India Makes Sanjaya American Idol, Antonella Barba Nowhere
AMERICAN Idol’s Sanjaya Malakar is going further than Antonella Barba.
ARE outsourced tech support workers in India using their speed-dialing phone resources and technical expertise to keep a Sanjaya Malakar on American Idol?
That’s the chatter we’re picking up on blogsites catering to the Desi community (”Desi” in this case referring to people of South Asian descent spread throughout the English-speaking world - see MTV Desi).
Leading Desi blogsite Uber Desi addresses concerns that “support for Sanjaya equals racism” because of the claim that most of those voting for Sanjaya (a “half-Desi”) are of Indian descent or in India:
“MeraGussaII on O3 alleges that the voting for Sanjaya has racial overtones. The blogger alleges that most of the votes Sanjaya is receiving is from Indians or people of desi origin.
I say Sanjaya is this year’s version of Chicken Little… unless tech support people from call centers in India are dialing in to American Idol on their clock, the majority audience and voters for American Idol is the teenybopper crowd.”
It’s an open secret in the television industry that American and UK series featuring phone-in voting by viewers rely on phone centers in India to take calls– and occasionally, pump up the numbers.
Idol is seen in India on Star World TV, and the Indian and South Asian media have followed the Sanjaya saga closely and prominently–ever since Sanjaya and his sister Shyamali auditioned.
Too bad Shyamali didn’t make it to the finals. She’d have given Antonella Barba a run for her money -the innocent-looking beauty was a Hooters waitress in Tacoma!
March 15th, 2007 at 11:09 pm
He clearly is not talented enough to be in the finals. Like a kid singing karaoke, he bounces around sporting his new hair-do. Clearly the Indians are pushing him through with the votes:
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/SanD_Malaka/SanjayaVotes.jpg
March 16th, 2007 at 1:17 am
First off, your bunch of morons, india’s time zone is different that when the show goes on, and the tech workers don’t have tv’s in the building,. Why don’t you all admit it, the kids got talent, your just pissed because the phones in your trailers didn’t work when sundance was singing.,
March 16th, 2007 at 1:19 am
Sandy Hoola is mad because she found out that her husband is really her first cousin, and this explains why her kid has 6 toes.
you can link to her website
http://www.whitetrashlove.com
March 16th, 2007 at 1:45 am
I am fairly certain the cheap labor at the Indian call centers probably don’t have spare time to be spending company resources to vote on some kid across the ocean. I find it incredible that the judges of this show get on a high horse about this being a singing competition. The title is American IDOL, not American Singer. As they have acknowledged there is a popularity factor. Everyone is acting like this is the first time a teen whether talented or not has become a “star.” I predict he won’t win the whole thing anyway so it doesn’t really matter. The only thing I am really sure of though is that the producers of American Idol are absolutely loving the controversy and attention surrounding Sanjaya. It translates into $$$.
March 16th, 2007 at 2:11 am
It is difficult to establish at this stage if the Indians are voting for him or not. He is not really talented to be in the final of 12; however, in the true spirit of the game, I say, play by the rules. The rules of the game are that the people who are paying of the text message are entitled to vote for whoever they choose. I am sure AT & T will not mind the millions that are being made on the voter’s account. The judges have shown their frustration and sadness to see Sundance being voted out instead of Sanjaya. I feel that American Idol producer or organizers have intentionally kept Sunjaya last, to show the people that Sanjaya is in at other’s expense. Let’s compare Brandon to Sundance, why was Brandon and Sundance not kept to the last to reveal the shocking news about Sundance’s exit.
I would love to see where this American Idol is heading too. Rubin was voted American idol but then Clay Akin has more singing records to his name that Rubin. It doesn’t matter even if Sanjaya gets voted; THE AMERICAN producers are still not going to give him any contracts. Look at Simon and Ryan fighting on the show, sometimes you wonder that the American Idol is about them and not the contestants. I would rather see Sanjaya sing than the Ryan and Simon duet. Anyway, I do hope the final three are the top three girls.
