1. Whatever you do, even if one of the performers has a historically good performance, DO NOT vote after the April 24 show. That is, unless you want the “African Idol” nonsense to continue.
2. Probably the only reason Sanjaya stayed is because all our call centers in Bangalore and New Delhi made calls in the opposite direction this week. Somebody agrees with my theory. (Note to those who have come here through the link on Mr. Malakar’s Wikipedia article, I have a follow-up.)
3. I was pleasantly surprised at Jared’s early departure. Yeah, the arousal gappers might have been excited, but he wasn’t that good.
4. I also thought Haley was doomed. I actually think that, in time, we will realize how right the voters were to keep her there. And I’m not just saying that because she’s my favorite.
With that having been said, here are my unbiased rankings of the top twelve, separated by gender, on pure talent:
WOMEN
1. Melinda
2. Haley
3. Stephanie
4. LaKisha
5. Jordin
6. Gina
7. Sanjaya
MEN
1. Blake
2. Chris R.
3. Brandon
4. Chris S.
5. Phil
[...] As many of our readers are probably aware, people who care about such things are starting to think that Sanjaya Malakar is still on American Idol because call centers in India are voting for him (1, 2, 3, 4). [...]
[...] theory, which was sort of glib all along, Wikipedia’s entry on Mr. Malakar (which links to the posting on this blog that floats the “call center” theory, though WP’s error was that I parroted someone else’s idea; in reality, a number of [...]
Sanjaya Must Be Stopped
It is finally time to acknowledge that the inexplicable and frightening Sanjaya juggernaut has reached crisis proportions and something must be done about it before it is too late.