NEWS: American Idol, Sanjaya, and a Salute to the Worst

CULTURE: American Idol, Sanjaya, and a Salute to the Worst

There's been a lot of hand-wringing and moaning from American Idol fans over the past couple of weeks. Simon Cowell has threatened to quit the show. One fan has gone on a hunger strike. The reason? It seems that a certain follicle-blessed, and singing-deficient participant with the euphonious name Sanjaya Malakar continues along in the competition (and America's number-one show), while others who can actually sing are voted off.

So, who is to blame? Some have pointed the finger at the website Vote For The Worst which has been urging viewers to vote for the worst singers on Idol for several seasons now.

This season, VFTW has received an added boost now that Howard Stern has been promoting the site and telling his rabid fans to push Sanjaya through. Maybe, though, it has nothing to do with Stern or this site. Maybe there are just a lot of teenage girls who like a kid with a big smile and bigger hair and they also know that reality shows are as far from reality as one can get. Since the show is about the votes rather than the singing, why shouldn't a bad singer win?



(PointBlank is too highbrow for trash like Idol, but if Renee becomes America's Next Top Model, he might blow a gasket.)

I was thinking Shawn Cassidy, but that works too!

sanjaya is certainly one of the greatest mysteries american has seen.

and today...

I feel bad for that kid. He knows no one wants him on the show, and he still gets pushed forward. All the terrible things people are saying about him are probably killing his self-esteem. Normally, I'm all for public humiliation and whatnot, but I just feel bad for him for some reason.

I suggest "America's Worst Pop Star" wherein only the worst get through. The one who has the confidence to go through and win despite being completely talentless should get a record deal because, let's face it, nothing sells like a novelty album.

Though I don't think the contestents should be told about the new concept of the show.

didn't they do this? i remember seeing it on TV - it might not have been FOX, but i swear someone did a show like that.

i'd also like to add that my father refers to him as San-JINA. because, well, he'd make a pretty decent female.

Seriously, I'd even take the kooky Russian over her.

LOL for some reason I kept thinking the guys name was Sanjay...either way that kid cant carry a tune in a bucket.

can he possibly be worse than any of the other people who have won that show?

Wasn't he Johnny Quest's friend?

I would like to see Sanjaya win...but then again, I would have liked to have seen William Hung win too.

I'm starting to feel sorry for him as well..
I just think that this is vicious.

he probally has no idea of his suckness, and assumes the nay-sayer majority are just 'haters'.

it's what works for ashlee simpson

I think it does have a lot to do with Stern, but a big to-do controversy is also good for ratings so I bet idol's producers aren't complelely unhappy about it. Reality shows are fucking stupid and it's exceptionally fun to make a mockery of them. Up With Sangina!

No such thing as GOOD Reality TV




Unless we're talking about Murder In Small Town X

he looks like a gay(er) ricki martin with worse hair than danny bonaducci.

oh, and he can't sing. but that didn't stop william hung.

Hell, there is no such thing as "reality" tv. It's all coerced. The fact that people audition for reality tv nulls any true sense of reality.

I'm still surprised that people believe Laguna Beach/The Hills has anything to do with reality when there are no body mics on the actors (which means all of the voice is dubbed later in a studio) and multiple camera angles are set up prior to the actors just "spontaneously" showing up.

Sheesh, at least they could insult us slightly less by having them wear prop mic packs.

I loved it!

I laughed a LOT.