The Sanjaya Factor
Posted by SugarRay on April 06, 2007

Sanjaya “The Hair” Malakar is still on American Idol. He is going to be there for a while. It doesn't matter that he has had seven horrible performances in a row. Idol fans will have to suffer for a while longer, it seems. I have gone through denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and I have finally accepted it. But before he has another terrible performance with yet another terrible hairdo, let’s take a look at why exactly he is still around and why it shouldn’t effect your life as much as you are letting it.

The following was written by Lisa de Moraes of the Washington Post:

Panic seized "American Idol" last night as judges searched desperately for things to say about Sanjaya Malakar's performance that would not mobilize little girls and older women to get out the vote to save him.

..."I don't know that I can even comment on the vocals anymore," judge Randy Jackson offered after Sanjaya mumbled his way through Irving Berlin's "Cheek to Cheek" while gliding around stage like a waiter moving carefully through a crowd, stopping briefly to flirt and dance with Paula Abdul.

"You've turned into a great entertainer," Randy said, paying tribute to Sanjaya's ever-changing hair and outfits. This week, his hair brilliantined to shine brighter than his gleaming teeth, Sanjaya is dressed like John Travolta in "Saturday Night Fever" -- which is odd, given that it's Tony Bennett week on "Idol."

"I get why people love you -- you're charming," Abdul said. "Thank you for the dance."

"Let's try a different tactic this week . . . um, incredible!" Simon Cowell contributed.

"Welcome to the Universe of Sanjaya!" Sanjaya shrieked through his Perpetual Grin back at Simon as the crowd erupted.

And then, just as they were about to pull it off, show host Ryan Seacrest had to go and say, snidely, "You do a great job of flying under the radar, Sanjaya."

Before I begin, I would like to state that I am NOT a fan of Sanjaya Malakar. He is a horrible, horrible singer/performer/entertainer/metrosexual model/goofy teenage star. He should have been booted from the competition a long time ago. But I am not letting it depress me. I am not going on some crazy hunger strike. The fact is, I don't care as much that he is still around as much as other fans of American Idol. Here's why:

Exhibit A: American Idol Auditions are fixed by the producers

…which is not necessarily a bad thing. The producers are trying to put together a product that people will take time out of their busy lives to watch. In order to do that, you need the right mix of people to do it, otherwise it would be boring. They are looking for the right singers, not necessarily the best singers. Since Season 4, when we started seeing a more diverse field of styles, the producers have been trying to put something in for everybody so more and more people will watch. Sanjaya was put through for the teeny-bopper crowd and the Indian-American crowd. Those two fanbases are what got him through his awful semi-final performances. Not to mention the whole angle with him and his sister going through the auditions together was a decent hook for television. It's all about how the producers want to package the show. It's called CAPITALISM!

Yes, it is true that Vote for the Worst.com and Howard Stern have had a lot of influence in keeping him by endorsing him on the basis that he sucks. So Sanjaya has essentially three fan bases, but this one is probably the most influential. As much as I don’t like Sanjaya, I have to defend VFTW, though. What they are doing is perfectly understandable. They want a more entertaining show, and getting the vote out for Sanjaya is not unethical in any way. Lots of contestants have had fan sites that tell people to vote for whoever, VFTW is just more established and influential. And all the attention morons like Bill O’Reilly gives them just informs more people about them and gives them even more clout. American Idol should be thanking VFTW for gathering media attention to their show.

They are. Think about it. There have been five people crowned “American Idol”: Kelly Clarkson, Reuben Stoddard, Fantasia Barrino, Carrie Underwood, and Taylor Hicks. Out of those five, only TWO (Clarkson and Underwood) have lived up to that title. Reuben is lost somewhere in a chunky chocolate abyss. Fantasia has been reduced to a starring in the horrible Broadway Musical, The Color Purple. Taylor is in a similar abyss as Reuben, only his abyss probably involves hair dye and Doobie Brothers music. Even the runner-ups have faded. Justin Guarini, Clay Aiken, Bo Bice and others? They all had limited success outside of the show. Meanwhile, Chris Daughtry and Kellie Pickler have both had amazing commercial success in the music industry, and they both failed to make it into the top 3, even. Chris Sligh, who was voted off just last week, placing tenth in the overall competition, is having more success with Half Past Forever than some former “Idols.” What I am getting at here is that we all have control over what music we buy (or steal if you are an online thief) after the competition is over. Even in the unlikely event that Sanjaya wins, that doesn’t mean we’ll be forced to listen to him forever just because he is the defacto winner. The same goes for any other contestant currently in the running. Personally, I am going for a Gina Glocksen album if she ever comes out with one.

So, there you have it, American Idol fans. Sanjaya’s talentless performances are not the end of the world. And you shouldn’t be letting a TELEVISION show run your life, either, you big loser! It’s just a TV SHOW, for crying out loud. Get a grip. Go outside, or something!