sanjayamalakar

Hey, Brigitte here with TV Squad Daily. I'll be covering the TV stories I find interesting each day, Monday through Friday, in this video blog.

Today on TV Squad Daily:

• It's country night tonight on American Idol! And as if you needed another reason to watch, check out the commercials directed by Pulitzer Prize winner David Mamet.
  
• Survivor is seriously considering a cold-weather location for an upcoming season.
  

The video's embedded below, or you can download the file directly (Quicktime required). You can also subscribe to this podcast via our feed.

Hey, Brigitte here with TV Squad Daily. I'll be covering the TV stories I find interesting each day, Monday through Friday, in this video blog.

Today on TV Squad Daily:

• Haley Scarnato is talking about life after American Idol, and wearing other people's hair.
  
• Carson Daly is a Fanjaya! (And it's because of the hair?!)
  
• A scene from The Office causes Wikipedia major problems with their entry on "negotiation."
  

The video's embedded below, or you can download the file directly (Quicktime required). You can also subscribe to this podcast via our feed.

Who is Olivia Mojica and why is she the focus of this week's American Idol scandal? Apparently, the Season Two contestant made a very lewd sex tape with her boyfriend and it's about to surface, courtesy of Vivid Entertainment. TMZ, of course, has the exclusive first look. Until this scandalous announcement, few of us remembered Olivia. Hopefully, a week from now, she will go back to being a footnote in Idol's history.

Sanjaya Malakar might not be American Idol's best vocalist -- but he is the one receiving all the press. He is also fodder for countless parodies (including this one with bunnies and Bob Dylan), and has caused desperate people to embark on ridiculous hunger strikes .

However, Sanjaya doesn't just have his haters. He is loved by J.Lo, and backed by Howard Stern. And this week, even Simon Cowell didn't completely hate him.

While America may be split on Sanjaya, his hometown friends and family still love and support him.

Sanjaya's aunt, Christi Recchi, recently defended him against his critics, saying, "There are better ways to spend your time and energy [besides] bashing some 17-year-old kid who has been swept up in this whole thing."

Ryan Seacrest recently told People magazine that he thinks Jordin Sparks could be the next American Idol. Why does Ryan like Jordin? Because, "She's a great singer and a pretty girl, she's non-threatening, cute and attractive. Plus, she has this sincere likability that is rare and genuine."

Considering that 17-year-old Jordin towers over Ryan, I find it amusing that he finds her "non-threatening." He always looks so uncomfortably short standing next to her on stage. Perhaps, he is a *bigger* man than I give him credit for.

There's a theory going around that the large population of India has rallied behind Sanjaya. But that theory seems unlikely. While Sanjaya is making a splash in America, he's barely made a ripple in India. He's reportedly only received a couple of mentions in newspaper articles and blogs, and was included in one TV news segment.

According to Amit Varma, Sanjaya is "also an object of ridicule." Varma runs a popular blog called India Uncut.

Hey, Brigitte here with TV Squad Daily. I'll be covering the TV stories I find interesting each day, Monday through Friday, in this video blog.

Today on TV Squad Daily:

• Did you see Michael Buble's appearance on on American Idol? Does this show act like crazy pill for anyone who gets close to it?
  
• India says Sanjaya's success on American Idol is not their fault.
• Did the smoke monster get a camera? My take on last night's episode of Lost.
  

The video's embedded below, or you can download the file directly (Quicktime required). You can also subscribe to this podcast via our feed.

Hey, Brigitte here with TV Squad Daily. I'll be covering the TV stories I find interesting each day, Monday through Friday, in this video blog.

Today on TV Squad Daily:

• Heather Mills sure stays in the press a lot for someone who hates publicity. This week she's speaking out about not being a gold digger, and a gruesome surgery on her leg one year ago.
  
• The MySpacer's hunger strike over Sanjaya Malakar's continued American Idol stress ended unsuccessfully.
  
• The latest Lost commercial is funny, yet kind of embarrassing.
  

The video's embedded below, or you can download the file directly (Quicktime required). You can also subscribe to this podcast via our feed.

