Make Mine Vanilla: Season Sanjaya Six and the American Idol Illusion

Sanjaya was the only reason I watched American Idol, this season. I can’t wait to see him in the future. He was the only contestant with originality and personality.
AI6 is Sanjaya season. I will remember how fun it was to watch him and to try to guess his song choice, his hair style, his comments on the judges harsh criticism and his big smile.
Good luck Sanjaya!!!

Comment by Claudia from Washington, DC — May 21, 2007 @ 9:07 am

Interesting reading. You mention that Phil Stacey, with his “expert” imitations of original artists could be compared with Rich Little. A better comparison would be to Las Vegas headliner Danny Gans, who really does make a career of singing impressions of many artists. Although I think Phil would do better as a star in a remake of Werner Herzog’s “Nosferatu, the Vampire.”

Comment by Jimmy from Los Angeles — May 21, 2007 @ 10:04 am

Thank you.  At last the mainstream press is beginning to understand why this young man got so much attention.  I am an adult, I am not deaf, and I deliberately voted for Sanjaya on three different nights because he injected some genuine life and fun into what had been become a very mediocre season full of cookie-cutter, bland singers who weren’t really much more talented than he was.  (I had genuine enthusiasm for Melinda Doolittle; it is perhaps fitting that this season of crashing mediocrity would end by bouncing the single true talent in the entire bunch.)

I heard his excellent audition, and I am not so sure that Sanjaya really lacks talent.  He certainly needs some vocal training.  At any rate, I applaud him for making the absolute most of a very weak position and I thank him for single-handedly saving the first half of this season for me.

Comment by Claire — May 21, 2007 @ 10:08 am

Sanjaya was the best...he is still the best.

Its mostly the mediocre press… who are typically too lazy to do any research on their own simply regurigitate what others say. They are a pack that simply follow the first wolf.

This is my first AI on the account of sanjaya..and I got out once he left. But I have been googling for any news about Sanjaya almost every day. Infact, thats how I found your article! Thanks to Sanjaya, you got 1 additional hit.  :)

Manny

Comment by Manny — May 21, 2007 @ 12:47 pm

Sanjaya is a real stuff. If he was not the best then he was not the worst as bozos in media portrayed him. I never watched AI in last 5 seasons. Sanjaya was the only reason, I turned on my rarely used 65” HD plasma.

Comment by sunny — May 21, 2007 @ 1:13 pm

I don’t understand why you think his voice is not good (you mentioned “off-key"). I think his voice is great! Listen to his studio mp3’s and listen to the “Sweet Chariot” on youtube and you will realize that he has got great smooth voice. Its just that he was inexperienced, shy and probably never sang with a Band behind him. His voice probably didn’t even reach the back of the hall when he gave his live performances. Remember that he is doing it on TV in front of millions of people and many of them hating him for no reason. He was nervous. This is evident in the fact that he started his performances very bad and finished them on a strong note. Go back and watch again, if you don’t believe me.

I think Sanjaya has it all this season. Press and judges have been unfair to him. He will grow into a great entertainer. You wait and watch!

Comment by Jack — May 21, 2007 @ 1:41 pm

Agree with Manny. See this blogcritics post:
http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/04/27/173753.php

Comment by micky from NY, NY — May 21, 2007 @ 3:58 pm

Anyone who thinks Sanjaya is entertaining or can sing is a complete idiot and obviously bored to death with life in general. He was the most non talented person ive ever seen on idol. Even William Hung had more talent than this kid. I’m sure a year from now no one will even remember his name. If you watch idol looking for so called talent like this then please quit watching and for Gods sake quit voting. How he ever got into the top 24 is beyond me. I think we need new judges cause these 3 are burned out. They passed on Bailey (Big mistake) and maybe even a bigger mistake they passed on Pia Toscano (look her up on myspace and hear her version of Hurt). Either of these 2 could easily replace Sanjaya in top 24. I think Sanjaya got through cause they are getting so many freaks they think its normal so they passed him on. The guy literally makes my ears bleed. And to the one who wrote the article, you dont see personality in any of the top 10 but Sanjaya??? You must not have a clue what personality is. I’ll take Jordin this year overall, but Blake, Melinda, Kiki, Halley and phil all had great personalities. So Bite me!!!

Comment by Coin from Space — May 21, 2007 @ 10:34 pm

This is an excellent article. I need not add more.
The writer gets it!!!
Please get your daily Sanjaya news bulletins by requesting friend add at:
http://www.myspace.com/rhonda9080

Providing Sanjaya news and articles to all the Fanjayas and fan clubs on My Space--all are welcome!

