Sanjaya Joseph Malakar (born September 10, 1989) was a contestant in Season 6 of American Idol.
For more about his life, see Sanjaya Malakar/Personal.
Audition[]
Sanjaya auditioned in Seattle. He sang "Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours" by Stevie Wonder. All three judges voted "yes", sending him to the next round.
Hollywood Round[]
Sanjaya was shown advancing to the final forty without his sister. On the final day of Hollywood Week, he sang "Some Kind of Wonderful" by The Drifters. Later, it was revealed that Sanjaya did enough to make the Top 24.
Top 24[]
Sanjaya sang "Knocks Me off My Feet" by Stevie Wonder. He received enough votes to be considered "safe" for that week.
Top 20[]
Sanjaya sang "Steppin' Out with My Baby" by Tony Bennett. He received enough votes to be considered "safe" for that week.
Top 16[]
Sanjaya sang "Waiting on the World to Change" by John Mayer. He received enough votes to make the Top 12.
Top 12[]
Sanjaya sang "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. He was placed in the Bottom 2 for that week.
Top 11[]
Sanjaya sang "You Really Got Me" by The Kinks. He received enough votes to be considered "safe" for another week.
Top 10[]
Sanjaya sang "Bathwater" by No Doubt. He received enough votes to be considered "safe" for another week.
Top 9[]
Sanjaya sang "Cheek to Cheek" by Fred Astaire. He received enough votes to be considered "safe" for another week.
Top 8[]
Sanjaya sang "Bésame Mucho" by Andy Russell. He received enough votes to be considered "safe" for another week.
Top 7[]
Sanjaya sang "Something to Talk About" by Bonnie Raitt. He received the lowest number of votes, eliminating him from the competition.
Trivia[]
- He was famous for being the most polarizing contestant during the sixth season of American Idol, famous for his "bad" singing voice (and frequent negative response from Simon Cowell), outrageous hairstyles and for surviving elimination again and again.
- He is the younger brother of Shyamali Malakar.
- During the Top 24 results show, Ryan mentioned that Sanjaya placed among the Top 4 for that week.
- Sanjaya made a cameo appearance during the Season 16 Finale.
| Season 6 |
| Finalists |
| Jordin Sparks · Blake Lewis · Melinda Doolittle · LaKisha Jones · Chris Richardson · Phil Stacey · Sanjaya Malakar · Haley Scarnato · Gina Glocksen · Chris Sligh · Stephanie Edwards · Brandon Rogers |
| Semifinalists |
| Sundance Head · Sabrina Sloan · Antonella Barba · Jared Cotter · Leslie Hunt · A.J. Tabaldo · Alaina Alexander · Nicholas Pedro · Rudy Cardenas · Nicole Tranquillo · Amy Krebs · Paul Kim |