LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - Anoop Desai may not have won Season 8 of "American Idol," but the up-and-coming pop/R&B artist is set to prove himself a champion with his new "Zero" series.
Following the release of his debut music video "All Is Fair (Crazy Love)" in February, Anoop unveils the next phase of his unique musical vision with "Zero.0," the first in a series of three EPs set for release in 2011. "Zero.0" won't be available on iTunes until April 20, but you can download the EP on Billboard.com.
"The whole concept of 'Zero' is talking about the power of music to describe a moment in time, not necessarily a singular emotion," says Desai, who served as the principle songwriter of the project which meshes the smooth vibes of classic crooners like Sam Cooke and Marvin Gaye with the modern musical approach of current R&B superstars like Usher and Justin Timberlake.
Rather than following the traditional album format, Desai set out to create a work that would give him the freedom to experiment with different sounds, textures and lyrical concepts.
"(Zero) is cyclical, a start and an arrival. I want to play in both fusion and extremes with sound and subject matter," he explains. "DJ Trauma (the project's co-executive producer) ... and I came to the consensus that there was a lot of great material that we had, so we're breaking it up into 3 EPs."
"Zero.0," which was also co-executive-produced by Calvin Matthews and features productions by Sak Pase (Rihanna), Wonderberg and the Big Shots, contains nine tracks, including a remix of "All is Fair."
Anoop is also giving fans something new to wait for: an additional song, "Wait," will added to the official iTunes release on April 20. "Zero.1" is expected to be released in July, with "Zero.2" following three months later.