American Idol: Adios, Sanjaya

SANJAYA, thanks for the memories. High school student Sanjaya Malakar has finally ended his run in the American Idol Season 6. Certainly, he was one of the most controversial contestants as well as one of the most watched.

I guess it was only in the past few weeks that Sanjaya realised that he had generated such a massive following across Asia. It was as if “one of our boys” had suddenly became a serious contender.

When Sanjaya strutted on to centre stage and belted out Let’s Give Them Something To Talk About, it quickly became fairly obvious to all that country music wasn’t his thing.

Nevertheless, it was vintage Sanjaya with a red scarf wrapped around his head as he tried his best to have a good time. Not everybody can slip smoothly into a music genre that is unfamiliar to them.
If Sanjaya was uncomfortable with country music, he didn’t show it. But Randy laid it all out: “Honestly, it wasn’t good at all.” Paula threw in her verdict with “we are watching someone who loves adversity (or was it controversy?).

Simon Cowell put the final nail in the Idol coffin with “utterly horrendous”. I wouldn’t put Sanjaya in the same category as William Hung but I know his future will look pretty bright from now on.

The American Idol has just given Sanjaya the fame that will stay with him for a long time. I like Sanjaya because he was fun to watch and he was hugely entertaining. He doesn’t need good luck because he’s basically talented to have gotten so far.

There were three outstanding contestants on Wednesday evening. Without further ado, they were Phil Stacey, Jordin Sparks and Melinda Doolittle.