Sanjaya Malakar

Sanjaya Malakar was born on Sept. 10, 1989 in Bothell, WA to an Indian father, who was a classical musician, and an Italian-American mother. Malakar spent a majority of his formative years in Seattle, but after his parents divorced, his mother took him and his older sister to live in Kapaa, HI, where he became involved in a local children's theater group. The family moved back to Seattle in 2000. In high school, Malakar never shied away from performing; he often played guitar and sang during class. After his sophomore year, he took the GED high school equivalency exam so he can get a head start on pursuing a musical career. In the fall of 2006, Malakar auditioned for season six of "American Idol" in Seattle, along with his sister Shyamali. While both siblings advanced to the semi-finals round in Hollywood, his sister was eliminated in that round while Malakar advanced as one of the Top 12 finalists.

Malakar quickly made an impression on the judges and audiences, due mainly to his many wacky hairdos - most notably, a faux hawk made from multiple ponytails. And in spite of his limited vocal range and less-than-stellar performances, the shy yet upbeat teen kept receiving votes and managed to stay in the competition far longer than anticipated, causing a huge uproar and giving the show's critics more reason to discredit it. He also gained a legion of fans that called themselves "Fanjayas," which included a 13-year-old girl in the audience who was moved to hysterical tears after Malakar's rendition of The Kinks' hit single, "You Really Got Me" (1964). After weeks of enduring intense scrutiny from critics as well as backhanded support from the Web site votefortheworst.com, Malakar was sent packing in the seventh round. But the country's obsession with the faux hawk-wearing contestant was far from over. After his season wrapped, Malakar appeared on a number of talk shows, including "Ellen: The Ellen DeGeneres Show" (NBC, 2003- ) and "Late Show with David Letterman" (CBS, 1993- ), where he read the Top 10 list. In 2009, he joined the cast of the reality competition series "I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here" (NBC, 2009-2010), where he faced off with other stars in the jungles of Costa Rica. That same year, Malakar released the album, Dancing to the Music in my Head.