He Didn't "Beat It"

Much to my delight, Anoop Desai wasn't sent home from American Idol last night. Anoop, a Chapel Hill native and one of my favorite American Idol contestants, was definitely at risk after his performance of "Beat It" on Tuesday night's show.

Although I agreed with Paula that no one can really touch "Beat It", I actually thought that the same was true of all Michael Jackson songs. Using the songbook of "the king of pop" was simply a bad idea. Some people might be able to decently rework or cover a Michael Jackson song with help from studio production, but on a live show with a band and backup singers? No way. But, I digress...

There are definitely other contestants I like in this year's competition, but while Anoop is still in it, he's my favorite. In fact, lots of people in this area have Anoop Fever. Even the businesses along Franklin Street in Chapel Hill have Anoop signs hanging in their windows.



So, here's hoping that Anoop chooses a better song next week that shows off his ability to sing. (And if you're not yet convinced that he can sing, check out the below YouTube videos for some of his previous performances with UNC's a cappella group "The Clef Hangers".)

Singing Brian McKnight's "The Only One for Me"...


Singing Luther Vandross' "Here and Now"...