Hysterical Sanjaya Article on Salon

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The existence of this article, with comments by Greil Marcus, Robert Christgau, Klosterman, Gina Arnold, and Todd Gitlin amongst others, makes me belly-laugh, although I must confess I don't have the slightest idea why!

http://www.salon.com/ent/audiofile/2007/04/11/sanjaya/

― J, Wednesday, 11 April 2007 20:43 (eighteen years ago)

Everytime I see the name "Sanjaya" I hear it in my head like this:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=xJZQVDRj4XA

SANJAYA

― The Brainwasher, Wednesday, 11 April 2007 20:48 (eighteen years ago)

It would seem to me more 'subversive' to apply the precious minutes you would have spent watching 'American Idol' lobbying for universal healthcare, or against mindless war spending.

ROFL.

― The Brainwasher, Wednesday, 11 April 2007 20:53 (eighteen years ago)

"He's a little bit Tila Tequila, a little bit lonelygirl15"

How does she look at herself in the mirror?

― Chris H., Wednesday, 11 April 2007 20:55 (eighteen years ago)

AI is the only show on television where you can see people getting actual practical, valuable advice about becoming a successful musician -- regardless of how little I care about the music they make -- and I don't understand why all those old critics hate it so much. Making the Band was the same way; I'll even rep for America's Top Model (with the same disclaimer about not reallying being into the fashions they sport every week).

that said, I also don't get how Sanjaya has made it so far. There have been popular faves in the past who couldn't sing, but what usually happens is that after a certain a point, they start appearing in the bottom three every week, and it becomes apparent that it's just a matter of time before they get cut. I still think that will happen to Sanjaya sooner or later (probably sooner), but to read those guys turning it into some kind of statement about America or whatever = profuse eye rolling.

― Dominique, Wednesday, 11 April 2007 21:20 (eighteen years ago)

I really don't think Sanjaya is that bad of a singer, to be honest. He has a nice, sweet, soft & breezy voice, his problem is that he doesn't really know how to project at all, it sounds like he isn't even trying. But his performance last night, that was great. He doesn't deserve to win, but he's really not as terrible as people say... and he's really charismatic and entertaining.

― The Brainwasher, Wednesday, 11 April 2007 21:22 (eighteen years ago)

the real story here is a sneak preview of a future mega ilx thread. stay tuned!

-- Chuck Klosterman, author of "Chuck Klosterman IV: A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas"

― dmr, Wednesday, 11 April 2007 21:27 (eighteen years ago)

Dominique, its been explained in a million articles why Sanjaya is still there. Tons of people that don't usually vote on AI are voting for this kid. Duh.

― chaki, Wednesday, 11 April 2007 21:29 (eighteen years ago)

I am the only person I know who enjoyed his performance of "You Really Got Me," but I stand by that opinion. On the other hand, if he lasts longer than Jordin Sparks I will be mad because she is my favorite pop star on the show -- Melinda is a better singer, but not an "Idol" type. Also, Lakisha is falling off fast.

― Dimension 5ive, Wednesday, 11 April 2007 21:29 (eighteen years ago)

it doesnt even matter. the biggest stars are never the winners anyway. let the kid win! jordan is going to be a star no matter what at this point.

― chaki, Wednesday, 11 April 2007 21:32 (eighteen years ago)

Yeah, but that happens every season -- there's always someone picking up votes from this a new audience who's latched onto their underdog fave. I guess I'm just underestimating how huge this new audience is.

― Dominique, Wednesday, 11 April 2007 21:33 (eighteen years ago)

I am the only person I know who enjoyed his performance of "You Really Got Me,"

NO YOU AREN'T

― HI DERE, Wednesday, 11 April 2007 21:34 (eighteen years ago)

That Klosterman book already came out, I thought?

xposts

― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Wednesday, 11 April 2007 21:34 (eighteen years ago)

haha really

oh well, unsuccessful joeks

don't start a thread on it

― dmr, Wednesday, 11 April 2007 21:43 (eighteen years ago)

the worst of those blurbs is the ignoramus who said that the previous AI winners are "national embarrassments." Clarkson and Underwood are well on their way to huge careers, and they're wonderful singers. But I guess saying that would undercut the kind of snotty, pithy cultural commentary that sells crappy books.

