These guys are the bees Knees! Their version of Toto’s Africa and my Personal favourite “Fresh” was always turned up to 11. Great song, also love the their formation on the stage, Full protection for the booming voice.

> Move over, Papaya…now there’s someone talented

Why not mash it up instead ?

This boy is too cute. And smart. I'm not surprised by Simon's comments. He has made catty, stereotyping comments in the past that just left a bad aftertaste. Noop is going to have a strong fan base (if Papaya had a huge fan base, Noop's should be at least TWICE the size). Thanks for this post! I'll be coming here for my Noop/AI updates ;).

I like him a lot as well and hope he makes it to the top 10, although I did think that there is a strong Kal Penn resemblance the first time I saw him.

He's a good singer but Sanjaya's cuter.

And Sanjay has such an innocent and sweet personality.

I cant hate on the man. He really does have a good voice, but you cant disagree with Simon on how he doesnt look like the type of person who can sing a R Kelly or T-Payne song. I hope the man wins.

Indian's are doing it big time; have a Oscar nominated movie, a popular Governor, a doctor on CNN who makes house wives around the country want to do bag things, and now this guy. I never would have thought that Indians would have an impact on any sort of pop culture except for the butt of 7-11 jokes.

"There are two different kinds of glee club in this world. The first sing barbershop favourites and Gershwin tunes, they swing gently, moving from side to side and sometimes clicking their fingers and winking. Howard could basically deal with that type. He had got through those occasions graced by glee clubs of that type. But these boys were not of that type. Swaying and clicking and winking were just how they got warmed up. Tonight this glee club had chosen as their opener ‘Pride (In the Name of Love)’ by U2, which they had taken the trouble to transform into a samba. They swayed, they clicked, they winked. They did coordinated spins. They switched places with each other. They moved forward, they moved back – always retaining their formation. They smiled the kind of smile you might employ when trying to convince a lunatic to quit holding a gun to your mother’s head." On Beauty

Hopefully the back up never does Jazz hands even still Anoop has a nice voice.

he doesnt look like the type of person who can sing a R Kelly

He can count that as a blessing

Indian's are doing it big time; have a Oscar nominated movie

Slumdog is a British movie with an Indian cast. It would have never received funding or mass distribution from Bollywood

Haha! Their a capella is so great! :) I loved hearing their version of "Kiss Kiss" by Chris Brown and T-Pain.

On a desi a capella note (pun intended), I wonder why no one from Penn Masala has ever auditioned for American Idol?

Anoop rocks, and धन्यवाद and தமிழ் for starting a thread on this rising star. Desi power baby, feel it USA! He has star quality, and nothing would make me happier than having him succeed well enough to tell the arrogant little twerp Simon to go and shove it. (And I'm with you, what is up with "looking like he works for Microsoft"? I can't even tell if it's supposed to be an insult, how Cowell came to that conclusion. I mean, if you're gonna roll out so many not-so-entertaining insults, at least make some bit of sense with 'em.)

As for Slumdog, I saw it... very good, not sure about great but it just coochie-coochie-coos that not-quite-cynical part of your heart. But oh, my, does it show the, um, underbelly of things back in Bharat... not exactly a flattering picture, which I guess is maybe a point of the movie. I mean, I haven't been back to Chennai since my parents spirited me away as a 7-month-old toddler, and I realize I wouldn't be returning to jewel-lined streets, but are things really THAT bad there? I'm not so sure about this whole India space program or flexing-muscles thing yet (though I wouldn't mind if Singh or somebody would make a serious effort to, uh, get the loot back from Britain-- Kohinoor anybody?)-- I mean, if things really are like that as they depicted in Slumdog, shouldn't there be more of a focus on helping to rescue these poor folks out of that kind of poverty? Or is it just old-fashioned cinematic exaggeration?

8 · sloppyjoe said

he doesnt look like the type of person who can sing a R Kelly

Slumdog is a British movie with an Indian cast. It would have never received funding or mass distribution from Bollywood

Depends on how many mafioso thugs Boyle would be willing to get in bed with.

10 · DesiArnazza said

Anoop rocks, and धन्यवाद and தமிழ் for starting a thread on this rising star. Desi power baby, feel it USA! He has star quality, and nothing would make me happier than having him succeed well enough to tell the arrogant little twerp Simon to go and shove it. (And I'm with you, what is up with "looking like he works for Microsoft"? I can't even tell if it's supposed to be an insult, how Cowell came to that conclusion. I mean, if you're gonna roll out so many not-so-entertaining insults, at least make some bit of sense with 'em.)

As for Slumdog, I saw it... very good, not sure about great but it just coochie-coochie-coos that not-quite-cynical part of your heart. But oh, my, does it show the, um, underbelly of things back in Bharat... not exactly a flattering picture, which I guess is maybe a point of the movie. I mean, I haven't been back to Chennai since my parents spirited me away as a 7-month-old toddler, and I realize I wouldn't be returning to jewel-lined streets, but are things really THAT bad there? I'm not so sure about this whole India space program or flexing-muscles thing yet (though I wouldn't mind if Singh or somebody would make a serious effort to, uh, get the loot back from Britain-- Kohinoor anybody?)-- I mean, if things really are like that as they depicted in Slumdog, shouldn't there be more of a focus on helping to rescue these poor folks out of that kind of poverty? Or is it just old-fashioned cinematic exaggeration?

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yes, it is that bad there. No, not all of it. You can pretty much be anywhere and see both extremes in India.
You can return to jewel lined streets and when you go a few streets down or sometimes even turn the corner you will see it IS that bad there. The majority of India is still poor. The middle class is a minority.

