44 Facts About Sanjaya Malakar

Sanjaya Joseph Malakar was born on September 10,1989 and is an American singer, who was a finalist on the sixth season of American Idol.

Sanjaya Malakar gained national attention on the series, controversially advancing to 7th place with public votes, despite being poorly received by the show's judges, particularly Simon Cowell.

Sanjaya Malakar placed fifth in second season of the reality television show I'm a Celebrity.

Sanjaya Malakar was born in Seattle, Washington the son of Vasudeva Sanjaya Malakar, a Bengali Indian immigrant born in Vrindavan, India and Jillian Blyth, an American of Italian descent on one side and Dutch, English, and Irish ancestry on the other.

Sanjaya Malakar later lived in the nearby suburb of Federal Way.

Sanjaya Malakar's parents filed for divorce when he was three years old and they had already been separated for a year.

Sanjaya Malakar's mother remarried, but his stepfather died soon afterwards.

Sanjaya Malakar attended Martha Lake Elementary School in Lynnwood, Washington for elementary school, and the Seattle Waldorf School and Northshore Junior High School for middle school in Bothell, Washington.

Sanjaya Malakar attended Shorecrest High School in Shoreline, Washington during freshman year, and Todd Beamer High School in Federal Way, Washington during sophomore year.

Simon Cowell commented that Sanjaya Malakar had a better voice than his sister.

Sanjaya Malakar cited Stevie Wonder as his idol, and sang one of Wonder's signature songs, "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" at his Seattle audition.

Sanjaya Malakar was shown tearfully embracing his sister when she was cut, though he progressed to the Top 40.

The judges were largely critical of his performance, though Simon Cowell admitted that Sanjaya Malakar is popular with the voters while Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul gave a more positive appraisal of his "You Really Got Me" performance in the Top 11.

On March 27,2007, Sanjaya Malakar sang No Doubt's "Bathwater" wearing a fauxhawk made from multiple ponytails.

Sanjaya Malakar performed "You Really Got Me" with Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry on guitar.

Sanjaya Malakar was the season's most talked about American Idol contestant, based on articles and searches conducted on the Internet.

One American Idol fan on MySpace claimed to be on a hunger strike until Sanjaya Malakar was voted off; she later admitted that she was canceling her strike, after his stay was longer than expected.

An official fansite for Sanjaya Malakar was created with approval of and contributions by the entertainer and his mother Jillian Blyth, and archives include in-person reports for each 2007 American Idol Concert Tour event.

Simon Cowell told Extra that had Sanjaya Malakar won, he would not have returned as a judge to the show, even though he was contractually obligated to return.

Later, when asked for a reaction, Sanjaya Malakar told Jimmy Kimmel that his aunt had voted 1,100 times.

Sanjaya Malakar was portrayed by Andy Samberg, and the crying girl was portrayed by Kristen Wiig.

Since Sanjaya Malakar placed in the top 10, he qualified to perform as part of the 2007 American Idol Concert Tour, which, over three months, visited over 50 cities in Canada and US He performed Michael Jackson's "The Way You Make Me Feel" during the tour.

Shortly after his run on American Idol ended, Sanjaya Malakar attended the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner as a People magazine guest, where he saw then-President George W Bush.

Sanjaya Malakar was popular among the press and fans at the dinner, and was even prompted for an autograph by then-New York Governor Eliot Spitzer.

Sanjaya Malakar was featured in Us Magazines April 20,2007, issue in an article entitled "Sanjaya Speaks", where he was asked about his reactions to the parodies, Simon Cowell, Howard Stern and to his new celebrity status.

Sanjaya Malakar was featured in the May 7,2007, issue of People, where he talked about his American Idol run, his younger years, and future aspirations.

Sanjaya Malakar was nominated for Teen's 2007 "Top Ten Most Cutest".

Sanjaya Malakar grabbed a nomination and a win for Fox's 2007 Golden Realitini Awards.

Sanjaya Malakar won Fox's 2007 Golden Realitini Award for Favorite Reality Game Loser aired.

Sanjaya Malakar's name was mentioned in a 2007 episode, but no physical appearance was made.

On May 22,2007, a one-minute short I Am Art, co-produced with Will Ferrell, was released online with Malakar playing Bill Vendall, a 25-year-old graduate student of the arts, who created the character "Sanjaya Malakar" to appear on American Idol, as an installment of his thesis.

Sanjaya Malakar released a follow-up video explaining it was a joke, since some believed Bill Vendall was real.

Sanjaya Malakar mentioned that he was continuing music and he helped write the book, Chicken Soup for the American Idol Soul.

Sanjaya Malakar wrote an autobiography entitled Dancing to the Music in My Head: Memoirs of the People's Idol in 2009.

Sanjaya Malakar reported that he received a $100,000 advance for the book.

In India, Sanjaya Malakar received his first acting role, where he starred in a Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company commercial, where he seeks help from a guru.

Sanjaya Malakar developed a close friendship with the older Holly Montag, as such, her sister Heidi had dubbed them "SanJolly".

In May 2010, Seattle Weekly reported that Sanjaya Malakar was working as a singer for Pagliacci Pizza, a Seattle-based pizzeria chain.

On February 23,2011, Sanjaya Malakar joined the off-Broadway musical Freckleface Strawberry at New World Stages.

In July 2011 Sanjaya Malakar toured the United States with the band, The Brave Chandeliers.

The album was released on June 23,2017 and Sanjaya Malakar has received positive reviews for his performance.

Sanjaya Malakar's passion is clear and bold on each track he engages.

The Sanjaya Malakar album has reached Top 100 Pop Albums in sales.

The EP was released the same day as Sanjaya Malakar's book, titled the same as the EP.