March 16th, 2007 at 4:20 am
Sanjaya is a very talented singer, otherwise he never would have made it to Hollywood in the first place. Mk? And FYI caller didn’t vote to get him to hollywood, so that wasn’t riged. He has a wonderful voice, but I DO admit he can improve so much. He needs to project his voice. If they up’d his mic, you would hear how talented he is. An idol is a person that someone should look up to, a rolemodel. Sanjaya has a good heart, and is a sweet guy. That’s someone people should look up to. And he really wants this, he will take the career somewhere. Don’t send someone who will take the title somewhere home.
March 16th, 2007 at 8:09 am
So, check this out… I am shocked to see how online media has created such a strong opinion in the minds of the readers that people are now searching out and infact coming up with alligories to support their beliefs.
Lets get this straight :
1. None of the people that got voted out from the top 24 group were good enough to get anywhere close to the top 3, leave aside winning the idol title.
2. Believe it or not, Ms. Barba and Sanjaya have made this show so much more popular, for whatever reasons. There are so many people who hadn’t seen the show before have started watching now just to comment how bad Barba and Sanjaya are! In itself, I guess he’s a start isn’t he? While Barba might end up on Playboy cover(or girls gone wild atleast), our Sanjaya might become a commercial/TV Series star ( if not a ‘hair’ idol) considering his immense positive/negative popularity.
3. If is ridiculous on our part to believe that call centers in India are using their ‘technical expertise’ to boost his vote count. How stupid can we get in our reasoning. a. the time zone difference- the voting hours in US correspond to early morning hours in India, and trust me on this, people in India have so much more to do in life!
4. If you ever read the official american idol blogs, you will figure out that there are so many people who are die-hard fans of Sanjaya, so while you would love DoLittle’s vocal and carefully text for her once, these so called ‘freaks’ would message a 100 times just to see him for another week. In respect of the rules of the games, they deserve much more to see their favourite on the stage than you do ! So, unless you are voting in bundles, it might be rude, but you don’t deserve to complain !
5. Lastly, he is not going to be the IDOL anycase, so why not have fun with his hairstyles and the new sarcasm dictionary of Simone ?
March 16th, 2007 at 9:28 am
And we tell you exactly why Sanjaya is staying in. Hint: Indian call center workers do not have enough money to pay.
http://Uberdesi.com
March 16th, 2007 at 12:55 pm
Huh? Who said anything about Indian call center workers - and a different time zone? You only have to look in your own backyard.
We initially brought them over as cheap labor for technical positions in US companies and since them they have been pouring in through H1B visas. They band together and I actually believe that these recent results with Sanjaya, a contestant with clearly limited talent, is directly related.
Oh, so you think it might be far-fetched? Was it far-fetched when my company felt that they could save money by replacing some workers with an Indian outsourcing company. (It later back-fired on them when they realized that they didn’t have the necessary experience and had tremendous communication barriers to overcome.)
Oh, and did I mention that the manager was of Indian descent? With the buzzword for cheap Indian technical labor at that time, he convinced his bosses that it was a good idea, so he rolled with it and took advantage of the opportunity.
So be careful, its not Indian call centers (in a different timezone) we are talking about - its right here in your own background.
March 16th, 2007 at 4:35 pm
Wodney the Wanker would say ‘fucking wogs’
March 16th, 2007 at 4:43 pm
I believe Sanjaya is getting all his votes from the Indians. There is quite a big population of Indians in the United States. There is no other reason why he should still be on American Idol other than people are voting based on ethnicity and not talent. I think it is really sad that true singing talents are not getting what they deserve. This whole thing is bullshit.
March 16th, 2007 at 7:06 pm
Give Sanjaya a chance. He seem to be a good candidate as an
American Idol (Idol). He does not seem to have any pretense and
is enjoying it unlike some of them.
Go Sanjaya.
