Early YearsMalakar was born in the Seattle area, to a Bengali Indian father and an Italian American mother. He comes from a musical family -- his father is a classical Indian musician. Other singers in his family include his older sister Shyamali, who is two years his senior, and his cousin Camila. He also has a younger brother. For middle school, Malakar attended the Seattle Waldorf School and Northshore Junior High, and, in 2004, he then attended Shorecrest High School for freshman year before transferring to Todd Beamer High School. After his sophomore year, Malakar left high school early, electing for a GED in order to focus on a music career and participate on American Idol.
Although Malakar spent the majority of his formative years in the Seattle area, he has also lived in California[1] and Honolulu, Hawaii, where he performed with the Hawaii Children's Theater group.[3] While in Seattle, he spent three years with the Total Experience Gospel Choir after being referred by an aunt.
