American Idol and the Curse of Sanjaya

I am an original recipe American Idol fan—I loved the first season, even voted a few times, yet my interest waned steadily over the subsequent versions. I never really got behind either Clay or Ruben, and stopped watching before Diana and Fantasia even reached the final two. I saw one smidge of Chris Daughtry during Carrie Underwood’s winning season and only Katherine McPhee singing with Meatloaf (in the most amazing tribute to theatrical rock since Jack Black on Saturday Night Live). Yet I was drawn to begin watching (and by watching, I mean DVR-ing and fast forwarding through the commercials and Simon and Ryan calling each other names repeatedly) again thanks to the word of mouth about two contestants: Blake and Sanjaya.

It’s strange that, in a season where most columnists and fans seem to agree that the female contestants are the strongest in the bunch, the most lip service has been paid to two male contestants. Blake gets raves, and, even though he drives me crazy, I can acknowledge that he’s got talent and the kind of face that will get him far. Sanjaya, though, inspires a completely different comment.

“How is this guy still on the show?”

It’s a perfectly valid question. Sanjaya, all hair and gangly limbs, lacks the kind of powerhouse voice that usually carries American Idol contestants across the finish line. Nor does he have the looks or charisma you usually expect from the teen idol types; he’s still very much a kid, the kind of kid who claims (in his behind-the-scenes interview on http://www.americanidol.com) that he doesn’t get embarrassed and whose personal goal is “to become witty.” He’s a dork, plain and simple—or as my sister calls him, a “spazz.”

But the American Idol audience has always embraced dorks. Whether it’s Clay Aiken, who maintains one of the strongest fan bases outside of the confines of the show, or John Stevens, who outlasted Academy Award winner Jennifer Hudson, American Idol has always had the dorky guy that sticks around longer than it seems like he will.

So why does Sanjaya have everybody talking? And more importantly, how has a kid who ostensibly can’t really sing made it to the top 10 over someone like Stephanie Edwards, last week’s cast-off, who had really vocal strength? There are lots of theories. It’s always easiest for critics to blame the success of pretty young men on teenyboppers or fangirls—and, outside of Blake, this season is suffering as far as heartthrobs go—but I think chocking it up to girls who vote with their hormones and not their ears is disingenuous and unfair to the girls (and women) in the audience.

My theory? I think Sanjaya gets the irony vote. Let’s not forget that American Idol is as much a television show as it is a search for the next hot recording star. More than that, it is the top rated television show throughout the country. Not everybody who’s watching it is watching to vote for their favorite singer. I suspect a great number of people voting for Sanjaya find the level of amusement they get from watching this spazzy, goofy 17-year-old kid mess with the American Idol system far greater than the entertainment they find in yet another beautiful-but-bland young woman with a strong set of pipes. Even more entertaining, I’m sure, is the outrage over his ability to squeak by.

 So far, I find Sanjaya fascinatingly awful and strangely charming in his ability to just go out and do his thing despite being quite aware, I’m sure, of the grumblings about his position in the Top 10. I look forward to hearing what he comes up with for this week’s theme: Pop Songs. Is it just me, or does that sound like the theme from EVERY week?

Just so long as he doesn’t beat out my early favorite, Jordin Sparks, I’m OK with Sanjaya.