‘American Idol’ Dark Horse Presses On

If you ask most “American Idol” viewers, they’ll tell you the audition episodes are their favorite part of the show, where buffoonery is ridiculed in a satisfying way. The entire franchise’s credibility is based on its ability to reward those with competence and persistence in the face of constant humiliation. Even as we sympathize with the singers whom Simon Cowell ridicules, we generally kind of agree.

Unless the singer happens to be a charming 17-year-old named Sanjaya Malakar, the unintentional firebrand who threatens to destroy the entire institution. He’s adorable and he’s mannerly, but that might not be enough to placate an audience hoping for a winner with actual talent. In the March 27 issue of USA Today, music consultant Tom Vickers predicted a rapid viewer drop-off if Malakar wins. “Instead of 30 million viewers a week,” he said of the show, “it might draw 20 million.”

Indeed, crowning an inept “Idol” could ruin audience perception of the contest. Viewers would be disappointed to see that one of the worst performers, one who used to finish in the bottom three, now rests in the middle of the pack on a regular basis.

The judges are clear about their feelings on Malakar. Randy Jackson called one of his performances “unlistenable” and Cowell told “Extra” he wouldn’t return to the show should Malakar win; “I won’t be back if he does.”

But these cruel remarks are creating a backlash that would make Cowell cringe. The audience likes Malakar as a person, not as an artist. It wants to make up for the fact that he’s picked on by the judges. Viewers aren’t necessarily voting for Sanjaya; they’re voting against the ire from “qualified” professionals.

Strangely, Malakar’s popularity could be fueled by a national desire to see the no. 1 show fall from grace. In fact, on his Sirius Satellite Radio show, Howard Stern announced his intention to mobilize his fan base and ensure a win for Malakar with help from the Web site votefortheworst.com. “We’re corrupting the entire thing,” Stern said. “The no. 1 show in television and it’s getting ruined.”

On March 23, Entertainment Weekly wrote that Malakar’s odds of winning were “100,000 to 1,” while Chris Sligh’s were estimated at seven to one. But on March 27’s results episode, Sligh was out. The following week, Malakar bested Gina Glocksen, and he doesn’t appear to be losing ground. His performances get marginally better, but his market share gets exponentially stronger.

Of course, this begs a very interesting question: In the “American Idol” world of carefully-calibrated editing, is the reaction of Stern and others playing into the producers’ hands? Executive producer Ken Warwick says the controversy is good for the franchise, even though he doesn’t think Malakar will win. “The fact of the matter is, if someone on the show is getting attention, it really doesn’t bother me,” said Warwick. “He’s still there, and a lot about this business is keeping people interested.”

And after misfire Taylor Hicks, the lowest-selling “Idol” winner to date, the management team could be yearning for someone with sweeping commercial appeal. The preteen ladies already love Malakar (I’m looking at you, little Ashley Ferl). And if the boy band era proved nothing else, it taught us that kids in junior high have more buying power than the mature consumers sitting through Hicks’ primetime summer Ford commercials.

Besides, preteens love a rebellion. And in a world populated by unquestionable authority and inescapable obligation, everyone else does, too.

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