In case you haven’t been on the planet the last month and don’t know who Sanjaya is, I am talking about Sanjaya Malakar. Sanjaya has been both a curse and blessing to “American Idol” this season. People seemed to either love him or hate him. This innocent looking 17 year old with the huge smile managed to become so talked about, journalists were even asking presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton what she thought of him. What caused so many people grief was the fact that Sanjaya didn’t seem to get votes for his singing ability as much as his looks and outrageous hairstyles. Even people who had never watched “American Idol” were talking about Sanjaya. But you have to give the kid credit – he milked it for all it was worth and he is definitely enjoying the success.
Sanjaya was eliminated from “American Idol” last week, but it seems his 15 minutes of fame are far from over. He was on “The Late Show with David Letterman” last night, presenting the Top Ten List. The Letterman Top Ten List has been a fan favorite for years. It first started on September 18, 1985 when David was still on NBC. The first top ten list was “The Top Ten Things That Almost Rhyme With Peas.” Many people may think David comes up with all these great top ten lists, but it is actually his staff of writers. Where did this skit come from? It is believed it was designed to mock People Magazine, which frequently had such lists as “Worst 10” or “Top 50.” When David mentioned on his show one night that he found the lists annoying, his writers went into action. Now, the Top Ten List is one of the most popular segments of his long running show. There is even a book of many of them – The “Late Night with David Letterman” Book of Top Ten Lists.
So what were the top ten things Sanjaya learned from his appearance on “American Idol?” Here is the list he read:
10. The camera adds ten pounds to your Mohawk. (Sanjaya appeared on stage on night with a po-hawk – a Mohawk made with ponytails of hair)
9. Work hard and make sacrifices, you can finish in 7 th place. (Sanjaya finished in seventh place)
8. It’s very important to “keep it real, dawg.” (a favorite saying of judge Randy Jackson)
7. I should have gone for the Immunity Idol – oh wait, that’s Survivor.
6. On-camera Simon is a bit nasty, but off-camera, he’s a total jerk.
5. Voting for yourself 100 times an hour causes some wicked carpal tunnel.
4. When you forget the words, just do this (Sanjaya belts out “ohhhhhhhhh”)
3. Honestly, I thought I was just auditioning for “Are You Smarter Than a 5 th Grader?”
2. Nothing
1. America loves performers with bad hair – right, Dave?