March 16th, 2007 at 7:39 pm
Way to go, Sanjaya! The problem is that he sings too soft, but he is actually really quite good, vocally that is. When it comes to singing, he sings on key, isnt pitchy and doesnt yell or crack like some of the others. Right now, he is better off singing easy listening music. His voice is made for it. He needs to belt out the songs with loud powerful vocals to stay in the competition. I dont understand the judges; if they didnt like him from day one or when he appeared in Hollywood, they shouldnt have put him through into the top 24. The judges are horrible with their vague, lame and unconstructive criticisms either. The show is mainly based on performing the best songs to entertain the audience. Its not about the singers or their voices, Its about the ratings. Great songs equal great ratings. It isnt a vocal competition anymore. Sanjaya should change in order to stay in the game…
March 17th, 2007 at 12:18 am
STOP VOTING FOR THIS LOSER OF A BAD HAIR GUY! YOU PEOPLE SUCK IF YOU VOTED FOR HIM!!! BY THE WAY IF YOU ARE READING THIS AND THINKING I HAVE TEMPER ISUES YOU ARE SOOOOO WRONG!! IT’S JUST THAT HE IS THE WORST SINGER i HAVE EVER HEARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
UNDERSTAND THANK YOU AND GOOD NIGHT!
March 17th, 2007 at 4:41 am
Sandy Hoola is for some reason paranoid about Tech workers, who came on H1-B who voting Sanjaya. I can tell you this, Tech workers from India dont watch American Idol in droves let alone, vote for it. The more bad rap/press Sanjaya gets you would be attracting Indians but that is a different story.
Yeah, the legions of Indians you are talking about is a joke. People of Indian Origin do not comprise of even 1% of USA population. What are you kidding? The whole conspiracy theory against Sanjaya is crap. If you want skulls and smoking gun, look towards Votefortheworst.com and Howard Stern.
This racist tirade is crap. If Sanjaya is a moderate singer, Indians would be more than happy to push him up in the game(if they can). But the bad rap he tends to get(gosh!!! I dont see any Indians in the selection process.. how the heck did he made to finals ? ). So here is my conspiracy theory, American Idol has a practice of making comic-pinatas out of Non-American looking people. There was an asian guy before Sanjaya (I dont remember his name). If any one were to blame, it Idol producers.
FYI, ladies and gentleman.. American Idol is not a talent show.. it is a cheesy reality show with talent-search as a facade. The three judges dont have any stellar music careers (may be good but not stellar) and a show like American Idol needs “Cheesy” characters like Sanjaya for entertainment purposes. So dont take A Idol seriously, its another crappy show just watch-vote and have fun.
March 17th, 2007 at 7:58 pm
The thought that the Indian community here or abroad has rallied in huge numbers to support Sanjaya just doesn’t make sense. No more sense than the saying the white, black, asian or latino communities have dropped what they are doing and voted in droves in some racial pride movement. Let’s face American Idol ranks pretty low in the priorities of most peoples day to day lives.
March 17th, 2007 at 9:09 pm
Okay, maybe you’re right. Tech-savvy Indians armed with cell phones calling in to vote for the first Indian contestant in the finals is too far-fetched for you So maybe it is his gods that are working the phones:
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t154/SanD_Malaka/SanjayaVotes.jpg
March 18th, 2007 at 3:08 am
Why can’t the votes be limited to one per phone number? Wouldn’t that be more valid? My own 13 year old stayed up and voted 100 + times for Blake. It’s not just an ethnic thing. The little girls think he’s cute.
March 18th, 2007 at 6:05 am
[...] and became a national scandal amid charges of racism on Celebrity Big Brother. Read about it here.Share This Opinions? : none | In: The Reaple | By: Anorak | Talk: Forums [...]
March 18th, 2007 at 8:02 pm
[...] As many of our readers are probably aware, people who care about such things are starting to think that Sanjaya Malakar is still on American Idol because call centers in India are voting for him (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). [...]
March 18th, 2007 at 10:57 pm
You really need to be careful with satire. It goes over the heads of many of your readers.
March 20th, 2007 at 12:06 pm
[...] and became a national scandal amid charges of racism on Celebrity Big Brother. Read about it here.Share This Opinions? : 4 | In: Picture Posts, American Idol | By: Anorak | Talk: Forums [...]
March 22nd, 2007 at 6:08 pm
What do I think???
Sandy Hoola… lost her call center job. She is pissed off cos of that.
