Reality Rocks

Anoop Desai: ‘American Idol’s’ First Real Pop/R&B Male Star?

By | Reality Rocks – Wed, Mar 23, 2011 11:37 AM EDT

It has always puzzled that me that in 10 seasons, "American Idol" has never spawned a truly modern-sounding R&B male star. Sure, we had Ruben Studdard way back in Season 2, but he always brought to mind throwback soul stars like Luther Vandross (a comparison later earned by last year's Michael Lynche and this year's Jacob Lusk). This season offered two great "R&P" (rhythm & pop) male hopes, Jordan Dorsey and Jerome Bell, but Jordan infamously blew it the minute he hit the big stage, and Jerome inexplicably didn't make the top 24 at all.

Really now, in a pop age dominated by post-Chris Brown/Justin Timberlake/Usher types like Drake, Jason Derulo, Jay Sean, Taio Cruz, B.o.B., Bruno Mars, and even Justin Bieber, why has "Idol" never come up with an equivalent? Well, maybe Season 8's Anoop "Dogg" Desai will fill that "AI" void, now that he's finally releasing original music.

Making up for lost time since his "Idol" run ended in 2009, the ever-ambitious Anoop is planning a series of no fewer than three EPs this year, with the first one, Zero.0, available on iTunes April 20. However, thanks to Billboard.com, the EP can be streamed and download for free now!

I must say I'm impressed by what I hear here. The doo-woppy opener "I'll Come Running" (a Sam Cooke cover) is a nice nod to Anoop's collegiate a cappella days, "All Is Fair" and my fave track "Oo Wee" sound like lost Usher cuts, and I'm digging the Hi-NRG '90s club vibe of "Perfect Way." This sounds current, fresh, relevant...all the tick-the-box adjectives the "Idol" judges keep harping on when looking for a new superstar.

R&B and pop fans: Get with the Zero now!

Follow me on Twitter

Follow Yahoo! Music:

News for You

  • NYers furious over photos taken through windows

    NEW YORK (AP) — In one photo, a woman is on all fours, presumably picking something up, her posterior pressed against a glass window. Another photo shows a couple in bathrobes, their feet touching beneath a table. And there is one of a man, in jeans and a T-shirt, lying on his side as he takes a nap.

  • Germans blame euro zone crisis for Eurovision debacle

    BERLIN (Reuters) - Germans lamented their unexpectedly poor showing at the Eurovision Song Contest, blaming Chancellor Angela Merkel's tough stance in the euro zone crisis for their failure to win any points from 34 of the 39 countries voting. Denmark's Emmelie de Forest won the event, watched by around 125 million people across Europe, with 281 points while German act Cascada was 21st out of 26 countries, getting just 18 points from Austria, Israel, Spain, Albania and Switzerland. ...

  • Dior presents cruise fashions amid stars in Monaco

    MONACO (AP) — The glittering star power of Cannes migrated up the coast to Monaco for front-row seats at Dior's colorful, sexy cruise fashion show.

  • 'Trek' does $70.6M but falls short of studio hopes

    LOS ANGELES (AP) — "Star Trek: Into Darkness" has warped its way to a $70.6 million domestic launch from Friday to Sunday, though it's not setting any light-speed records with a debut that's lower than the studio's expectations.

  • Denmark's de Forest wins Eurovision song contest

    MALMO, Sweden (AP) — Denmark's Emmelie de Forest has won this year's Eurovision Song Contest with her ethno-inspired flute and drum tune "Only Teardrops," despite tough competition from spectacular stage shows by performers from Azerbaijan and Ukraine.

  • Native American actress proud to walk Cannes red carpet

    By Belinda Goldsmith CANNES (Reuters) - Native American actress Misty Upham never dreamt she would be walking the red carpet at Cannes to showcase a film shot on her reservation. Upham features in "Jimmy P. Psychotherapy of a Plains Indian", focused on the relationship between World War Two veteran Jimmy Picard, a Native American Blackfoot, and Georges Devereux, his psychoanalyst. Upham said like Picard, played by Puerto Rican actor Benicio Del Toro, she is Blackfeet, the largest tribe in Montana state. ...

Show More