Sanjaya Malakar is a singer and reality show contestant, having made it through to the finals of season 6 of American Idol.
Malakar was born and raised in Seattle, overcoming financial and familial challenges in his childhood through singing and performing. He sang with the Total Experience Gospel Choir in Seattle, as well as the Hawaii Children’s Theater Group while he was living in Hawaii. He left school early, hoping to train for a singing career, and prepare for his American Idol audition. He was a shy teenager but in 2006 he auditioned for the show alongside his sister. After several emotional performances, he advanced in the show but his sister was cut, with Simon Cowell making it clear that he wasn’t impressed with Malakar’s voice despite his support from the other judges and fans at home. The determined singer continued to charm viewers and voters though, with his outlandish outfits and hair also attracting attention and earning him enough votes to keep him in the competition until the final 8.
Since leaving the show, Malakar has continued to appear on television and as a guest on programmes such as the American version of I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!. He has appeared in numerous magazines including US Weekly, People and TIME, and continues to write music and perform in shows like Freckleface Strawberry and the Suquamish Clearwater Casino Free Summer Lawn Concert.