Even if Anoop Dog doesn't win A.I., I have a feeling that Southern Folklore studies are gonna take a nap for awhile when five record companies are pushing contracts in his face and a cola company wants him to sing to you how their brand makes him sing better.

Noop Dogg!

I would love to read the responses, but my boss wont let me take a week off to read them.

There is a reason people love "Twitter"

16 · Singin' in the Baarish said

Indians are Public Enemy #1 since this recession came on even though a lot of us are getting hit too.

OK, here's a list of countries that we've been kicked out of:

1) Uganda
2) Fiji

I wonder, which country is going to be #3??

"here's a list of countries that we've been kicked out ..."

Don't spread paranoia folks - i live in silicon valley - indians have invaded this place a long time ago - and i have seen instances where H1Bs and those who are waiting on Green Cards are allowed to stay while the americans are laid off. we live in tough times and there will be a resentment to the folks who supposedly 'stole' jobs from the native population, but to insinuate that we are going to get kicked out and so on is paranoia at its best - we can fight and protest such incidents if that happens, but the useless and extreme speculations and fear mongering do not serve any purpose.

Everyone, this thread is way off topic. Off topic comments will be deleted and commenters banned.

speaking of south asian musicians...

anybody see a very pregnant m.i.a. on the grammys? someone should give her an award for getting through that performance without going into labor!

He's such a cutie! He seems like someone my mom would love to see me with :P

Anyway, a quick google search leads to a bunch of fan sites - including a facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=55796619880&ref=mf
and another website: http://www.anoopdog.com/

What part of "Off topic comments will be deleted" was confusing?

If you have so much to say, please start a blog. Some of you are writing posts, not comments, and they have nothing to do with this topic, so they doubly don't belong here.

Anna:

Impeccable tastes as always! I've watched Anoop's rendition of Ne-Yo's "Because of You" so many times now--think it's his best. Did you know Noop Dogg has a fan site?

What a cutie! Thanks for the heads up.

SM Intern, I didn't see your post on the 8th regarding "off-topic" comments and was merely responding to the one gentleman who was asking about Indian history. Since there is no other way to contact said individual, could you make an exception to the post since it's obviously something that other readers are interested in? Maybe you could create a separate SM post for people interested in the topic. Obviously, the comment by MSingh got through so if you could make an exception for my comment (which was really just a condensed response to a request), that would be appreciated. Please let me know. Thanks.

Chanakya

22 · Chanakya said

SM Intern, I didn't see your post on the 8th regarding "off-topic" comments and was merely responding to the one gentleman who was asking about Indian history. Since there is no other way to contact said individual, could you make an exception to the post since it's obviously something that other readers are interested in? Maybe you could create a separate SM post for people interested in the topic. Obviously, the comment by MSingh got through so if you could make an exception for my comment (which was really just a condensed response to a request), that would be appreciated. Please let me know. Thanks.

Chanakya, thank you so much for your polite request. I'm sorry you didn't see the earlier warning to not take the thread further off-topic before you took the time to write your response to irrelevant comments.

To all of you whose comments have been removed: please remember that if any of you feel that strongly about an issue, leaving off-topic comments which derail a separate conversation about Anoop/AI isn't the best way to express yourselves (nor does it do you or your opinions justice!). Start a blog, write about these issues and foster dialog that way-- there can never be enough thoughtful, interesting blogs. :)

Now please, may we get back on track? Anyone else like or love Anoop? Did one of you go to school with him? Do you remember how his parents reacted when he told them, "Southern Folklore!"? Details, people! We want details! ;)

What is "Southern Folklore"? Is that like Paul Bunyan and stuff? Maybe Johnny Appleseed? That dude with a hammer and he won a hammering challenge from a guy with a mechanical hammer? Im no educational nut, but if I had a kid and they said "Your paying for my Southern Folklore education" then they would get a lesson in Indian folklore, starting with "The legend on the flying jutti"

The thing that I think will hurt this talented guy in the end is his "Stage Presence". Like if he is singing a R&B song, he would sing it well, but he would sing it with his hands in this pocket while swaying back and forth, or he could go the Clay Aiken path and do that waving your arms around in slow motion while grandma's and grandkids go apeshit over you.

Indian's are doing it big time; have a Oscar nominated movie, a popular Governor, a doctor on CNN who makes house wives around the country want to do bag things, and now this guy. I never would have thought that Indians would have an impact on any sort of pop culture except for the butt of 7-11 jokes.

Don't forget the biggest desi related story this year when my all time hero the great Rod Blagojevich compared himself to Gandhi when talking about his unfair impeachement.

Why is it that both the indian-american guys who did well in American Idol, Anoop and Sanjaya, look and act effeminate? Are they gay or what?

Where are the desi girls?

wow! this guy is amazing! he is definitely a good reason to keep watching american idol. hope he makes it far!

26 · desi said

Why is it that both the indian-american guys who did well in American Idol, Anoop and Sanjaya, look and act effeminate? Are they gay or what?
Where are the desi girls?

You sound insecure. What is so effeminate about this? He comes across as an everyday college kid, neither particularly macho nor girly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYQNuPE5FvQ

I just saw his first "public voting" performance, he was good but not great. I'm sure he will get through this round as there were some very ordinary performances by others.

Argh, my bad- did the cut-and-paste thing for my post from Word but it did the old-fashioned "highlight flip" of my previous post (from that subthread that got moved- I got in the habit of first writing my posts in Word and then cut-and-pasting, after one too many comments eaten by Haloscan).

Anyway, meant to ask- anyone know where to get semi-safe Torrent Downloads of Anoop singing that Smokey Robinson song? (My friend sent me a link that got my virus-scan screeching like an owl.) No matter what happens with the Top 9, Anoop's been The Man just for learning so quickly and performing like that in the spotlight. And his Smokey Robinson number was money!