raj”. The show won several awards, including seven regional Emmys and two national Iris awards.
Desai went to Carnage Middle School and Phillips Middle School, then East Chapel Hill High School, graduating in 2004. He received a four-year academic scholarship to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a Haywood W. Hinkle Carolina scholar from 2004 to 2008.
At UNC, Desai joined the UNC Clef Hangers, a male a cappella group. He served as the group’s music director in his junior year and president in his senior year. His solo performance of “She Has No Time” was featured on the BOCA 2007 (Best of College A Cappella) compilation.
Desai graduated from UNC in 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and American studies. He received the 2008 Peter C. Baxter Memorial Prize in American Studies for his intellectual excellence, personal warmth, and creativity.
Desai gained national attention on the eighth season of American Idol. He auditioned for the show on August 8, 2008, in Kansas City, Missouri, motivated by the death of his friend Eve Carson. He became a semifinalist after his performances during “Hollywood Week.” Though he wasn’t initially chosen as a finalist, he returned as a “Wild Card” and made it to the Top 13.
Desai’s first finals performance of Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” received criticism from the judges, especially Simon Cowell, who called it “very lightweight.” However, the next week, his performance of Willie Nelson’s “Always On My Mind” impressed the judges, including Cowell, who retracted his earlier remarks. His rendition of Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors” also received praise.
Despite support from celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres and Keith Urban, Desai was eliminated during a double elimination in the Top 7 week. He returned for the season finale to perform “I’m Yours” with fellow contestant Alexis Grace and singer Jason Mraz.