Top 20 ‘Idol’ Contestants of All Time – 5: Sanjaya Malakar
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- January
- 14
With “American Idol” consistently dominating the Nielsens as Season 6 began, what could have possibly striken fear in the hearts of fans, judges, producers and record and sales execs?
Try a 17-year-old boy from Federal Way, Wash.
As much as I love “Idol,” I have to admit I enjoyed watching everyone sweat a little bit when Sanjaya Malakar hulaed himself all the way to a seventh-place finish that season.
The most polarizing contestant in series history actually started out harmless enough, auditioning separately with his sister, Shyamali. I admit writing that I liked his initial audition—which was actually pretty good—but if it means anything, I also praised the auditions of Jordin Sparks and Blake Lewis in the same blog post. That said, Sanjaya Malakar’s subsequent songs were quite weak by comparison and it would be only a matter of time before he was booted from the show.
Or would it?
The first indicator of things to come was when Malakar outlasted Rudy Cardenas in the first round of voting—the Top 24. As Malakar started beating out other guys with strong performances (including AJ Tabaldo and Jared Cotter), it soon became evident that voters weren’t really listening to what Mr. Malakar was singing. Maybe they just liked his soft-spoken demeanor and ever-changing coif.
I theorize that once Malakar made the Top 12 and edged out the far-superior Stephanie Edwards into the Top 10 (meaning Edwards missed out on the “Idol” tour—ouch), that’s when his voters expanded beyond the genuine crop of ‘tween girls who had been voting for him the whole time. Once Howard Stern, VoteForTheWorst.com and everyone who’s ever hated the show began throwing their support Malakar’s way, the movement transcended endorsement to become an anarchical battle-cry: “VOTE SANJAYA!”
And then something amazing happened: Malakar transformed from a silent boy who succumbed to judges’ pointed criticism to a guy who let loose and just decided to have a good time with the whole thing. What else could explain his throw-caution-to-the-wind rendition of “You Really Got Me”?
While the “Idol” story became mainstream news and pop culture fodder for TV shows like “Best Week Ever” and “Saturday Night Live,” the carnage continued. Malakar took out Chris Sligh, Gina Glocksen and Haley Scarnato in the following weeks, even bestowing an additional 15 minutes of fame to Ashley “Crying Girl” Ferl. There was a genuine feeling that, just maybe, a Sanjaya victory would melt the nation’s No. 1 show down to its core.
Perhaps suspiciously, the week before “American Idol” kicked off its “Idol Gives Back” charity drive, Malakar was finally eliminated from competition. Cynics who dispute voting totals—which aren’t released to the public—couldn’t help but wonder if producers were trying to have it both ways: Keep Malakar on the show for shock value, but not to the point that it ruins your charity event. I wouldn’t be surprised.
After Malakar was eliminated, it seemed he was everywhere on the talk show circuit. And, to his credit, he appeared to embrace the me-against-the-world persona with a sense of humor. He would have donned a Black Cowboy Hat for all of those interviews if there were only a way to get it to stay on that fauxhawk.
To prevent this upheaval from ever happening again, one possible solution would be to change the voting process, allowing voters to kick people OFF the show, “Survivor”-style. With too many contestants to choose from, this would stop detractors from sending their sole proxy too far into the competition. Of course, this would never happen because of promotional tie-ins to a certain cell phone company and the profits it reaps from said advertisements.
While there will always be contestants who make it waaaay too far on the show, none did so in a way that brought “American Idol” to its knees and to an entirely new audience—for all the wrong reasons.
Also see:
– Top 20 ‘Idol’ Contestants of All Time – Epilogue-No. 1: Kelly Clarkson
-No. 2: Carrie Underwood
-No. 3: Chris Daughtry
-No. 4: Jennifer Hudson
-No. 6: William Hung
-No. 7: Clay Aiken
-No. 8: Fantasia Barrino
-No. 9: Blake Lewis
-No. 10: Tamyra Gray
-No. 11: Jordin Sparks
-No. 12: Melinda Doolittle
-No. 13: Bo Bice
-No. 14: Elliott Yamin
-No. 15: Ruben Studdard
-No. 16: Katharine McPhee
-No. 17: Taylor Hicks
-No. 18: Diana DeGarmo
-No. 19: Frenchie Davis
-No. 20: Lisa Leuschner
-Top 20 intro and criteria/Honorable Mentions (Nos. 21-31)
(Photo courtesy of FOX.)
This entry was posted
on Monday, January 14th, 2008 at 3:30 pm by Chris Serico.
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You know what? This is sort of good point of view. The irony of it is when Sanjaya was on TV screen and we could see him, what did we see?
That was polarizing.
Sanjaya is a “second look boy.” He didn’t impress me much at first, but, when I looked closer, I was really shocked. Gosh! Kid has talent!
I hope he will have successful career.
And about “Keep Malakar on the show for shock value, but not to the point that it ruins your charity event. I wouldn’t be surprised.”
I’m pretty sure that was a cause.