― Matt Armstrong, Wednesday, 11 April 2007 23:06 (eighteen years ago)

DAN 8080 BLOOD DIAMONDS IN RE SANJAYA

― Dimension 5ive, Thursday, 12 April 2007 00:03 (eighteen years ago)

I also don't get the knee-jerk Idol hatred...the core of the show is that it's talented vocalists performing, with the added element of direct competition. There's nothing gross (Fear Factor), tacky (The Bachelor), trashy (Big Brother) or otherwise offensive about it.

I'm not feeling the hyteria either...Sanjaya won't win, and the fact that he hasn't been in the bottom isn't a huge shock. He's the cute kid and he has an actual gimmick this time. Crappy contestants (see: Scott Savol, Jasmine Trias, Nikki McKibbin) have made it very near the end in every season. The difference is that the sheer number of voters when it gets down to the wire will overpower the number of those voting for Sanjaya out of boredom/loyalty to Howard Stern/whatever, which I think is being blown out of proportion anyway. Plus, on the off-chance that Sanjaya does win, it's not as if the runners-up will be sent off into obscurity...Jordin, Lakisha, Melinda and Blake are all quite good and will likely get record deals regardless of where they place.

― musically, Thursday, 12 April 2007 00:44 (eighteen years ago)

I wanna rub essential oils through Sanjaya's hair.

― Belisarius, Thursday, 12 April 2007 00:48 (eighteen years ago)

I still don't get where this unspoken assumption comes from that American Idol is about selecting the most talented vocalist. It's not called America's Best Singer, and it's been acknowledged and demonstrated all along that there are lots of other factors involved -- from Simon's habit of telling people in auditions that they don't look good enough to the regular booting-off of overweight black women with terrific voices. Sanjaya's just the far end of the spectrum in terms of appealing to people based on personality more than vocal skill: kind of an inevitable case, especially as seasons go by and viewers maybe get more interested in seeing something surprising happen.

― nabisco, Thursday, 12 April 2007 01:17 (eighteen years ago)

The seasons-passing thing seems especially key: it's only once the program seems like some kind of regular, established thing -- with a history of good singers winning -- that some voters can start to think "hey, how about this season we give some credit to the cute goofy kid." It's weird to think this is some kind of embarrassment or practical joke on the show: if anything, it just signals how established the thing is that there's this kind of playfulness in the fandom.

Also he is totally clever about this stuff -- cf the only episode I've seen was the JLo / Latin one, and he was the only one to sing in Spanish.

― nabisco, Thursday, 12 April 2007 01:23 (eighteen years ago)

As a side-note, has there been some sort of change this season w/r/t letting the contestants work with their music? I haven't been following closely, but it seems like there's been a lot more going on with singers playing with their arrangements, having musicians on stage with them, etc. (Ha wait, I did see one other episode -- maybe the Diana Ross one? -- where one guy had assembled a total Timberland/Timberlake backing to his number, and another one had totally changed the chord structure to be entirely identical to a Coldplay song.)

― nabisco, Thursday, 12 April 2007 01:26 (eighteen years ago)

is sanjaya the one who started freek folk?

― danbunny, Thursday, 12 April 2007 01:29 (eighteen years ago)

xpost: Nope, they've always allowed contestants t change the arrangements around. Constantine, Bo Bice, Daughtry, etc...

I think all of Blake's arrangements are awful. It's hilarious to that the judges are always going on about how "modern and contemporary" he sounds, when everything he does is TOTALLY 80s.

