posted by Administrator on May 28
The former American Idol sixth-season finalist — who was known more for his creative coifs than his actual singing ability — has been tapped to star in a new “Life Comes at You Fast” commercial for Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company.
“I’m thrilled to star in one of Nationwide’s ‘Life Comes at You Fast’ ads, because I really love the campaign,” said Malakar in the company’s announcement. “My experience on American Idol was is a great example of how life really does come at you fast. The ad is a funny take on the serious subject of planning for retirement.”
The commercial will feature the former Idol finalist visiting a monastery in India to seek advice and is told to both work on his hair and arrange a retirement plan.
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“The Life Comes at You Fast concept was created to remind people that they need to think about preparing for tomorrow,” said Steven Schreibman, Nationwide’s vice president of advertising and brand management. “Sanjaya’s ad reminds consumers that they need to be prepared for life to change, because change is inevitable.”
The spot is one of six new Nationwide commercials specifically targeted at the South Asian market.
“The rapidly growing South Asian market is very important to us,” said Tariq Khan, Nationwide’s vice president for market development and diversity. “The creative work in these print ads and TV spots reflect traditions and situations that South Asians can relate to.”
Malakar recently moved to Los Angeles and is currently working on his debut album.
posted by AINews on Jan 22
No matter what happens on American Idol’s currently airing seventh season, one thing is for certain.
“Not having another Sanjaya in the next season of Idol is probably a good thing,” sixth-season finalist Sanjaya Malakar — speaking in the third person — told People in the magazine’s January 28 issue. “There’s only one Sanjaya.”
While the 18-year-old was known more for his crazy coifs and lack of vocal ability during his time on Idol — he’s apparently not letting that get him down, as he’s currently working on his career as a solo artist.
“I’m not in the recording stages yet,” he told People. “I’m writing music and starting to interview producers. If I had to define it, it would be alternative pop rock, like Paolo Nutini or James Morrison.”
Malakar moved from his native Seattle suburb to Los Angeles in the first week of January, and he currently shares a house with his 20-year-old sister Shyamali, who made it to the sixth season’s Hollywood Round before receiving the boot.
“Seattle is more chill,” he told People. “In L.A., everyone is focused on where they need to go. Move from wherever you are to L.A. to pursue your dreams.”
To insure his debut album has a better sound than the tunes he butchered on Idol, Malakar said he’s taking jazz and hip-hop classes in L.A. and commercial audition workshops and vocal lessons with celebrity vocal coach Seth Riggs.
“I’m doing little things to make sure I know what I’m doing when I get out there,” he told People.
Even if his career as a commercial artist doesn’t pan out, Malakar has a back-up plan to potentially follow in the footsteps of Dancing with the Stars fifth-season celebrity participant Marie Osmond and her spotlight-seeking brother Donny.
“[Shyamali and I are] Donny and Marie for the next generation,” Malakar told People, adding he and his big sister are currently shopping a variety show similar to Donny & Marie in the 1970s.
Not surprisingly, Malakar has no gripes with his Idol journey as he looks to further his career before his 15 minutes expire.
“I’m glad Idol went the way it did,” he told People. “Everything worked out perfectly.”
posted by AINews on Aug 31
The agent selling a Seattle home where “American Idol” contestant Sanjaya Malakar lived concedes he’s using the “Sanjaya card” to market the property.
The house — a five-bedroom, one-bathroom split-level built in 1963 — is where Malakar called home for two years while in high school, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported.
Its musical connection goes beyond “Idol” chatter. Chad Quist, the fiance of Malakar’s mother, is a professional musician who played with Big Brother and the Holding Company, Janis Joplin’s old band.
“We’re going to be moving to Hollywood in October,” Malakar’s mother, Jillian Blith, told the Post-Intelligencer in a phone interview from New York, where the American Idols Live Tour ‘07 was playing.
Realtor Dennis Fletcher, who once worked with Quist writing radio and TV jingles, said he expects to put the house on the market for $360,000 Sept. 4.
Fletcher plans to include an autographed photo of Malakar on the listing flier, and will run similarly-themed house ads in local newspapers and magazines, among other things.
“I’ve probably spent, so far, about $2,500, $2,600,” Fletcher said. “It’s marketing for me, too.”
posted by AINews on Jun 21
‘American Idol’s’ Sanjaya Malakar let some of his feelings be known in the June 20 issue of Steppin’ Out magazine.
“At a certain point all the judges just gave up,” said Malakar. “[The judges] realized the fans are going to do whatever they’re going to do, and they’re always going to vote for whomever they want. They didn’t have the power to change the way the fans felt. In fact, if anything, the more [Idol judge Simon Cowell] was mean to me, the stronger the fan support got. That’s why all the judges got frustrated and just gave up… I didn’t take it personally because I was just thinking what I needed to do.”
Sanjaya said he thinks Simon Cowell was the one who was “trying to get a certain reaction out of the fans” through his criticisms. However Malakar added he actually has “respect” for the sharp-tongued Brit due to his “unbiased honesty.”
“I actually kind of like Simon. He was really mean to me — but he’s also really honest — and I was searching for that,” Malakar told Steppin’ Out. “Not a lot of people are like that anymore. Especially in this business. He doesn’t say things the way you might want to hear them. He says what he feels with every speck of sugar off of it. It’s complete raw and brutal honesty. I really think that’s important to hear. You need at least one person telling you that stuff so you can learn from it.”
Malakar said he had “no idea” how he was able to capture the country’s attention and added he had a “very limited idea of what was going on” because he was “focusing on the show.”
“I just was myself each week. I think a lot of people picked up on that. They liked the fact that I didn’t care what people thought. I was just myself. I was just me. I think people could relate to that,” Malakar told Steppin’ Out. “I didn’t do anything special in my opinion. I just had fun. I think it’s important to not take yourself too seriously. If you take yourself too seriously you forget to laugh at yourself. Sometimes it’s okay to fall on your butt and laugh at it. And I definitely fell on my butt more than one time on that show in front of millions of viewers. But it’s good that it happened. I learned from it.”
Malakar said the popularity he gained from Idol is only now starting to resonate, but he still described it as both “weird” and “surreal.”
“I don’t know how to explain it,” he told Steppin’ Out. “It’s been the most life changing experience I could imagine. It’s really weird because everything has happened so fast. I really don’t even have time to realize what is happening.”
“I’m going to try to legitimize my music,” he told Steppin’ Out. “That’s the most important thing. I think a lot of people just see me as some kind of joke. I know that I’m not a joke. That’s all that really matters to me. Other people are entitled to their opinion and that’s cool. The way I make myself feel better about it is to prove those people wrong.”
Sanjaya is currently readying himself for the American Idol 2007 summer tour, which kicks-off Friday, July 6 in Sunrise, FL.
