Sanjaya is MY Papaya.

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Last week (or the week before it, perhaps?) when American Idol’s cameras panned across the audience, I saw a “fanjaya” holding a sign which proclaimed: “Sanjaya is my Papaya”. Love it. It’s delightfully absurd, innit?

Last night, our half-brown wonder achieved what I thought impossible– positive reviews from three judges who are now extra cautious about everything they say, lest they offend young master Malakar’s ardent base of 12-year old girls and grandmothers, since doing so would only mobilize a GOTV effort that the Democrats probably have wet dreams about…and if they don’t, they should.

My papaya (what’s hilarious is I HATE PAPAYAS) crooned “Besame Mucho” and he did it rather well [Thanks, Murad], though I for one could’ve done without his attempts at growing facial hair. But Jennifer Lopez kinda predicted his success, didn’t she? She seemed slightly smitten with our kitten. Speaking of, does anyone remember when J. Lo’s hair and lips were distinctly darker and redder than her extremely bronze skin? No? Just me? Damn. Anyroad, I’d love to tell you what happens to the call centers’ choice, but I remember what it was like to live on the left coast and be salty about such things, so I’ll refrain from dropping spoiler bombs on y’all. 😉

61 thoughts on “Sanjaya is MY Papaya.”

  1. Sanjaya not even in bottom three. Great going Sanjaya. We want you to become numero uno idol.

  5. This kid is a very SMART macaca. I’m convinced he realized early on that he couldn’t compete with the more polished performers and had to come up with a plan to make himself memorable in some other way. And he certainly has.

    That is one gutsy 17 year old. Can’t help but love him.

  8. lol@”SMART macaca”. Am newbie here. Wondering is macaca our version of N-word for desis. That would be really awesome – our own M-word(macca for short). This Sanjaya macca rocks! Go Sanjaya!!!

  9. woooo!! As someone with half of Sanjaya’s name, I’m feeling really excited about this whole thing.

    Also: he’s a complete camwhore. Did you see that naughty little thang he did at the end of his song? Almost undressed the camera with his eyes.

  12. Who is the guy gripping Sanjaya’s sister (if I am remembering correctly from the auditions) like she might fall off her chair if he lets her go? I don’t watch the show so maybe this was revealed and I just don’t know but it sort of reminds me of Princess Diaries when that jock Josh just hangs out with Mia so he could be on TV.

    I have totally revealed my dorko status.

  13. There are times in this video when Sanjaya reminds me of Benjamin Andre (Andre 3000). Anyone else agree? Either way, wow… he’s definitely well worth the hype.

  14. There are times in this video when Sanjaya reminds me of Benjamin Andre (Andre 3000). Anyone else agree? Either way, wow… he’s definitely well worth the hype.

    ‘splain yourself, Lucy.

  15. I mean the mustache, the hairstyle, the obscure love song, certain facial expressions..etc. He’s certainly not as gangsta though, unfortunately.

  16. anyone watch tonight? damn haley with the sexy legs had to go :(…oyyy why! Yeah Sanjaya is selling himself well no doubt, but iono, even though last night it wasnt half bad, i still think he cant sing very well…:(. Sorry, go ahead and flame me, i got my suit on.

  17. This hurts me to say, but that performance was quite good. NB I have been anti-Sanjaya from the beginning as I feel he’s swung between milquetoast and creepy. He has a pleasant voice but lacks the passionate edge which most good singing requires – and don’t ever tell me a seventeen-year-old lacks passion; he simply lacks the confidence to show the passion effectively. It’s difficult to do so when you’re worried about pitch, how you look, whether girls like you, et cetera.
    However there’s an emotional reserve with underlying sexual tension in that song – and I feel that could be his core repertoire. He should work with this type of thing, with bossa nova, and with standards in this light. One of the difficulties of the Idol brand is that, this season more than others, they’ve been trying to show contestants remodeled every week to follow a particular celebrity singer without allowing them to genuinely develop any personal style. This is where he ought to have been all along. Has anyone asked Tony Benett to sing a Diana Ross song one week and a Spanish thing two weeks later? Tony would sound odd, as would most of those of us who make our living with our voices.
    Idol ought to focus less on worshipfully adoring celebrity singers and instead nurture individual style. But hey, that would be practical, and it wouldn’t sell particularly well.

  18. he plays the camera with his eyes.. to a “T”… the scruffy goatee was ‘all right’… he can really sing.. when he starts belting it out.. america will be taken over… the kid is brilliant. as i have stated over and over again.

