Sanjaya Malakar in Nationwide Insurance Ad!

American Idol season six contestant, Sanjaya Malakar, will be appearing in a “Life Comes at You Fast” Nationwide Insurance commercial.  They sent me a short interview to share.  Sanjaya talks about why he chose to be in the ads, being on Idol, his big plans and move to New York and that famous hair, of course!  Read it here:

Q. What made you want to star in the new ad for Nationwide?

Sanjaya:   I’ve always liked Nationwide’s ads because I think they are really funny and they have a good message – be prepared for your life to change in the future. The point of the ad is that you have to have a plan for your retirement, which I think is important. Nationwide came up with a concept that I liked a lot. They’re trying to reach Americans of South Asian descent with this ad, but I think everyone will think it’s funny.

Q. The theme of the new Nationwide ad is “Life Comes at You Fast.”  How have you experienced that in your life? 

Sanjaya: American Idol was like a dream come true. When I started, nobody knew who I was. I was just one of the thousands of people with a dream who took a shot. As the season progressed more and more people began to recognize me. It was great to get so much support from fans. The show opened a lot of doors for me. Now I’m looking forward to the next stage of my career. It’s really exciting. I don’t know exactly what will happen, but there are some great possibilities.

Q. What’s next for Sanjaya?

Sanjaya:  I’ve got big plans. I just moved to New York and I’m so excited to be living there. I’m looking forward to pursuing some opportunities in acting and modeling. I’m also beginning work on a new album that will be released later this year. I can’t wait for fans to hear it.

I’m looking forward to showing the world a whole new Sanjaya. American Idol was great, but I think there’s a lot more to me than what you saw on the show. The Nationwide commercial is the first of many exciting projects I have planned.

Q. Will we see the crazy hair again?
Sanjaya:  Actually – you will see it in the Nationwide ad. It certainly got people’s attention on American Idol so hopefully it helps generate more buzz about the new ad.

You might remember Kevin Federline’s commercial which premiered during the Super Bowl.  I thought it was funny so check it out:

image provided by Newscom