― The Brainwasher, Thursday, 12 April 2007 01:32 (eighteen years ago)

blake is a doof

― danbunny, Thursday, 12 April 2007 01:36 (eighteen years ago)

UPDATE:sanjaya is safe

― danbunny, Thursday, 12 April 2007 01:37 (eighteen years ago)

yeah fuiukkcicn sanjays jiuuggernaut rolls on

― danbunny, Thursday, 12 April 2007 01:39 (eighteen years ago)

I especially loved the "we've never heard this, but man that was HOT and FRESH" reaction to his 311 cover. Blake is completely overrated, tho his hot and fresh styles signal the day when Radiohead and Smiths songs become AI staples.

about arrangements, yes, contestants have always been able to tweak them to suit their performances. however, best arrangement moment ever was when Brian May *refused* to change up "We Will Rock You" for Ace.

― Dominique, Thursday, 12 April 2007 01:42 (eighteen years ago)

diana ross was visibly crumpled during her practice sessions

― danbunny, Thursday, 12 April 2007 01:48 (eighteen years ago)

Blake is a gigantically untalented cock.

― HI DERE, Thursday, 12 April 2007 02:47 (eighteen years ago)

"The notion of controversy over people voting for the guy whose hair stands up assumes that the previous winners are not national embarrassments."

-- Greil Marcus, author of "The Shape of Things to Come: Prophecy and the American Voice"

Kelly Clarkson- Indicting for leaking name of CIA operative
Ruben Studdard- Photographed exiting limo sans underwear
Fantasia Barrino- Called cast of Dreamgirls "Nappy Headed Hos"
Carrie Underwood- Revealed to actually be male escort named James Guckert
Taylor Hicks- Arrested for shooting tame bear

― mulla atari, Thursday, 12 April 2007 13:01 (eighteen years ago)

indicted

― mulla atari, Thursday, 12 April 2007 13:02 (eighteen years ago)

I had never watched Idol until this seasons, and I have to say, I find myself fascinated by it. The idea here is to take raw talent and heard it onto a stage for the judges to shape and mold even while the rest of the country judges on them instantaneously. So you have a both a training ground AND a firing range. And as someone up thread mentioned, it's as powerful a vehicle as we have left in the culture to help performers and artists improve in their craft. I mean, look at Kelly Clarkson -- her evolution has been pretty astonishing since she first went on Idol. Did anyone think she'd ever be this good or culturally relevant five years later?

That said, I found the comments in the Salon article disappointing. Why is it that this particular subset of rockcrit feels that contempt should be a default position -- even when they don't know much about what they're weighing in on? Popular culture = suck? Boy, that's lazy. Smart people, yes. But out of touch across the board now. Tough to say, since XGau and Marcus and Powers are folks who've influenced my worldview on music and style as a writer.

Oh, and mark my words: Sanjaya will outsell anyone else in this year's bunch by a LOT. By at least double, I'd say. If I was Max Martin or the Matrix or any other hired gun writer, I'd be lining up to work with him. He'a a male Britney.

― Jiminy Krokus, Thursday, 12 April 2007 13:39 (eighteen years ago)

Oh and note to Griel: Clarkson, Reuben and Underwood are NOT national embarassments. What the fuck kind of a statement is that on his part? This from a guy who called "Lose Yourself" a monumental achievement on the level of "Gimme Shelter."

BTW, notice how the contributors to that piece are some of the same folks that Bill Jensen called out in his dumb-ass P&J misfire. Jesus, folks, don't give VVM that kind of ammo.

― Jiminy Krokus, Thursday, 12 April 2007 13:42 (eighteen years ago)

Sanjaya Fever
might be disappointing like
Guarini Fever

― Dimension 5ive, Thursday, 12 April 2007 14:07 (eighteen years ago)

nobody (ok maybe xgau) comes out of that article sounding like anything other than a clueless choad

― gff, Thursday, 12 April 2007 14:09 (eighteen years ago)

I don't watch American Idol, but I was home from work yesterday and happened to catch an MTV News story about some U.S. Navy rock band that tours high school auditoriums, playing My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy songs and following it up with a presentation on how much being in the Navy totally rocks, bro! And their former lead vocalist is Phil, from this season's AI.

