Desai, an only child, was born in Cary, North Carolina. His family moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina in 1998. He went to Fuller GT Magnet Elementary School in Raleigh, North Carolina. His parents both work in North Carolina’s Research Triangle. His mother, Nalini, is a biochemist with a Ph.D. in molecular biology his father, Manoj, is a software engineer and designs computer software. Desai’s father was born in India, and his mother, also of Indian descent, was born in South Africa.
In the 1990s, Desai appeared on the WRAL-TV (NC Triangle) television children's show, "CentralXpress.com", and played the character "Raj". The show won multiple awards, including seven regional Emmys, two national Iris awards, and a national Gabriel Award.
Desai attended Carnage Middle School and Phillips Middle School, then later went on to attend East Chapel Hill High School, graduating in 2004. He was awarded a four year academic merit scholarship to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and was the Haywood W. Hinkle Carolina scholar from 2004 to 2008.
After being accepted and planning to attend college at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Desai auditioned for and was accepted as a member of the UNC Clef Hangers, a long-standing male a capella group founded in 1977. He was accepted in the group as a senior in high school with the understanding that he would begin attending the University in the Fall of 2004. Desai served as the group's Music Director during his junior year and as the group's president his senior year. He remains President Emeritus of the UNC Clef Hangers. Desai’s performance as a soloist on the song “She Has No Time” was recognized with the BOCA 2007 (Best of College A Cappella).
Desai graduated from UNC in 2008 with a Bachelor of Arts degree, double majoring in Political Science and American Studies. He was awarded the 2008 Peter C. Baxter Memorial Prize in American Studies, as one who exemplified "intellectual excellence, personal warmth and creativity. His undergraduate senior thesis was titled "Why Barbecue Matters in the South," wherein he analyzes barbecue as a religious symbol in the South, among other things. Before Season 8 of American Idol, he was a graduate student in the field of cultural anthropology, working towards a Master of Arts degree in folklore at UNC.