Comment by Rhonda from Florida — May 21, 2007 @ 10:43 pm

This article is ridiculous.
Full of euphemisms, “big words,” cliche’s and dare we say, yesterday’s marketing techniques, what this sounds like is this writer is lobbying hard from her English 101 teacher for an “A.”
You have succeeded ONLY in provoking the reader...100% of your diatribe is nonsense, unfounded and bordering on gibberish (were it not for your decent sentence structure).
In like terms, I feel compelled to say: get over yourself.
You’re not that important. In fact, let me borrow a cliche that I believe, sums it up appropriately: your opinion sucks just about as much as your pathetic commentary.

Comment by Maria Stanley from San Diego — May 22, 2007 @ 8:49 am

As an “interested observer” from Canada I have watched American Idol for a few years now. The Canadian Idol is a little boring compared to yours.  I must say that the hatred and outrage for a very young boy who only tried to do his best and entertain an audience is a little alarming.

Is he a murderer, drug dealer, did he thow puppies under cars? No. He just sang on a show.  I found him to be sweet, charming and a pretty good singer, you might too if you allow yourself to really listen to him.

He is very popular up here, people are very excited that we will be able to see your idols here in Toronto this summer, and the main reason....Sanjaya. That seems to be who everyone is talking about...well sometimes the girls actually scream about!

Thanks so much to all you Americans for finding him and allowing him to come up here for us to enjoy too.

Comment by Robin from Canada — May 22, 2007 @ 9:22 am

I am another adult WAY past my teenage years who is a huge Fanjaya. It is a complete myth that his fans are only teens, although I can easily see how his exotic good looks would appeal to that spectrum of his fan base. Sanjaya’s voice shines in the studio recordings, although the mix on the show tended to overwhelm it. His performances showcase his versatility, charisma, and exuberance. He clearly had the time of his life on the show, despite the scathing criticism. I admire his humility, grace, and charm in addition to his vocal talent and I think he has a bright future ahead of him in the entertainment industry.

Comment by Kapua from Salinas, CA — May 22, 2007 @ 12:30 pm

Coin from Space....
here is some information for you.
Sanjaya has one of the best audition responses of season 6, from all thee judges especially simon, so we all know that he has an amazing voice.
you are entitled to your oppinion on how well he performed.
don’t just drink the kool-aid...do some research, you will be surprised, at how wrong you are.
your comment is a combination of a bunch of crappy write-ups from a bunch of crappy writers who are also kool-aid drinkers, they all copy each other, because they have no originality, and now you have copied them.
Sanjaya will have the last laugh...be sure of that!

Comment by donika from ny — May 22, 2007 @ 1:25 pm

Late reaction from me. Too busy tring to keep up with the news about Sanjaya and to enjoy his video’s that are posted on the web.
I thank you for your article, and I agree with you. Sanjaya is really refreshing and such a pleasure to watch. His enthousiasme is contagious and so is his smile. I expect great things for him in the future, and we who love Sanjaya will be thrilled.

Comment by giacotia from St.Maarten, Caribbean — May 25, 2007 @ 12:12 pm

Finally! A sane voice in the media. Thank you! I’ve been perplexed by all the hysteria about this kid. He’s just a 17 year old boy on a cheesy reality show. That is all.

I’ve watched American Idol for 6 years now. Every season, there’s always some poor teenaged kid who becomes the public whipping post: Carmen Rasmussen, Ryan Starr, John Stevens, Jasmine Trias, Kevin Covais, now Sanjaya Malakar. I think the producers cast these hapless children and throw them into the public lion’s den to be humiliated and ripped apart for “entertainment” purposes.

This season has been especially awful. There is an ugly undercurrent of xenophobia that is quite disturbing because of Sanjaya’s mixed Indian/Italian heritage. I am appalled by the hatred heaped on this innocent kid who did nothing wrong but enter a meaningless contest.

I just do not understand people who work themselves into such a hateful rage over this stupid show. What is wrong with them? Have they gone mad? Lost all perspective? Are they insanely stupid?

Sanjaya is not running for political office. American Idol is not important. People’s lives should not hinge on the end result of a reality TV show. Who cares? Did Sanjaya send troops to Iraq? Lie about weapons of mass destruction? Pollute our eco-system with toxic chemicals? Batter or abuse women? Gun down innocent students on a college campus? Kill babies, choke puppies or club baby seals? What has this poor child done to evoke so much outrage and vitriol?

Unfortunately, I feel the media has been the worst culprits. Every single day, I see some hateful article bemoaning this child as a “national nightmare” (um, what would you consider the massacre in Virginia?), comparing him to a terrorist and railing against his very existence. Disgusting! These journalists are supposedly grown adults. Yet they spent their time writing histrionic articles about a 17 year old kid on a reality show. It is shameful. And disappointing.

Comment by Michael from Seattle — May 26, 2007 @ 11:27 pm