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That was enough to get a little girl crying tears of happiness. As if this week’s theme British Invasion wasn’t enough that Fox had to repeatedly show a typical symptom of Beatles Mania while Sanjaya was singing. Nope, it wasn’t a desi teenager as some would like us to think. Personally, I think it was a classic stunt by Fox of playing to the masses who’ve kept Sanjaya in so far [can't beat them, join them.] They even got Sanjaya to hug the little girl probably giving her immense joy. I don’t think she stopped crying even after Sanjaya was done. Even Simon couldn’t help pointing to her as a judgment of Sanjaya’s performance [video and 40+ screen caps.] What do pre-teen girls know about singing, right? Again, you’ll ask that if you think American Idol is about singing and not reality TV at its watchable best. Take a look at the little girl. It is not call centers or desi (south-asian) ghettos organizing ‘Malakrazy’ parties to keep him on. It is the American tween girl demographic. It is the same demographic that made Britney Spears popular. I should assume Sanjaya Malakar is the least of their crimes.
If the tween wave wasn’t enough to tide Sanjaya over, the folks at Vote for the Worst have been joined by shock-jock Howard Stern and his 5 million listeners in making Sanjaya’s case. Responding to accusations of a desi conspiracy, the newly-crowned specialist, Confused (now outed) shares his wisdom with ABC News:
“There’s not a concerted effort to make him win,” said Rohit Pradhan, a frequent blogger on DesiPundit.com and other sites catering to Indian interests. Pradhan added, however, that there is online chatter about Malakar being on the show. “I definitely think Indian-Americans take him as one of their own,” he said. “There’s a feeling of pride, or being part of mainstream America.”
But that doesn’t stop the hidden racism from rearing its ugly head [see this comment (slightly edited)] I hadn’t seen such a wave of hatred for John Stevens couple of seasons ago (it’s a frikking TV show.)
PS. Why are people still searching for Shyamali, his sister?
Update: MTV has the scoop on the ’star crier’ on American Idol. It turns out that Ashley is from Riverside, California and was not a ’special guest’ on the show or an American Idol plant. “Ashley and her mother got tickets on a Web site to attend a taping of “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” that also included a dress rehearsal for “Idol.” When producers spotted her crying during the run-through, they offered her the prime seats. Now that’s one classic example of 15 seconds of fame that your tears can get you. By the way, she cried throughout the show and supports Sanjaya Malakar, Melinda Doolittle, Gina Glocksen and Jordin Sparks equally. Bur fortunately, Idol showing her crying during Sanjaya’s performance helped him survive at least one more week.
by Patrix | on Wednesday, March 21st, 2007 at 8:52 am | 
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March 21st, 2007 at 8:55 am reply
[...] Desi American Idol Hopefuls - Sanjaya and Shyamali Malakar January 18th, 2007 by Patrix Note: This was written after the preliminary rounds. The latest update on the Malakar siblings progress including pictures was posted later. Scroll down for video links. Dial Idol’s prediction on Sanjaya’s fate. Don’t click if you don’t want spoilers. Sanjaya finally makes it to the top 12 but only barely. And now, he is making little girls cry. [...]
March 21st, 2007 at 8:58 am reply
[...] Update#3: In spite of the brouhaha wanting to see Sanjaya go home, he is making little girls cry and becoming more popular. [...]
March 21st, 2007 at 9:09 am reply
Because she’s an hooter waitress with some real talent.
March 21st, 2007 at 9:22 am reply
heh. I am not specialist! I don’t even watch the damn show. :P
And Shyamali? I don’t care if she can sing or not, she is hot!
You had a big crush on her, right?
(Now that should ensure a beating! :P )
March 21st, 2007 at 9:28 am reply
I loved (sarcastically) it how they showed the Taj Mahal in the background as they were discussing the Indian connection on GMA.
March 21st, 2007 at 9:55 am reply
[...] At last, it made the specialist happy. [...]
March 21st, 2007 at 9:59 am reply
Santosh, Now that’s what American Idol is really about, when we have to mention working in Hooters as part of her talent :) BTW this blog ranks just below her Myspace profile on a Google search for ‘Shyamali Malakar’. Get more hits for Shyamali than I do for Sanjaya. Or maybe there are more searches for her.
And of course, they are going to flog the desi connection for all its worth and Taj Mahal still is the first thing that comes to their mind in spite of all this call center thingie floating around.
Confused, saaal! marvayega. But I admit she is hot. BTW Ash spotted her in the audience yesterday wearing some low-cut dress. I missed that much to her relief :)
And when you are quoted in a national news website, you are a qualified ‘expert’ or ’specialist’. Millions watch the show but only few get asked for quotes :) Enjoy it.
March 21st, 2007 at 12:29 pm reply
Did you even watch the show ? How could you miss Shyamali and her plunging neckline ? I bet you were already blogging about it even before the show ended :)
March 21st, 2007 at 12:38 pm reply
Bloghopper, Nope! I didn’t notice her let alone her plunging neckline. Now you got me curious :) (probably also explains the tons of visitors I’m getting today searching for Shyamali instead of Sanjaya.)
Like I said, I am not the biggest fan of AI and watching it off and on while surfing around (usually catching up on my blog feeds.)
March 21st, 2007 at 12:47 pm reply
For a while I thought Sanjaya had a bad cold while singing, but it turned out he was “roughing up his voice” (whatever it means!).
I’ll not surprised if he doesn’t head home this week too. As bad as he is, he is being unbelievably lucky to have someone who’s done worse than him. Though it looks tough from now on… this time Phil Stacey was marginally worse than him.
Suyog
March 21st, 2007 at 2:19 pm reply
[...] Inspite of making little girls cry with joy (thanks Patrix) over his performance last night, the odds are stacked against Sanjaya cracking the top 10. Tune in [...]
March 21st, 2007 at 3:50 pm reply
Suyog, trying to ‘rock’ honestly doesn’t suit him. But I agree Phil Stacey sucked more. But Dial Idol pegs him at #2. Strange!
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:51 am reply
Because she’s a hottie! Isn’t that why you are still thinking of her? ;-)
March 22nd, 2007 at 7:55 am reply
Gauravonomics,
Nope. That’s what the searches to my blog are saying :)
March 25th, 2007 at 9:11 pm reply
Sanjaya SUCKS. anyone see this shirt — “Sanjaya Makes Me Cry” — http://www.moeschwag.com/vforsat.html
I must have it…I will show my support! SANJAYA SUCKS