Worth noting: there was not one single high school student quoted in the piece about what they thought about having a recruiting-drive/"rock" concert staged in their high school. It was all what the band thought about playin' for the kidz, and of course how much it totally rocks to be in the military. This piece was bracketed by openly-paid-for advertisements for the military.

― unperson, Thursday, 12 April 2007 14:22 (eighteen years ago)

Hey, if they're that desperate and don't realize how stupid they look (besides, clearly they all peaked in high school, and were probably members of swing choir).

Nothing can beat the one album former ILXor donut had, though -- it was a Navy recruitment album from 1972 or something with flower power graphics on the cover, and the guest star was the Swedish guy behind that "OOGA CHUCKA" remake of "Hooked on a Feeling" that Hasselhoff remade in recent years.

― Ned Raggett, Thursday, 12 April 2007 14:24 (eighteen years ago)

sanjaya is great, there are tons of reality show winners, there are almost no reality show contestants who totally mess with the premise of the show and come out ahead, which i applaud. (cf new york - i didn't watch more than a few minutes of the flavor flav show but she basically pwnd the whole thing by getting her own show, right?)

― daria-g, Thursday, 12 April 2007 18:01 (eighteen years ago)

I really don't think Sanjaya is that bad of a singer, to be honest. He has a nice, sweet, soft & breezy voice, his problem is that he doesn't really know how to project at all, it sounds like he isn't even trying.

Totally OTM. After reading that Salon article last night (linked from somewhere else), I decided that I really needed to see Sanjaya once and for all, and so I loaded up the old YouTube and watched his "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" performance. Had the exact same thought. He's adorable, though -- which is actually enough to make me want to vote for him, vocal talent notwithstanding.

― jaymc, Thursday, 12 April 2007 18:04 (eighteen years ago)

If you want to see why Sanjaya was picked in the first place, find his audition video on YouTube...he did Signed, Sealed, Delivered and it was really amazing. I picked him as my early favorite based on the strength of it, actually.

― musically, Thursday, 12 April 2007 18:20 (eighteen years ago)

People, Sanjaya is not a lead singer. He has the charisma and he has the raw talent but he's TOO reserved and TOO self-posessed to pull it off; this is why is "You Really Got Me" is the only performance of his since his initial audition that's really worked.

I mean, look at Kelly Clarkson -- her evolution has been pretty astonishing since she first went on Idol. Did anyone think she'd ever be this good or culturally relevant five years later?

Most of the people who saw Idol Season 1 thought she would be this good and culturally relevant five years later because she had googobs of talent (to the point where she's the only one who has made the scholcky requisite Idol ballad sound like a credible song) AND googobs of charisma.

― HI DERE, Thursday, 12 April 2007 18:40 (eighteen years ago)

give me 5 minutes alone with Kelly Clarkson and I'll show YOU some googobs!

OK, make that 5 minutes alone with a PICTURE of Kelly Clarkson...

alright, alright, TWO minutes...sheesh!

― henry s, Thursday, 12 April 2007 18:49 (eighteen years ago)

Sanjaya is still in high school, he has lots of time to learn how to be a lead singer if he wants to do that. If he just wants to cash in on Being Sanjaya he can do that too.

I thought he sounded good in his audition but that was because he's very good at imitating Stevie Wonder innit. Dude isn't ready yet but yeah he's not a waste of time and certainly not THAT far away.

― Dimension 5ive, Thursday, 12 April 2007 18:51 (eighteen years ago)

I've watched am. idol since the first season, the reason for the show is the vocals. Simon's not kidding around. I appreciate it's called American Idol and not America's Next Celine but the show-- in terms of reasons I watch it -- is about closing your eyes during the chorus of an FM radio song you loved growing up, or later, when you stumbled across it on a road trip.

The whole reason the show isn't comparable to , let's say , Flavor of Love or America's Next Top Model, or any of the Dancing With the Stars type shows is because beautiful amazing singing RULES. close your eyes during the performances & remember when you first heard that song and whether the performer hits it hard & takes you there again.

Sanjaya destroyed things this week btw

― 7seasjim, Friday, 13 April 2007 08:28 (eighteen years ago)

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