I bet none in India would have voted for Sanjaya!!… Who watches these shows there??? but good work sandy… ppl are knowing whats happening cos of biggots like u!!! Rot urself!!!
March 22nd, 2007 at 8:39 pm
I have loved Sanjaya since we got together last year. We were boy friends on and off during the school year here in Seattleand had a great time together. I think he will represent the Gay community well.
March 23rd, 2007 at 2:16 am
I agree with Sandy Hoola. I mean come on!! The guy sucks…especially when you compare him to some of the other contestants. How can you explain that?? Let’s face it, American Idol is the MOST watched show right now, I would be surprised if Indians, here or even there, didn’t care. In fact, many of those who are commenting here are probably Indians…
Look, I have nothing against the guy (other than, he can’t sing), in fact he seems sweet, BUT that’s not what this is about. It seems really unfair that people who are much more talented than him had to leave the show so prematurely.
March 23rd, 2007 at 3:18 pm
“…. the claim that most of those voting for Sanjaya (a “half-Desi”) are of Indian descent or in India …. ”
LMAO!
It could also be claimed that most of those voting for white american participants are white and of american decent or are in america …..”
That is unless the viewing of this TV broadcast can somehow be restricted to america.
March 25th, 2007 at 2:41 am
For those of you who have not figured out, all the hi-tech software work is going to India because these Indians are very hi-tech savvy. There is more that one free software program (DialIdol from Dialidol.com begin the most popular) which is used by the tech savvy people to auto-dial the votes. You need a phone modem, and the program keeps voting for you for 2 hours while you sleep. I voted for Sanjay 265 time last week.
With Howard Stern and votefortheworst.com supporting Sanjaya, along with the entire Indian community in the US, plus all the hi-tech workers in Bangalore, India, plus the teeny boppers, Sanjaya is a shoe-in to be the next American Idol!
March 26th, 2007 at 7:44 am
What the heck! Americans of Indian descent are voting for a half Indian for the American Idol title? Surprise surprise! Americans of Italian descent are voting for Italian Americans. Americans of African descent are voting for African Americans. And Americans of the racist trailor trash persuation - you know, the kind that dropped out of school before finishing 10th grade, have jobs that involve flipping burgers at Burger King, and were born with impaired brains because their moms were on drugs, cigarettes, and alcohol during pregnancy, are voting for their favorite trailor trash. Get over it!
You wonder why jobs are going overseas? One reason: Skills. See what Bill Gates had to say in his testimony before the US Congress.
March 30th, 2007 at 12:34 am
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SANJAYAAAAAAAAAA - thats right! Desi’s aka indians need to stick together! Sanjaya - the next American Idol!!!! yeahhhhhhhhhh babay!!!!
March 31st, 2007 at 10:05 pm
OK ALL U ASS HOLES LISTEN UP, ITS A FUCKING SHOW, WHO GIVES A FUCK IF HE STAYS ON. LOOK AT LAST SEASON, CHRIS DAHGHTERY GOT KICKED OFF BUT WENT DOUBLE PLATINUM (IF SANJAYA) HAS TALENT HE WILL SELL IF NOT HE WILL STILL SELL TO HIS FAN BASE, SO IF YOU DO OR DONT LIKE HIM ITS A MATTER OF PERSONAL PREFERENCE (I THINK HE SUCKS COCK/PUSSY? WHO KNOW AND REALLY WHO GIVES A DAMN!!!! JUST GO TO SCHOOL AND GET SOME SKILLS SO OUR TECH/OTHER JOBS QUIT GETTING OUTSOURCED ETC…..
April 4th, 2007 at 7:48 am
i think this going to be a year of india with shilpa shetty winning the big brother contest in u.k and sanjaya lining up to win the american idol and indian curries ruling the menu and bollywood movies storming the charts in u.k and u.s.a and star like shahrukh khan who caused a havoc in the traffic in paris
April 4th, 2007 at 10:38 am
Not going to win the cricket world cup, though…
April 4th, 2007 at 1:43 pm
Hey, I’m not Indian but I think Sanjaya has plenty of charm and talent. His singing may not be the best but sometimes a even good singer can be “lousey” because he/she lacks charisma. Sanjaya has charisma in his face and voice.