Hey, Brigitte here with TV Squad Daily. I'll be covering the TV stories I find interesting each day, Monday through Friday, in this video blog.

Today on TV Squad Daily:

• Is Sanjaya Malakar annoying the other American Idol contestants? Well of course he is.
  
• KITT the Knight Rider car is for sale, but it doesn't do much of anything.
  
• Keep an eye on this new, 97-year-old Hollywood "it" girl.

The video's embedded below, or you can download the file directly (Quicktime required). You can also subscribe to this podcast via our feed.

The self-proclaimed "King of All Media," Howard Stern, wants to "kill" American Idol, and Eric the Midget isn't happy about that at all. When Stern first joined Vote for the Worst to support Sanjaya, I really thought it was a one-time bit. But Stern seems committed to disrupting Idol's game and destroying the show's credibility. How far will Sanjaya get? I'm thinking Top 5. If Stern continues to rally his fans, Sanjaya could go all the way.

American Idol wins FAVORITE TV SHOW! At the Nickelodeon's annual Kids' Choice Awards. Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul showed up this weekend to accept the award, but Simon Cowell was a no-show. Too bad, if ever anyone needed to get slimed . . .

According to the Nielsens, the Kids' Choice Awards show was watched by more 6-to-11-year-olds than American Idol. Who says kids today watch too much TV?

The Sanjaya controversy continues to heat up. Seriously, that's all anyone is talking about in our comments. Love him or deeply despise him, Sanjaya is now a pop cultural phenomenon. This week, Saturday Night Live took to mocking Sanjaya's latest American Idol performance.

In SNL's sketch, Sanjaya, played by Andy Samberg, shows up in the middle of Weekend Update for a surprise appearance. Amy and Seth are heard reacting in the background (Seth: "Is he happy or scared?" Amy: "He's terrible"). A shot of the audience reveals the infamous "crying girl", a weepy Fred Armisen, and a famous SNL alum also brought to tears by Sanjaya.

Tears of joy or tears of disgust? Sanjaya inspires them all. You can view the clip at TV's Top 5 (AOL TV) or on YouTube.

Before you start throwing rotten tomatoes, please hear me out. I'm not saying I think Sanjaya should win this thing. Not even close. Those of you who've read my recaps, know I'm not a fan of Sanjaya.

But as much as I've disliked his performances, I'm actually going to defend Sanjaya. Mostly, because I feel sorry for him. He's a young kid thrown in the deep end of the pool, and sometimes he looks like he's drowning in front of 33 million viewers. The judges, critics, and viewers have been really, really cruel. And I'm not a fan of big bullies (ahem, Simon) who beat up on the younger, weaker kids just for sport.

Hey, Brigitte here with TV Squad Daily. I'll be covering the TV stories I find interesting each day, Monday through Friday, in this video blog.

Today on TV Squad Daily:

• When did Heather Mills become all pesty and paranoid?
  
• Rumor is that Bobby Brown is planning his own reality dating show.
  
• Sanjaya Malakar now has Howard Stern's support in addition to the backing of Vote for the Worst. What will happen if he actually wins?
  

The video's embedded below, or you can download the file directly (Quicktime required). You can also subscribe to this podcast via our feed.

(S06E11) Tonight we moved past the horrible auditions and the Hollywood meltdowns into the part of the competition that many of Idol's critics call "Karaoke Time." I think it's a given that all of the semifinalists are talented singers, having beat out thousands of others, and holding their own during Hollywood Hell Week in order to get to the Top 24. But staying in the competition is going to be tough. They're going to have to go beyond lame or even "safe" Karaoke renditions. They really need to kick some butt big time and shine.

The Top 24 semi-finalists have been announced which means it's time for the public to vote for their 2007 American Idol. It also means that many people will be "betting on" their American Idol, as well.

Payton O'Brien of Gambling911.com claims that the talent contest has become "one of the most significant betting events of the year." Last year, according to O'Brien, millions of dollars were bet on Idol, "across the globe, not just in America."