Sanjaya Malakar

Sanjaya Joseph Malakar (born September 10, 1989) is an American singer and television personality. He gained national recognition as a finalist on the sixth season of American Idol, where he controversially advanced to 7th place with public votes, despite receiving criticism from the show's judges, notably Simon Cowell. Following his time on Idol, Malakar made numerous guest appearances on television shows and became a subject of parody in popular culture. He also competed on the second season of the reality show I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, finishing in fifth place. Born in Seattle, Washington, to an Indian immigrant father and an American mother, Malakar experienced a difficult childhood and lived on welfare for a period of time.