North Carolina native Anoop Desai auditioned for the eighth season of American Idol in 2009 with a rendition of "Thank You" by Boyz II Men, eventually making it to the top 13 in the Wild Card round. A founding member of his high school's all-male a cappella group called the Chiefs of Staff, Desai later performed with the Clef Hangers, an all-male a cappella group, as an undergraduate student at the University of North Carolina.