The strange phenomenon of Sanjaya on American Idol
by guest contributor Angry Asian Man, originally published at Angry Asian Man
Apologies. I have not yet written anything about the inexplicable phenomenon known as Sanjaya Malakar, who has defied all logic and somehow managed to survive all the way into the top ten of this season’s American Idol. I say this because it’s general consensus that the kid is easily the worst of the bunch, and he should’ve been axed a long time ago, yet somehow people keep voting for him. I’ve particularly enjoyed these blogs on the matter: Sanjaya Must Be Stopped; Bringing Balance to the Force.
Better performers than Sanjaya have already been sent home. I haven’t been following the competition very closely this season, but I’ve seen Sanjaya perform a couple of times, and he’s waaaaay out of his league. The love/hate frenzy over Sanjaya is intense! Things got really bizarre on last week’s show when they kept showing this crazed, crying girl in the audience during his performance, apparently moved to tears by the S-Boy’s rousing rendition of “You Really Got Me.” Maybe she’s the girl who keeps calling to vote. There’s also an extremely vocal anti-Sanjaya movement out there fueled by people who are truly horrified at the prospect of him winning the competition. They believe this is a crisis, and they’re out to preserve not only the sanctity of American Idol, but the very notion of American democracy. One American Idol viewer has even gone on a hunger strike: Starvation for Sanjaya. According to her MySpace page, “So until the day that Sanjaya is no longer American Idol, I will be going on a hunger strike. This means I will refuse to eat anything until American Idol voters wise up, and stop voting Sanjaya through each week.” That is some crazy kind of dedication.
And Vote For The Worst, a website proudly dedicated to destroying American Idol, has been urging visitors to vote for him. The logic is, what better way to demonstrate the suckiness of Idol than to have everybody vote for the suckiest guy to win? Maybe they’re the ones responsible for this. The xenophobic reaction, of course, is to point to all the South Asian voters (millions of them!) who are allegedly keeping Sanjaya in the competition. Maybe they are. Whatever the case, I find this all highly amusing. Heck, I’d love to see the South Asian kid win. And I’d love to see the takedown and ridicule of Idol even more. If Sanjaya wins, I’ll be laughing. We’ll see if he survives another round this week…
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Rob wrote:
Is it just me or is his Joker smile too big for his face?
Posted 29 Mar 2007 at 8:19 am ¶
Vandia wrote:
The most delusional ( and probably xenophobic) idea I have heard so far is that call centers which have been outsourced to India ( and run by Indians) are skewing the votes in favor of Sanjaya. What f$#@ing sickos roam our streets- beats me.
People respond to a variety of qualities in a contestant. Very young kids identify with a young contestant. Personality, smile, ability to mesmerize twelve and thirteen year olds, and yeah! last but not least a sort of fond underdogness would definitely help….
Posted 29 Mar 2007 at 10:20 am ¶
kim wrote:
You and eric daniels crack me up this week.
The smile is a little… deep and wide.
Posted 29 Mar 2007 at 10:25 am ¶
susanc wrote:
I think that he’s the Indian American Leif Garrett…check out the hair, it’s obvious! He’s definitely got the 12 year old girl vote locked in.
With the other contestants, I’m always excited about what they’ve picked to sing that week, but with Sanjaya, it’s all about what crazy hairstyle they’ve given him.
Posted 29 Mar 2007 at 11:14 am ¶
eva wrote:
There are SO FEW Asian Indian people represented anywhere on TV, I’m so they are representing. He does have a Baliwood appeal…
I’m please though the backlash is focused on his lack of talent…
Posted 29 Mar 2007 at 11:16 am ¶
brad wrote:
Come on. He’s a cute teenager! There are tons of girls out there (in addition to the vote-the-worsters) who love him. He’s a classic teen idol. Yeah, he doesn’t sing the best, but he’s cute, has a good smile, long locks, etc. There have been thousands of other teen singers just like him who have caught the imagination of straight girls and gay boys.
Remember a few years ago when the teen girl from Hawaii held on for a long time? And for heaven’s sake, what about Clay Aiken? What about all the Claymates who refuse to acknowledge Aiken is gay?