    I HATE PAPAYAS

    amen. i hate them too.. (although they are so very chalkful of vitamins, nutrients, and all that overrated hoopla (kidding)..they stink, more than a durian)

  19. To Sanjaya’s credit,the ‘stache was very “latin”, but I still hated it. And I hate papayas too. But I love that Haley/Miss America finally got the boot. Soon to follow, Phil (zzzz) and Chris.

  20. I would say something about the ‘stache if I could

    but

    At 17, I sported all the patches of fuzz my face could sprout.

  21. I would say something about the ‘stache if I could but At 17, I sported all the patches of fuzz my face could sprout.

    Awww, that’s adorable! 😀

  23. Besura… Besura mucho…

    Has anyone heard Andrea Bocelli’s version of this song?

  24. Jaya:

    woooo!! As someone with half of Sanjaya’s name, I’m feeling really excited about this whole thing.

    Good. But as someone with half of Jayaprada‘s name, we want to know how you feel about the Spring collection.

    🙂

  25. You know, Sanjaya is a cutie (although the facial hair was regrettable, imo). I was impressed with him this week, but maybe that is because my standards for him have dropped so low? I, for one, am happy to see Haley go. She has sucked for a long time, and I wish she and Phil both had been kicked off before Gina. At least then I wouldn’t have to suffer through their lackluster, toneless, and often bizarre outfits and performances.

    Is anyone more broadly aggravated with Latin Week? It seems like every time they try to do it, people just BUTCHER songs or pick crappy song selections. If they do it, I want them to do it right, rocking out to some Shakira (en espanol) or Mana or Orishas… even freaking Daddy Yankee (who is not idol-song material, I realize), or ANYTHING except Gloria Estefan, J. Lo and Santana! Come on people, there are more (mainstream popular) Latin artists out there!

  26. So a kid from a remote corner of the United States whose engagement with brown culture no one knows is suddenly the most popular brown person in the United States. He is the only brown person I know of who has topped a daily AOL search. Funny, all the iconic brownz held up by cultural and social commentators as ‘proof’ of cultural, academic and economic achievement – Jhumpa, the Spelling Bee champs, Kalpen, the Silicon Valley tycoons – have come nowhere close to Sanjaya in instantaneous popularity. His manifest irruption, couched as it is in sterotypes, mockery, spectacle, is made amazing by his resilience. Let us be known by our caberet singers and criminals – and let no committee determine what is sublime or ridiculous. go brown go!

  27. That malakar kid’s got gumption.

    And nobody be hatin’ on papaya!! And those who think it stinks, well, so does burnin’ meat, and your poohole ;).

    Alright, talking as a grownup, no matter how much the smell bothers you, remember, that if you ever get kidney stones, you’d want to eat ripe (not those that were taken raw and left to ripe on the shelf) papaya’s straight for a month. That’ll dissolve the stones. I know that from seeing it work on a family member in a time when invasive methods were the deal of the day.

    That said, short of being in Hawaii, its hard to find ‘genuine’ tree-ripened papayas. Mainland stuff is bland – tastes like nothing. True papaya is like a step away from being a mango.

    Now what were we talking about? oh yeah the singing kid.

  28. I predict that in the last round there will be Melinda Doolittle and Sanjaya. But I can no longer predict who will win. Somebody once said that in democracy people get what they deserve, and American Idol’s open forum voting is democracy at its best…or worst.

    Camille #25: “rocking out to some Shakira (en espanol)”

    Yeah, wonder why nobody picked a Shakira song?

  30. i refuse to watch this show– mostly because i take singing to be a divine art form and american idol is definitely the opposite of divine. i get caught up right here on sepiamutiny! but can i just point out they keep having celebrity judges (jLo, gwen stefani, paula abdul) WHO CANNOT ACTUALLY SING! They are usually WOEFULLY out of pitch and lack tone as well as texture and depth to their vocals. So painful! So darn sad. So if Sanjaya wins– that would be pretty funny and entertaining from many perspectives. He can sort of (emphasis on sort of) carry a tune and seems like a nice kid.

    macaca power to you, sanjaya– i hope you win.

  31. If Melinda Doolittle doesn’t win I’m going on a hunger strike until American Idol is banned.

    Please post your video on YouTube so we can laugh at you like we did at the girl who went on a hunger strike and actually gained weight.

  32. If Melinda Doolittle doesn’t win I’m going on a hunger strike until American Idol is banned.

    she won’t win (a prediction) she doesn’t have the right ‘image’ and is also missing some cervical vertebrae…(and to be honest, her ‘omg’ suprise look of ‘oh you really like my singing’ is getting to be god damn annoying..)

    the only successful idols are the one with the proper image.. kelly, carrie… what happened to ruben, fantastia, and whoeverelse… not the right image.

    sanjaya–total package.

    if you need some TPN nutrition during your hunger strike, let me know, and i’ll prescribe it for you.

