Sanjaya Malakar
Who could have guessed that a quiet 17-year-old from Federal Way, Wash., who looks like a long-lost member of DeBarge would become the story of the season? And Malakar's done it not with a repertoire of strong vocal performances but with a killer smile and an arsenal of wacky hairdos, including the now-infamous ''ponyhawk.'' In fact, his singing and appearance have been so equally ridiculous that notorious prankster Howard Stern and the anti-talent site votefortheworst.com anointed Malakar as their pet contestant, and he has since been discussed and parodied on everything from NBC Nightly News to Saturday Night Live. After slamming him for weeks, Cowell and Randy Jackson became so frustrated at Malakar's staying power, for a time they simply stopped offering any feedback at all. (Hence Simon's sarcastic response of ''Incredible!'') ''I'm not sure there's anything I'm going to say in the 20 seconds I'm allowed that's going to change what he does,'' Cowell says. ''People are going to talk more about his haircut than his singing, so I don't think it's necessary for me to give a proper critique.'' Malakar has his own theory: ''I think they gave up because people in America at this point know what they think about me,'' he says with his unique blend of bewilderment and cockiness. ''They've gotten to a point where they can judge for themselves.''
On stage at least, his personality has changed. ''I don't know if you remember, but when we hit the top 24, he was very shy and reserved,'' says Jackson. ''Now he's come out of his shell.'' Says Malakar: ''I'm shy until you get to know me, and then I'm really outgoing and kind of obnoxious sometimes.'' What many viewers find obnoxious is that Malakar is still around at all. (One fan even brought a ''Buh-baya, Sanjaya'' sign to the April 4 results show, though it remained under his seat after Malakar didn't even land in the bottom three.) ''When you have 9 or 10 contestants, only one can go [each week],'' says Cowell. ''So at this stage you've just got to relax a little bit. There's always going to be that teen vote for the underdog. There's nothing wrong with that, by the way. As long as they don't win.''
Indeed, it's one thing for Sanjaya to outlast Chris Sligh or even Gina Glocksen. But what if Melinda, LaKisha, or Jordin gets sent home before him? Will the show be forever tarnished? ''It's not gonna happen. Trust me,'' says Frot-Coutaz. ''Eventually America gets it right. We're not worried. We love Sanjaya, but he's not going to win.''
But as previous contestants like Hudson and Daughtry have shown, does that even matter? ''I'm turning 18 in September,'' Malakar says. ''So basically I see it as, this is my training to be an adult. And when I'm 18, I'll have the training in what I want to do for the rest of my life.'' America, you've been warned.
For EW editors' latest take on ''Idol'' (as well as visits and exclusive performances by former Idol contestants), catch the newest episodes of EW.com's video series Idolatry.
