Why Desai matters
American Idol is the canonical maudlin, mainstream music show, but Anoop Desai’s remarkable run matters. He matters because he’s a test case challenging the music industry’s ‘rule’ that those who can’t be shoehorned into the U.S.’s dominant racial categories are unmarketable. The show’s producers went out of their way to fuck with Desai, and it was widely noted; Entertainment Weekly called him the Rodney Dangerfield of Idol, because his remarkable pipes got no respect.
In some ways Meiyang Chang was better treated on Indian Idol, because the discrimination was openly expressed, with the judges cracking Chinese jokes up front. Here it was a subtler thing, a sense that Desai was too geeky and his ethnicity too hard to jam into the black-white-or-Latin positioning slots in the music industry, which it wields with meat cleaver-subtlety. If you don’t fit, it’s hard to be a solo artist. At best you’re the drummer for Linkin Park.
So I read this new marketing data with great pleasure. In a third-party survey of celebrity marketability, Anoop Desai virtually tied Adam Glambert at the top of this season’s Idol list, leaving many of the other finalists far behind:
Rating/Person
91.28 Barack Obama
90.85 Will Smith
81.52 Elvis Presley
63.45 Kanye West46.47 Adam Lambert
46.46 Anoop Desai
44.24 Danny Gokey
41.27 Lil Rounds
39.62 Allison Iraheta
39.26 Kris Allen
37.29 Matt Giraud [Newsday]The Davie Brown Index (DBI) is an independent index for brand marketers and agencies that determines a celebrity’s ability to influence brand affinity and consumer purchase intent… [It] consists of a 1.5 million-member consumer research panel which evaluates a celebrity’s awareness, appeal and relevance to a brand’s image and their influence on consumer buying behavior. The DBI is indexed with more than 1,500 celebrities presented to randomly selected respondents four times per year.
Respondents who are aware of a certain celebrity are then asked a standard set of questions about that celebrity. Using a six-point scale, seven key attributes are evaluated, including appeal, notice, trendsetter, influence, trust, endorsement, and aspiration. [Wiki]
Suck it, Cowell. Noop ‘Bachchan’ Desai’s got marketing mojo.
on Monday, May 4th, 2009, 7:41 pm in Ads, Anoop Desai, Business, Music › 
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American Idol is straightjacketed by the past: Each contestant this season was forced to fit into an established musician’s mold. Anoop’s rich voice is far more memorable and will be more durable than the recycled icons that Idol is casting. It’s great that he has the confidence (despite the undue criticism on the show) to quit grad school, and dedicate himself to singing. Thanks for covering him.
Although I do not watch the show, Desai can still make a good career in music eventhough he did not win. Case in point - Jennifer Hudson.
I don’t watch the show either, this is the first I’m seeing him on video. I’m stunned by the ethnic breadth of his demographic reach. But, he seems to be singing really old songs. ‘Beat it!’ was 1982 or thereabouts. And ‘Always on my mind’ - isn’t that 1970s? or earlier?
I think if Desai fit the Am Idol ideal we would not like him.
Desai is brilliant. Think about it- he knew his vocal skills were tight enough to get him noticed on a national scale and he used Am Idol as the vehicle, he had the tenacity to hang in there when it became unsupportive, he retained his diginity when he was insulted and left the program with infinite grace and oh my gawd, gratitude.
He’ll have a legit career because of his lack of am idol ideal not in spite of it.
Or a bassist from No Doubt.
I think the challenge to most desi artists trying to break though is to do go bold. It seems so many are ‘just playing it safe’ and clean. Just sayin…MIA, Asian Dub Foundation, and Nitin Sawhney (to name a precious few) didn’t appeal beyond desi audiences with preppy, insipid style and humdrum, predictable pop.
Er…sorry. Should read, “is to go bold.”
I don’t think the idol stage allowed for Anoop to really showcase what he can do as a singer or an artist. He was limited, and especially because he already knew in which genre he wants to sing (aka pop R&B). I think AI did overlook him, but maybe this is a blessing in disguise because now he has the freedom to do as he chooses without the limitations of being an AI winner or even runner-up.
If your talented to the point people cant deny you then race doesnt matter, but if your just a guy who sings other people’s songs then why cant people judge you, by your appearance? Your not doing anything original so people are going to take looks into consideration.
MIA is the biggest female name in her genre right now so you cant say “OHHHH poor Indian is denied fame because he is brown”
If you want to go the “Pop” music route then looks are going to matter. Kids are going to like the singer that reminds them of the most popular kid in school and not like you based on your artistic merit.
vow this is impressive..Iam happy for Anoop..
Anoop is more likable, is talented and I think if he gets a chance to record an album he will sell good.. plus he is a trendsetter in terms of his indian ethnicity..but Iam glad he erased sanjayas memories and proved indians can sing too…
Adam lambert is supertalented compared to all the idols of all times and much much more talented than anoop but likability is a question mark bec. people are gossiping about him being a gay ..and that is a disadvantage for adam..last week he was in bottom two.. we have to see this week how he does..hope he stays..
I thought Kris allen was very popular.. He might win the idol this year..
great statistics..
I did not know will smith was that popular..
BTW with this statistics Anoop might make it to the Times influential people of the years list..