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April 23, 2007
Sanjaya goes East Coast
Associated Press/Stephen J. Boitano
Sanjaya Malakar has made his way across the country for numerous post-"Idol" appearances. I caught him this morning on "Live With Regis and Kelly" (Bryant Gumbel was the guest co-host). Sanjaya performed what I thought was his best song in the competition - his rendition of "Besame Mucho," which he did during Latin week.
And, lo and behold, Sanjaya had a new coif, one that I hadn’t seen before. He was sporting a sort of pulled-back look, pouffy in the back, with what looked like multicolored barrettes. Another schtick: While he sang (and mugged longingly into the camera), the cameras went back and forth from him to a man dressed up like the little girl who cried in the “Idol” audience. Good stuff!
During a commercial break, Kelly Ripa’s stylist quickly converted her hair into a matching Sanjaya ’do. It looked just as cute on her. In fact, Kelly joked that Sanjaya had stolen some of his “Idol” hairstyles from her.
Sanjaya reiterated what he told some of us "Idol" reporters last week: That he wants to experience the entire entertainment industry, from singing to modeling to acting.
Kelly asked him if his feelings had been hurt by what the three judges said to him on the show.
"I tried to be positive," Sanjaya said. "They (the judges) are brutal sometimes, but I tried to learn from it. You can't let the negativity sit in your soul."
Meanwhile, day-to-day life apparently has changed dramatically for the ousted Sanjaya. Obviously, he can't just walk down the street; fans want hugs and autographs. I'm not sure this phenomenon is happening for Haley Scarnato, who was eliminated the week before Sanjaya. Just sayin'.
Heck, Sanjaya even got to attend the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in Washington, D.C., (pictured above) on Saturday as a guest of People magazine. He looks handsome in his suit.
"It was interesting," Sanjaya said. "I met the governor of New York (Eliot Spitzer), who told me he votes on the show."
Sanjaya is headed back home to Federal Way, Wash. on Tuesday, just as the Top 6 "Idol" finalists gear up for the ginormous "Idol Gives Back" two-night extravaganza. More on that to come.
Posted by Leigh Grogan at April 23, 2007 02:46 PM
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