This shouldn’t be a racial issue. Besides, I’m sure there are a lot of caucasian supporters like me.
April 4th, 2007 at 3:02 pm
Register and join the debate:
http://www.anorak.co.uk/forums/
April 6th, 2007 at 12:48 pm
Sanjaya who? Most of us in India aren’t aware about American Idol, and that a Indian is singing on it. If he’s got talent he’ll sell (as Jay-A says).
April 11th, 2007 at 1:40 pm
[...] Idol 11th Apr 07 IS SANJAYA Malaka, American Idol’s song whisperer, is at the centre of a plot. As the Enquirer asks: “Is Simon behind a conspiracy to keep the clownish contestant on the [...]
April 11th, 2007 at 3:48 pm
I’m sure people who work at call centers are not people struggling for monthly rent and food money, so they definitely have time to call and vote for some kid in the USA. Definitely must be a priority. I mean, only the crème de la crème get to work for high paid call-center jobs, so it’s safe to assume that they’re financially secure. Especially since a lot of Indians look down at inter-Indian marriages (inter-religious, inter-caste, inter-state) so they’d definitely have the hots for a half Caucasian kid.
Damn you Indians, DAMN YOU. Stop messing up a great show like American Idol which allows any person from the streets to get a record deal when other artists have struggled to set themselves up in the industry.
lol just out of curiosity though, how many Indian Americans seriously voted for him? I won’t lie, I watched it to see him perform cause it was novelty to have some Brownie on a Singing show but I couldn’t care enough to vote. Though now I want to, it’s just too much fun seeing people get worked up over him.
April 16th, 2007 at 11:50 pm
I think the reason Americans like Sanjaya is because other he is the only singer who is entertaining. Have you seen other contestents–so booring! To people who think he is not going to sell records, I say you will eat your words soon.
I heard on E! that the producers of the show actually asked its audit firm to check on the claims that overseas calls were catapulting Sanjaya to the lead or other frauds. This has been checked consistently. I have a 16 y/o daughter who really digs Sanjaya. He actually is a great performer.
I am not an expert in voice but did you hear JLo’s comments–Sanjaya is one of the few swinger sho can carry latino notes. With more confidence his singing is getting even better and his repertoire broader. I just wish he does not blush so much, he is very shy and hence appears less of a star than others.
Having said that about him, I think the girls are a better lot than all other boys put together.
April 19th, 2007 at 10:18 am
I came to know about this Sanjaya person when I saw a thread in some blog and I was curious. I did watch the first season of American Idol but that was IT! There was too much of acting and drama for me to handle and less of quality. I have seriously felt that American Idol is all hyped up. Yes I am Indian.. and Yes I do work for a US client in India but for goodness sakes.. how many people do you think watches American Idol and above all votes ???
Coming to American Indians, I don’t think they are predjudists. I think they do have enough intelligence to know to vote on quality and not brand! They did not barge into the US mind you… They wouldn’t be there unless US needed them.. ofcourse I know that may not hold well for some in here but its the truth.
But all that I said above is speculation… I cannot confirm it. Similarly, I wish all of you out there to hang on and really find out what the reason might be rather than bashing Indians all around.
April 23rd, 2007 at 5:36 pm
[...] and became a national scandal amid charges of racism on Celebrity Big Brother. Read about it here.Share This Opinions? : 6 | In: American Idol | By: Anorak | Most Popular Stories | Talk: Forums [...]
April 23rd, 2007 at 7:06 pm
[...] Week’s PicturesAnorak - AT LAST SEASON, CHRIS DAHGHTERY GOT KICKED OFF BUT WENT DOUBLE PLATINUM (IF SANJAYA) HAS TALENT HE WILL SELL IF NOT HE WILL STILL SELL TO HIS FAN BASE, SO IF YOU DO OR DONT LIKE HIM ITS A MATTER OF PERSONAL PREFERENCE (I THINK HE SUCKS COCK/PUSSY [...]