Sanjaya Malakar

Comments About Sanjaya

“It’s far more likely that Sanjaya survived at least into the Top 9 because of, yes, his often-discussed hair. He’s the only male singer with the kind of feminized cuteness that pre-teen females, a primary fan base of the show, find irresistible.”

“He is fun, cute as can be. Can actually sing, maybe not brilliantly, but can hold a tune…. Sanjaya is the one you can't wait to see, what he will be wearing, how his hair is, and that smile that radiates and lights the world. You know what he has, the X factor and that is why everyone is obsessed with him, good and bad.”

“Sanjaya Malakar is cute and easy to love.”

“I think that Sanjaya is a pretty good singer. He's cute!!!”

“There are a lot of young, 8 to 13-year, pre-pubescent, girls out there, with their new cell-phones that text in because Sanjaya is ‘so cute’.”

“He is the person all the girls like this season... plus he does stand out.”

“Sanjaya (he has earned single-name fame) is undeniably cute. And he has a world-class head of hair, which he styles a different way each week…. Wielding his lush locks and his charismatic smile like weapons of mass destruction, Sanjaya has conquered television’s biggest show in a demonstration of force majeure that recalls Saddam Hussein’s blitzkrieg of Kuwait…. Sanjaya’s voting constituency, believed to consist mostly of preteen girls and middle- age women…. Sanjaya gets enough votes to avoid elimination primarily because he is better endowed than the other contestants with several qualities found in most pop stars: good looks, sharp- elbowed ambition and the ‘it’ factor that lets a performer connect with his or her audience.”

“…maligned-yet-loved ‘American Idol’ pretty-boy Sanjaya Malakar…. He’s cute, he’s perky, he has a million-dollar smile and likes to pretend he’s a real character by going way out on that fashion limb of changing his hairstyle every week…. But pop music has always been built on cute, perky people…. Of course, there are also the children and grandmas out there who love the guy. He’s very pretty, which is the first big qualification of a young American pop star. He has very shiny teeth that could, in all likelihood, snap a tree stump like a potato chip. Which is perfectly O.K. That’s pop music. The characters are important as the music, and always will be.”

“Sanjaya Malakar is a delightful, talented standout contestant and is the only contestant worth tuning in for…. It’s nice to see a refreshing kid who—in my humble opinion—will have a good career in show business. And guess what—Sanjaya can sing! I will stick with the opinion of Tony Bennett who was impressed by Sanjaya and believes Sanjaya can sing and has charisma.”

“Malakar has risen to fame and stubbornly remained there because of his Michael Jackson-ish, Bee Gees-like dedication to styling his hair. It has been pin-curled into a thick mop of ringlets…. During his Tuesday night performance, Malakar was so proud of his hairdo that he wagged his head back and forth, making the energetic movement of his locks the most dynamic part of his performance…. It gave him the opportunity to shake his shaggy mane…. Malakar has given himself over to style….”

“He is fashioning himself into a male pop tart. Not just a smiling…boy looking to exploit a healthy head of hair to juice up his image, but someone using fashion as a steppingstone to fame. Malakar doesn’t just have good hair, he is his hair. Malakar is the rare male performer who relies so utterly on styling. At 17, Malakar does not ooze testosterone. He has a slight build that never fills out his studiously hipster clothes…. Historically, he can be compared to Shaun Cassidy or Leif Garrett – Tiger Beat regulars with bland voices but splendidly tousled hair.”

“Malakar plays the asexual pretty boy with the gleaming grin, who always looks like he spent more time primping his hair than rehearsing his song. He is a compelling presence onstage not because he makes the heart go pitter-patter but because he’s putting on a hair show…. The door to fame has cracked open for Malakar. And he is working the zeitgeist with his hirsute shenanigans. Nothing about his tactics is unusual. The only surprise is that, in this case, the performer so willing to be reduced to a big smile and even bigger hair is a man.”

“He’s a hottie. Reminds me of the boys I had crushes on back in high school. Swoon.”

“He’s cute. He’s totally cute. I can appreciate that. Different strokes…. I just love that he’s a swishy guy who’s a little uncomfortable but is out there doing his thing anyway.”

“I can see where people think he’s ‘hot’…that androgynous, elfin, boytoy thing has been a turn-on for many people since the beginning of time….”

“Little girls, tweens and teen girls are voting for his non-singing ass because he is cute as hell, has long, pretty hair and a mouth you fall asleep at night thinking about.”

“Sanjaya is soooooooooo cute! You are all jealous!”

“Sanjaya has teeth that sparkle like diamonds, long hair that would make a drag queen proud, a smile that reduces prepubescent girls to tears, and just enough singing ability to keep him from getting beat up at a karaoke bar.”

“The 17-year-old teenybopper has not come remotely close to mastering the basics of singing, but he has performed a few miracles…. The main players of American Idol have monstrous egos, but a 17-year-old skinny kind has managed to upstage them all. Welcome to the universe of Sanjaya Malakar. He is a gigantic galaxy and we are all tiny asteroids.”

“Sanjaya is still around because he sings the songs that make the young girls cry, and who vote repeatedly for him on their pink cell phones…. The judges have given up assessing Sanjaya as a singer; instead they make references to his hair, clothing and charm.”

“Sanjaya knows how to reduce 13-year-old Ashley Ferl to tears, but he also has the knack to charm a middle-aged Paula Abdul. During his performance of ‘Cheek to Cheek,’ he danced for a few moments with the giddy judge.”

“The nation is obsessed with the Sanjaya brand. And he’s only 17. Either this is an uber-effective marketing campaign by the producers of American Idol or Sanjaya is the savviest 17-year-old this side of Delhi. Truthfully, the most interesting thing about this whole Sanjaya craze is not Sanjaya himself. Basically, he’s just a mediocre singer with a nice head of hair.”