There’s no doubt that Anoop Desai’s lucky number is thirteen.

 

 After making public the names of the three remaining finalists at the conclusion of Thursday’s “American Idol” wild card round, judge Simon Cowell announced that the dearly-loved 22-year-old college student from Chapel Hill, N.C., had obtained a formerly unexpected 13^th place in the following round of the popular Fox singing competition. Throughout previous seasons, only a dozen finalists were selected to advance to the next round.

 

Simon Cowell explained that the panel had decided “recently” that they would “make this a top 13.”

 

The three other wild-card finalists picked by the judges were Jasmine Murray, the talented 16-year-old high school student from Starkville, Miss.; Megan Corkrey, the idiosyncratic 22-year-old single mom from Sandy, Utah, as well as Matt Giraud, the poignant 23-year-old dueling piano player from Kalamazoo, Mich.

 

In spite of the fact that the four contestants had been dismissed from the show, the wild card round permits the panel to select four more singers to join the already picked finalists.

 

Anoop Desai’s eleventh hour pick was not the night’s only apparently unscripted moment, as arousing semifinalist Tatiana Del Toro went down on her knees and beseeched a top spot from the judges following her rendition of Whitney Houston’s “Saving All My Love for You.” Host Ryan Seacrest subsequently entered the stage and told her she didn’t have to get up off her knees.

 

“Family show, family show,” newly added judge Kara DioGuardi constantly asserted during the uncomfortable moment.

 

The four contestants selected on Thursday join previously chosen finalists Kris Allen, Danny Gokey, Alexis Grace, Allison Iraheta, Adam Lambert, Scott MacIntyre, Jorge Nunez, Lil Rounds and Michael Sarver. The 13 singers will start fighting next Tuesday, with one contestant sent home each Wednesday.