Sanjaya Malakar - Too Bad It Isn't A Cute Contest

Sanjaya Malakar - how did this name get into my world? I'm not a teenybopper (or whatever young fans are called today) and I've never even watched American Idol. Gasp! Did I really say that? Yes, I'm one of the probably three people in the world who have never watched American Idol. But there is Sanjaya, smack dab in the middle of my living room, singing (or what passes for singing in his mind) his little heart out – on a news clip on Countdown with Keith Olbermann on MSNBC.

Sanjaya is this year's William Hung. I speak with authority on William Hung too because I have also never seen him on American Idol! That doesn't mean that William Hung has not crept into my life too. But so has Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong and from way back when, Jimmy "Inka Dinka Doo" Durante (the old Shnozzola). Neither of these men could sing. They couldn't even carry a tune. But what they could do was perform. They put on a show. They entertained us. For whatever perverse reason (their musical talents notwithstanding) we liked them.

Louis Armstrong of course could play a mean trumpet and is regarded as one of the two greatest jazz musicians of all time, along with Charlie "Bird" Parker, and Jimmy Durante played the piano and was a comedian. They had definite, tangible talents but you'd have to have a tin ear to think that they could sing.

They sure could put on one hell of a show and make us smile and laugh and just plain enjoy ourselves while they were entertaining us.

Poor Sanjaya, he entertains a lot of people but in the wrong way. Instead of laughing with him, thousands are laughing at him. They say he can't sing. Ok, from what I've heard of him on the news clips that might be a fair assessment.

But that dazzling smile, the gorgeous good looks and glorious mane of hair is enough to make this mature woman smile! I remember back in the day when another "singer" made it big. This singer was not on American Idol of course, because it didn't exist then, but was on an equally entertaining show that started it all – American Bandstand with Dick Clark. Before Dick Clark the show was hosted by a local Philly disk jockey by the name of Bob Horne, but that's another entertaining story in and of itself.

The singer to whom I refer is none other than the fabulous Fabian. Could Fabian sing? Most definitely not with a capital N! He couldn't carry a tune out of the proverbial bag. But what he did have is exactly what Sanjaya has today – good looks, gorgeous smile, confidence and "it."

Just what "it" is, I can't say. All I know is that Sanjaya entertained me with his unabashed enthusiasm (from what I've seen on the TV news). Perhaps it's because he reminds me a good deal of my youngest son who also had the huge dark brown eyes and long brown hair and the unbridled enthusiasm.

It's come to my attention (after Googling Sanjaya) that a lot of people want him voted off of American Idol. I suspect that no matter what happens, whether he's voted off or goes on to win the contest (doubtful but what do I know? I don't watch the show) he will have a successful career ahead of him. Perhaps not as a singer but maybe as an actor (again, remember Fabian? Okay, not a good example, Fabian couldn't act either!) or maybe as a male model.

To everyone who wants him voted off the show because he can't sing and they claim it's not fair to other good singers, I say lighten up. From what I've read and heard about American Idol, I would ask, do you really think it's a legitimate, honest show? It sounds more like a circus to me and in the end the most worthy singers will most likely prevail. So let's allow the Sanjaya's and William Hung's of the world to entertain us too in their own inimitable style.

Who knows, perhaps Sanjaya will now be instrumental in making me watch American Idol. Nah. I don't think so. As cute as he is, a three minute snippet of him on Countdown with Keith Olbermann is enough for me. Speaking of cute and adorable, Keith Olbermann wins hands down. I even heard him say that he can sing. Now if he goes on American Idol I'll definitely be watching.