  33. Actually Reuban and Fantasia are doing quite good I know that Fantasia is getting ready to be in the color purple on broadway and her last album went platinum.

  34. Now that the tide is turning for Sanjaya, all you guys are jumping on the bandwagon and calling him ‘cute’, praising his ‘gumption’ etc. Where were you, I ask, when he was an object of mass ridicule? Standing shoulder to shiny shoulder with him in desi solidarity? No-HO. You were throwing the first stone(s).

  35. he was an object of mass ridicule?

    i hate american idol.. and he’s entertaining..and might bring the entire fiasco to the ground.. he’s awesome… and his hair isn’t too shabby either… reminds me of these days. next stop, sanjaya dolls.

  37. Righteous Troll, I’ve been enjoying the sanjaya posts on SM and the reports of his antics. He’s doing his thing, and I’m checking that out from the sidelines. What’s all this talk of throwing the first stone? Do you disagree with my remark about his gumption? Fine, but don’t be unnecessarily disparaging of others’ viewpoints.

  38. Is there any proof that Sanjaya is only half-brown? Sure I’ve seen his mom, and at first glance, she did appear white, but upon further review, she also could easily have been a “fair” North Indian. Plus, neither Sanjaya nor his sister look like any of the half-browns I’ve met. They’re very brown in appearance, not just in complexion, but also in facial features.

  39. chick pea (#32):

    she won’t win (a prediction)

    I’m fattening up for the struggle ahead

    cue Eye of the Tiger

  43. G.I. Joe, they’ve already stated that his mother is Italian. She is absolutely NOT “fair” North Indian.

    pea, I feel you on Melinda (and that the “oh my gosh!”) is getting old, but I don’t think Sanjaya will win. Or at least, I hope he won’t win. There are better singers and better packages, although at the end of the day AI is all about your branding. My prediction? This year’s idol will fade away, just as the other 4 (not as high profile as Kelly and Carrie) idols have faded away.

  44. Is there any proof that Sanjaya is only half-brown?

    I saw his maternal Aunt on the Today show. She was def white and she had an Italian name. I also think he lists his Grandfather as his hero on his profile, same Italian surname.

  45. Sanjaya nor his sister look like any of the half-browns I’ve met. They’re very brown in appearance, not just in complexion, but also in facial features.

    I knew a girl in HS that was black and Mexican, BUT there was not way to tell she had a Mexican side until you heard her speak rapid, fluent Spanish! BTW, I haven’t seen many half-desis/half-browns over 18 in any of the places I’ve lived. In the affluent suburbs (not the ethnic-type ones), you’ll find plenty of kids/teens who are half-desi or half-Muslim!!!

  46. In the affluent suburbs (not the ethnic-type ones), you’ll find plenty of kids/teens who are half-desi or half-Muslim!!!

    Sorry, I meant to write “half-desi AND/OR half-Muslim” before.

  47. So a kid from a remote corner of the United States whose engagement with brown culture no one knows is suddenly the most popular brown person in the United States. He is the only brown person I know of who has topped a daily AOL search. Funny, all the iconic brownz held up by cultural and social commentators as ‘proof’ of cultural, academic and economic achievement – Jhumpa, the Spelling Bee champs, Kalpen, the Silicon Valley tycoons – have come nowhere close to Sanjaya in instantaneous popularity.

    I’m sure that one of the reasons Sanjaya is popular is b/c he has transcended race, looks like an approacheable person, and suburban young people can relate to him (as he is one of them). Your typical kids and teens don’t focus a lot of time on race/culture/religion (unlike some in NYC-area, sometimes to their detriment). Whether Sanjaya knows about India, desi culture, etc. is a moot point when it comes to American Idol IMHO. Idol is about popularity w/ young’uns!

  49. I can’t believe he is on the current cover of OK magazine; it’s a small picture but he’s on the cover nonetheless. And he has a layout inside covering his ever changing hairstyles. I am completely shocked. The things you discover while waiting on line at the supermarket.

  50. Another indication of Sanjaya’s fame:

    Last night I was out in Chicago. I had just parked on Ohio St. just east of Michigan Avenue, and got out of the car and onto the sidewalk. I heard someone say “Sanjaya!” I didn’t turn around immediately because I figured it was somebody ignorant.

    Anyhow, our papaya is famous enough for one guy out of a group of twentysomething white frat boys to see a brown skinned guy with long hair and associate that with him. My hair’s longer though.