I miss him.. He was entertaining.
yeah, sanjaya was definetily one of the best. he is so cuteeeeee. i miss him, he sings good too. my favorite was when he sang: Besame mucho!!
he is soo cute
I love Sanjaya, I think he actually does have talent.(maybe not in the leage of some of the older contestants, but really is a good singer for his age)and I agree that he is entertaing, and is my second favorite of the season, and part of why I watched this season.
There’s some truth to this though it makes me sad in a way. It should never have been this way. Sanjaya had every ingredient in place to be America’s Sweetheart… for all the RIGHT reasons. He was adorable, with a charismatic personality, cute looks, a great smile, great hair and a good voice with the potential to be great (he just needed to work on his dynamics a little more in the beginning). Had he been on any other show than AI, with Simon tearing him down week after week, he would have been an instant star, without having to pay the price of all the polarizing controversy his presence generated. I still think he can come back strong. America loved him before Simon Cowell, Howard Stern and others turned his AI run into a mockery. I think he just has to get in touch again with that quality, that initial spark people first saw in him, before things turned ugly. His performances and reception during the tour proved that he can command a stage and entertain. I saw complete 360 turnabouts made from skeptics during that tour.
The kid does have talent, and one day soon he is going to shine brighter than ever before.
There is something striking about Sanjaya Malakar that allows a person to connect with him right off the bat. Whether you are watching him on television, at a concert, or simply saying hello – there is a pure soul and genuine quality about him that makes him so different than any other contestant that graced the stage on American Idol, or any person for that matter. There is a deep sense of strength and groundedness he holds and has held through the AI competition that resonated in his eyes and smile that left such a lasting impression in the hearts of his most loyal fans to date. The show offered just the slightest glimpse into the talent that is Sanjaya. The tour reinforced the simple truth of just how amazing he is. His fans fell in love with him all over again and it was as if the new fans saw him emerge to his true potential for the very first time. Again, this is all just the beginning of a bright future for Sanjaya Malakar. He has yet to leave us all humbled and forever proud in the person he is.
You really don’t have a clue, do you?
This blog is just a pulpit to express your lack of knowledge and bias.
On the first Sanjaya-less night, the hyped and celeb-studded Idol Gives Back show lost 9pc of its ratings. It was a telethon. There’s nearly always a significant spike during a telethon: an extra 10 or 20pc wouldn’t have been out of the question by any means.
Instead, people didn’t bother watching. For me and them, Sanjaya was the most interesting thing about the show. Given that articles about the new season seldom fail to mention him, arguably he still is.
Best of luck to him. He deserves everything good that comes his way.
IF the “PTB” thought Sanjaya could line their already heavy pockets with MORE, they would have tucked him in bed at night and brought him hot chocolate and cookies. Everyone can see the way there were trying to pull Sanjaya down because he wasnt progressing fast enough for them.
This entire show is nothing more than a bank deposit to AI. And whats worse is, its not the contestants they are #ucking with the most. Its us. Anything to get their hands on our money is fair game to AI. They just didnt want Sanjaya to win that record deal.
Well it all worked out for the best because Sanjaya has many more opportunities now and with his drive and determination he can pick and chose the path of entertainment he wishes to follow. But AI has lost much credibility last year. I dont know who can really trust their motives and voting tallys anymore. Make no mistake, Sanjaya Malakar did win American Idol 2007 in the hearts and minds of many.
I was never a big fan of American Idol, but I tuned in all of last season for only one reason…Sanjaya. After he was voted off, I didn’t watch again (except the finale-to see him) and don’t plan on watching again. Whatever his critics want to say is fine, but the fact is that he is one very talented young man who has a gorgeous voice. If his career is managed properly and the right choices are made, he can have a hugely successful career. He has all the talent, charisma and personality he needs to reach superstardom. People of all ages just adore him. He’s the real deal.
I’m with Mira. I wasn’t a big fan of American Idol too, not until I saw Sanjaya. I did exactly what Mira did….didn’t watch American Idol again when he got voted off. I got a chance to see him again but this time it was different because I’m not seating in my living room. I went to see one of their “live tour ”.I made sure I get the best seat… which I did.Like Mira said “poeple of all ages will adore him” and I’m one of them. Sanjaya wil always be my IDOL!!!
HEY SANJAYA WAS THE TRUE PICTURE OF THIS IDOL SHOW.NICE, HONEST,AMERICAN, EAGER TO TRY,LEARN AND BECOME A GOOD AND FAMOUS SINGER . A MODULATED VOICE,STARTS OUT GOOD,GETS BETTER AND BETTER . HE IS THE DREAM KID,THE AMERICAN DREAM IN MULTIPLE WAYS!SANJAYA BECAME A STAR,AND EVERYONE GOT JEALOUS. THIS SHOW NEEDED A SANJAYA,AND FINALLY,AFTER 5 SLOW SEASONS…HE EMERGED, INNOCENT ,FRESH . SANJAYA PULLED ON OUR HEARTS,AND WE WERE HOOKED ! COULD HE MAKE TV ANY BETTER?
SURE HOPE AM IDOL IS CLEVER ENOUGH TO BRING SANJAYA BACK ON THE NEW SHOWS IN 2009 , AS A GUEST.!!!THEY SHOULD HAVE IN 2008,BUT UNFORTUNATELY… THEY MISSED THE MARK!!