Crystal Ball: Anoop Desai

Since I'm not convinced he'll be with us much longer, I thought I'd spend a little time considering the future prospects for Anoop. If I don't do it now, I may never have the chance.

As noted previously, Dial Idol suggests that, despite him being lined up with Jorge to find out his fate, Anoop was actually nowhere near the bottom two. Because his poor performance and the judges' negative comments gave the impression that he'd be fighting for his life as the votes rolled in, there was production value in prolonging that particular drama. But Anoop's base of support appears very strong, at least for the time being.

So, I'm going to play devil's advocate to my earlier musings about how Anoop could struggle with the upcoming Grand Ole Opry theme. In listening to his studio recording of "Beat It," it becomes apparent again that Anoop possesses a fine voice, certainly one that's on par with many of the finalists. The high-energy, all-over-the-stage performance did him no favors, as it hurt the quality of his singing and his command of the stage was average at best.

At its best, I think his voice is rather soulful. If he can shelve his desire to be Noop-Dogg this week and instead buckle down and nail his vocals, that coupled with his fan-base should be enough to push him through. If I were him, I'd look for a safe song for next week. He has fans, so blowing the judges away is less important right now than simply not blowing his performance.

Beyond that, with Motown Week likely on the horizon, a chance for him to get back to what he does best isn't far off.