Sanjaya The Destroya

A 17-year-old waif named Sanjaya Malakar was alive and kicking in the "American Idol" television show at press time, sparking a national debate as to whether his continued presence constituted a shift in the Idol foundation.

The gazillion-dollar Idol franchise has shown no signs of relaxing since its debut more than a half-decade ago. Many of its contestants – from the exceptional Jennifer Hudson to the popular Clay Aiken (not to mention Kelly Clarkson) – have solid careers although most contestants have about one season to make their bones before the next Idol is crowned.

Still, the show’s popularity seems impenetrable. Even rejects like William Hung and false scandals like one involving judge Paula Abdul and a contestant haven’t dented its popularity.

But is Sanjaya the One who will lead the people out of the matrix?

There has always been a subversive element fighting against the show, congregating at Votefortheworst.com and voting as a unit to keep the least talented contestant on it. This year’s candidate is Malakar.

In years past the voting bloc was a mere pest to the Idol execs but this year Sanjaya – who can sing but has a few more sour notes than most finalists – has risen higher and lasted longer than other "worst" contenders.

One reason could be because radio jockey Howard Stern is pushing his minions to take up the cause and vote for Sanjaya. But there’s something more interesting going on this year with the "vote for the worst" movement: momentum.

Actor Zack Braff of "Scrubs" and "Garden State" fame recently introduced a trailer to his new movie with the sign-off "Vote for Sanjaya!" Malakar T-shirts are abundant online as well as YouTube tributes.

"All kidding aside, I happen to believe that Sanjaya Malakar will go down in TV history as the single most important personality ever to emerge from the American Idol phenomenon," blogger Alex Blagg recently wrote. "Not because he’s funny, not because he’s cute, and not because he can’t sing. Sanjaya will be remembered not for who he is, but for what he represents – the inevitable subversion of an increasingly destructive institution in the pop culture landscape."

Blagg said this isn’t a "jumping the shark" moment for the show. Instead, the show is being hurled over the shark by "the growing number of people who have stood by idly as the Idol sensation has doggedly dominated the American consciousness going on five years now" while the real world has spun out of control.

"Faux Sanjaya Love is actually overtaking the popularity of the competition itself," he added, noting that two Idol finalists recently managed to get their "homogenized pop-rock albums" into the Top 10 album sales.

"We don’t sincerely LOVE Sanjaya," Blagg said, "we sincerely HATE Idol and thus want to see it fail."

One Idol fan grew so distraught over the Sanjaya movement that she attempted a hunger strike until Malakar was voted off. Malakar is still going strong and the girl is eating again.

Judge Simon Cowell said in a recent interview that if Malakar wins he wouldn’t be back next season. Also, an amusing coincidence: the stock of franchise owner CKX took a steady dip beginning in mid-March, just around the same time that the Sanjaya movement began in earnest.

Will any of this cause promoters to release their holds on an upcoming Idol tour? Hardly. Is the franchise in trouble? Not this year. Even Blagg admits it but adds, "The show has been poised to fail for a long time now, and Sanjaya just happened to be the beautiful Indian iceberg that will break the hull and set into motion the slow, gradual process of fading into complete irrelevancy and eventual cancellation."

Not according to blogger Stacy Parker Aab.

"American Idol is the most magical show on television," Aab argued. "For a few months each year, we witness the elusive beast known as the American Meritocracy. … Our winner can be a velvet teddybear or the next Michael McDonald. The point is each year we get to celebrate the whole beautiful dynamic package of a performer who is never some suit’s warmed-over idea of what he thinks America will buy."

The real story of American Idol has nothing to do with Sanjaya, she argued. This year’s big talents are Melinda Doolittle and LaKisha Jones, who will be this summer’s stars, Aab said.