Frankly, I hope Sanjaya gets some good vocal coaching and pulls a surprise win. Hey, Simon did dismiss Jennifer Hudson, who’s to say Sanjaya doesn’t have something really special that could burst through given the right moment.
Also, I think the Sanjaya haters should remember that he is just a kid.
Posted 29 Mar 2007 at 12:22 pm ¶
Sam wrote:
Everyone knows the Sanjaya is still on because of the folks from Vote For The Worst. They even have a new text feature that allows people to vote for Sanjaya immediately even if they aren’t watching. See for yourself: VFTW on your Cell
Posted 29 Mar 2007 at 12:53 pm ¶
Ailurophile wrote:
He’s young and purty. As Susan said, he’s filling the Leif Garrett niche. I see Sanjaya as a counterpart of Orlando Bloom - not really talented, but androgynously good-looking, charismatic, and swooned over by young women. Betcha the young female vote is what keeps Sanjaya on. He’s this decade’s Shaun Cassidy or Scott Baio.
Posted 29 Mar 2007 at 2:07 pm ¶
Rage wrote:
I don’t get it. The dude who was kicked off last night rocked “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic” (at least in his sendoff song) better than Sting’s original. And he’s the only person I’ve seen actually give Sanjaya a hug. I don’t really think he’s part of the “in” crowd in Idol either (though I have to admit, I haven’t been watching).
The way that race plays out in Idol, and the calling audience, is incredibly interesting. Can anyone point to more in-depth analysis?
Posted 29 Mar 2007 at 2:26 pm ¶
kim wrote:
Leif Garrett, Shaun Cassidy, (maybe Scott Baio)!
Good call!
Posted 29 Mar 2007 at 3:16 pm ¶
Kenda wrote:
brad, the sanjaya/jennifer hudson parallel is a bit much. but i hope the kid wins.
Posted 29 Mar 2007 at 7:17 pm ¶
Rob Schmidt wrote:
Doesn’t anyone here listen to Howard Stern? Well, I don’t, except when my buddy makes me.
Anyway, Stern is leading a campaign to screw up the system and make Sanjaya win. He’s urging his millions of fans to vote for Sanjaya repeatedly.
Posted 29 Mar 2007 at 8:14 pm ¶
deb wrote:
Yes, very call good on (a South Asian) Leif Garrett. (Leif has since lost that golden mane, though and the spandex.)
All of the attention Sanjaya’s getting (negative and otherwise) just might work to his advantage. Heck, there are probably agents ready to pounce whenever he ends up in the bottom three. I can just see his big grin on the cover of Tiger Beat! (Is that magazine still around?)
Posted 30 Mar 2007 at 9:46 am ¶
B.G. wrote:
An example of the racist backlash:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjVpfHLAsZI&NR=1
Posted 02 Apr 2007 at 3:10 am ¶
Bohemian Writer wrote:
OK for the record I’m black (West Indian) but that youtube video was hilarious!!! (especially when the panther did vote that thing off) LOL! Please people don’t take it too seriously!
PS-I really think they have taken this to the next level on Idol where the audience is making a clown out of him. Remember last week when Seacrest came out in a mohawk wig? Not cool.
Posted 02 Apr 2007 at 8:39 pm ¶
merq wrote:
Bohemian Writer wrote:
“OK for the record I’m black (West Indian) …”
And??
Posted 03 Apr 2007 at 4:02 am ¶
Mike wrote:
Not that I am a supporter of the boy, but I think everyone needs to realize that its American Idol!!! So can he be viewed as an Idol to Americas Teens? Well it seems so because he is getting the votes!!! No where in the term Idol does it say you have to be a proffeciant singer! They Idolize him, so they vote for their Idol..
Posted 05 Apr 2007 at 9:38 am ¶
desiofthenorth wrote:
i get that you don’t have to love sanjaya, but this is an anti-racist site. and why not bash the 100’s of technically imperfect white singers who sail to the top.
there is a major amount of ‘picking on asians’ going on right now. sanjaya is a decent performer. he is young. and i can think of so many white vocalists who should never have been short-listed on that show in the first place.
i think your post should be taken down.
Posted 18 May 2007 at 9:55 pm ¶