False Idols: Yes I worship them, call me a sinner

I'll admit it openly. I occasionally watch American Idol. Bad reality television is important bonding time with my mom, and I get swept up in it a little bit too. For one, in seasons past, it's the only time I ever see Filipino Americans on network television with regularity and name recognition--and there is more racial diversity than I can say for most of whitewashed American TV with its token characters of color. Some of its finalists have some stories that reflect how America is made up of many transnationally and complex globalized identities. However, for its quasi-populist potentialities, its a duly awful corporate machine, and the track record on representation is far from stellar. This pretty good LA Times article puts Idol's identity politics on the table quite plainly. Moreover, music from its competitors is never very good if you want to talk about true artistic merit. Ultimately, they produce de-clawed pop gunk.

But when Anoop Desai delivered a badass performance, of "My Prerogative", with his innate cuteness/nastiness (this is a great commentary about authenticity), it was enough for me to take notice. Digging around a bit, it was easy enough to find his past body of work on You Tube. I am a big Ne-Yo fan, and this smooth lil' cover and all the rest was enough to convince me that he would bring home the R & B bacon.

Everyone rightly seems to recognize that he doesn't have the utmost chops, but he does have a pretty sweet voice nonetheless, and a way of selling it that 's irresistible. It somehow delicately tows the line between campy fun/sexiness without being gimmicky, which is totally enthralling to watch. Not to mention the eyebrows of Peter Gallagher proportions that he manages to work. His likability factor and teenybopper obsessive fanbase (check out the deliciously fun fansite) have carried him in the face of some modicum of adversity, and I just hope he can provide more performances akin to this:



I just hope Chippendales doesn't call. We all know how a stripteaser went down last season.

On top of that, the personal details that initially emerged in his audition just made it easier for me to like him. Folklore/American Studies grad student who did his undergrad honors thesis on barbecue? Hawt. An Idol contestant who's actually articulate with a scholarly bent toward cultural anthropology? I'll say it again: hawt. Parents of the South Asian diaspora, with his mom hailing from South Africa? Yes on repping for the Desis. Southern college boy prep? Charming without being icky. Former mock trial competitor who named his HS a capella group Chiefs of Staff? It don't get any smotter (smarter+hotter). I did mock trial too, baby. Don't knock the mock til you've tried it.

And this week it looked like he would come out swinging. He managed to look better with the snazzy new haircut: enough added sex appeal to make a girl squeal, but nothing so OTT that he lost his geek chic essence.

But his rendition of MJ's anthemic "Beat It" proved disastrous.



Man, he's been put through the ringer. First cruelly being denied a much-deserved spot in the finalist group by a hair's breadth, then being the last wildcard chosen (though he was not the weakest in the bunch by any means), to being the supposed last-minute thirteenth add-on, the producers seem hellbent on victimizing him in a way that, for me at least, only breeds increased sympathy. Especially in light of having recently lost one of his close friends to a tragic murder. While he did mention it in some interviews, he didn't make it integral to his narrative in a publicity-whore manner (yet) as some contestants did.

From stage bravado and subsequent humility before the judges, it was thus all the more heartbreaking to see his response to the acerbic panel's scathing remarks. Not just merely saying he wanted another chance to prove his worth and "show y'all what I got", he even took Kara's comments to heart, uttering a defeated "Yes m'am." He appeared supremely deflated, after having boogied his butt off despite an abysmal song choice that failed to showcase his strengths. It made his attempt and the histrionics of a triumphant finish all the more saddening. But he miraculously evaded elimination this week. So I am still really rooting for him, and I can only hope there is some sort of redemption song next week.

Maybe I'm biased, but this is scorching (and I much prefer it to JT):