American Idol Fan Site | Who got voted off American Idol

One thing is true about American Idol. The name Sanjaya Malakar will be etched in our memories for a long time to come.

Sanjaya fever, stoked by Fanjayas and haters alike, kept the 17-year-old from Federal Way on the show far longer than anyone expected. He made the cut into the lucky seven before country music night ensured his pink slip Wednesday night.

In interviews the morning after, Malakar seemed tired but relentlessly upbeat about his “Idol” experience. He said his Idol competitors were like an extended family and his time on the show was equivalent to his junior and senior years of high school. He left high school after his sophomore year and later obtained a GED.

“Throughout the competition I grew as a performer and as a person,” he said. “I had a lot of things to learn from. I kind of found myself as things progressed. I found myself and got more comfortable in my own skin.”

He plans on returning home Tuesday and getting back to normal life for a little bit before he has to go back to Los Angeles for the season finale and, later, for the “American Idol” tour. But normal life might not cut it anymore for a face that’s been in front of 30 million people every week and in magazines and countless other news media. His former life of walking down the street singing really loud or hanging out at the Seattle Center may be over. He admitted Thursday he’s looking into bodyguards.

Other plans possibly in his future: teaming up with his photogenic sister, Shyamali Malakar; carefully fielding endorsements and offers; being open to acting, modeling and Broadway; and finishing his education, ideally at the Berklee College of Music in Boston.

“I’m happy and sad,” said Pat Wright, director of the Seattle-based Total Experience Gospel Choir, which Malakar joined two years ago. “I’m sad it’s over, happy at the opportunity he had. … It’s been a tremendous ride for Sanjaya. I think he has a great future ahead of him. I think he’s gonna be fine.”

He’s the choir’s third Idol hopeful, following Season One’s Karma Johnson (who didn’t make it to Hollywood) and Season Three’s Leah LaBelle, who was in the same top 12 class as Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson.

Of Malakar’s “Idol” run, Wright said: “I don’t think he ever performed as I know he could do, except for ‘Besame Mucho.’ That was the Sanjaya I knew and loved.”

Malakar agreed and said it was the performance he was proudest of.

Asked about his reaction to all the Sanjaya-bashing that went on in blogs and on the airwaves, he said: “It was a little hard. I try to make everything into a positive and if it’s negative I let it slip off my back like a duck with water. If I don’t it will drive me crazy and I’ll get overwhelmed.”

He even had kind words for his most ruthless critic, Simon Cowell.

“From the beginning Simon saw potential for me, and when I didn’t fulfill it he was disappointed,” Malakar said. “I learned more from him than anyone else. He’s very opinionated but he’s an amazing person.”

Malakar had a premonition after his performance Tuesday of Bonnie Raitt’s “Let’s Give Them Something To Talk About” that he was on his way out. He was “kind of in the dumps” all day Wednesday until the results came back.

“Honestly, I’m not a country singer. That really took a toll on me,” he said. “I didn’t really have enough really strong performances to let people forgive me for that. I think that might have been what got me this week.”

He still joked about the thing that gave him his notoriety: the hair. Whether it was a faux-hawk or the greased-up curls for “Besame Mucho” or the Shaun Cassidy-esque shag, he gave America images that won’t fade for a while, even in a 15-minute society.

Ad-libbing his way through another rendition of Raitt’s song on Wednesday night after his ouster, he sang, “Let’s give them something to talk about — other than hair.”

He admitted that he soon realized the power of his personal style, and went with it. But even he said he was surprised at how a “17-year-old Seattle boy could get into the presidential debate” and how much impact the show has. He did think a “Saturday Night Live” skit about him was hilarious. For Malakar, laughing at himself has proven to be a great flak jacket.

The true test of Sanjaya will be determined by the one thing that counts in the music industry Sales. Will American’s support and buy his CD’s and concert tickets?

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