OK, I know most (if not all) of you don't watch American Idol, so this'll be very boring for you, and you can just move on. But what are blogs for if not venting? So therefore, I have this to say:
WHO, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, IS VOTING FOR SANJAYA?
I do know the answer to this. (So, rhetorical question, really.) It's 1) teen and tween girls who think he's cute, 2) the morons organized by VotefortheWorst.com, and 3) Howard Stern's listeners, as he's urging them to head to VFTW and vote for Sanjaya. Why? Because they find it amusing, I guess. And the folks behind VFTW have some crap-ass theory about how you should screw with the Idol Powers That Be because they creatively edit the audition rounds and pick some contestants based on their entertainment value, not just on how well they sing. Wow, SHOCKER. You mean reality TV isn't ... real?? You mean the producers have some kind of ... entertainment agenda? Whaaaa??? My world, it is crumbling! Somebody, hold me!
But seriously, keeping Sanjaya on the show for this long is not amusing, and it's not proving any point—it's just cruel. Not cruel to the viewers (though it is that), but cruel to him. The guy is seventeen years old, and while he isn't tone-deaf he's in way over his head, and it's painful to watch him every week. He's starting to creep me out, with his perpetual smile and his whisper voice and his awkward attempts at emoting or having any kind of stage presence (or "dancing"). He seems like a sweet enough kid—and yes, there is that hair—so even more painful than watching him bland his way through performances is seeing the reaction when someone else is booted and he's kept on. This week, people in the audience actually booed. As he made his way back to his seat, I could've sworn that the look on his face said something along the lines of "God, I wish I were dead." Save a kid's life, people. Stop voting for Sanjaya.
I can't really explain any of this if you haven't seen it before, so here you go. (This is the performance that Simon Cowell said resembled some dinner party where the parents make the kids dress up and perform, and I think that's about right.) Thank you for listening. I feel better. A little.