Sanjaya Thinks the American Idol Judges “Gave Up”

Hmmm… Well, I have to admit that I am glad that the media frenzy surrounding Sanjaya Malakar is dying down. He, however, still seems to have plenty to say about his stint on this season of American Idol. In a recent interview for Steppin’ Out magazine, Sanjaya expressed his feelings about his journey on the show. Here’s some of the interview:

“At a certain point all the judges just gave up. They realized the fans are going to do whatever they’re going to do, and they’re always going to vote for whomever they want. They didn’t have the power to change the way the fans felt. In fact, if anything, the more [Idol judge Simon Cowell] was mean to me, the stronger the fan support got. That’s why all the judges got frustrated and just gave up… I didn’t take it personally because I was just thinking what I needed to do.”

Sanjaya also felt that Simon was “trying to get a certain reaction out of the fans” through his criticisms but that he has “respect” for Simon’s “unbiased honesty.”

“I actually kind of like Simon. He was really mean to me — but he’s also really honest — and I was searching for that. Not a lot of people are like that anymore. Especially in this business. He doesn’t say things the way you might want to hear them. He says what he feels with every speck of sugar off of it. It’s complete raw and brutal honesty. I really think that’s important to hear. You need at least one person telling you that stuff so you can learn from it.”

Sanjaya also refuses to believe that Howard Stern had anything to do with his longevity on the show: “I have to give all the credit for my success to my fans. They are the people who brought me back to the show each week. They are the people who truly supported me wholeheartedly… They’re really the important people who make a difference in an entertainer’s career. They’re the people who actually make you who you are. They’re the people who buy records and vote for you on American Idol.”

“I just was myself each week. I think a lot of people picked up on that. They liked the fact that I didn’t care what people thought. I was just myself. I was just me. I think people could relate to that. I didn’t do anything special in my opinion. I just had fun. I think it’s important to not take yourself too seriously. If you take yourself too seriously you forget to laugh at yourself. Sometimes it’s okay to fall on your butt and laugh at it. And I definitely fell on my butt more than one time on that show in front of millions of viewers. But it’s good that it happened. I learned from it.”

“I don’t know how to explain it (the experience of being on the show). It’s been the most life changing experience I could imagine. It’s really weird because everything has happened so fast. I really don’t even have time to realize what is happening.”

“I really don’t do those things to my hair or play with it. I just don’t care about my hair. The only reason that I changed my hair every week on the show was that I had a hair stylist do it for me. So I figured why not utilize this amazing service that I have? When would I ever be able to do something like that again?”

“I had a love life and it’s way too much stress and emotional baggage to deal with right now,” he told Steppin’ Out. “I’m at the beginning of my life right now and I’m not going to mess that up by getting caught up with a girl. I’m going to try to legitimize my music. That’s the most important thing. I think a lot of people just see me as some kind of joke. I know that I’m not a joke. That’s all that really matters to me. Other people are entitled to their opinion and that’s cool. The way I make myself feel better about it is to prove those people wrong.”

Tags: sanjaya, sanjaya malakar, american idol, judges

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